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91_SB0654
LRB9100013SMdvA
1 AN ACT to amend the Adoption Act by changing Section 8.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The Adoption Act is amended by changing
5 Section 8 as follows:
6 (750 ILCS 50/8) (from Ch. 40, par. 1510)
7 Sec. 8. Consents to adoption and surrenders for purposes
8 of adoption.
9 (a) Except as hereinafter provided in this Section
10 consents or surrenders shall be required in all cases, unless
11 the person whose consent or surrender would otherwise be
12 required shall be found by the court:
13 (1) to be an unfit person as defined in Section 1
14 of this Act, by clear and convincing evidence; or
15 (2) not to be the biological or adoptive father of
16 the child; or
17 (3) to have waived his parental rights to the child
18 under Section 12a or 12.1 of this Act; or
19 (4) to be the parent of an adult sought to be
20 adopted; or
21 (5) to be the father of the child as a result of
22 criminal sexual abuse or assault as defined under Article
23 12 of the Criminal Code of 1961.
24 (b) Where consents are required in the case of an
25 adoption of a minor child, the consents of the following
26 persons shall be sufficient:
27 (1) (A) The mother of the minor child; and
28 (B) The father of the minor child, if the father:
29 (i) was married to the mother on the date of
30 birth of the child or within 300 days before the
31 birth of the child, except for a husband or former
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1 husband who has been found by a court of competent
2 jurisdiction not to be the biological father of the
3 child; or
4 (ii) is the father of the child under a
5 judgment for adoption, an order of parentage, or an
6 acknowledgment of parentage or paternity pursuant to
7 subsection (a) of Section 5 of the Illinois
8 Parentage Act of 1984; or
9 (iii) in the case of a child placed with the
10 adopting parents less than 6 months after birth,
11 openly lived with the child, the child's biological
12 mother, or both, and held himself out to be the
13 child's biological father during the first 30 days
14 following the birth of the child; or
15 (iv) in the case of a child placed with the
16 adopting parents less than 6 months after birth,
17 made a good faith effort to pay a reasonable amount
18 of the expenses related to the birth of the child
19 and to provide a reasonable amount for the financial
20 support of the child before the expiration of 30
21 days following the birth of the child, provided that
22 the court may consider in its determination all
23 relevant circumstances, including the financial
24 condition of both biological parents; or
25 (v) in the case of a child placed with the
26 adopting parents more than 6 months after birth, has
27 maintained substantial and continuous or repeated
28 contact with the child as manifested by: (I) the
29 payment by the father toward the support of the
30 child of a fair and reasonable sum, according to the
31 father's means, and either (II) the father's
32 visiting the child at least monthly when physically
33 and financially able to do so and not prevented from
34 doing so by the person or authorized agency having
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1 lawful custody of the child, or (III) the father's
2 regular communication with the child or with the
3 person or agency having the care or custody of the
4 child, when physically and financially unable to
5 visit the child or prevented from doing so by the
6 person or authorized agency having lawful custody of
7 the child. The subjective intent of the father,
8 whether expressed or otherwise unsupported by
9 evidence of acts specified in this sub-paragraph as
10 manifesting such intent, shall not preclude a
11 determination that the father failed to maintain
12 substantial and continuous or repeated contact with
13 the child; or
14 (vi) in the case of a child placed with the
15 adopting parents more than six months after birth,
16 openly lived with the child for a period of six
17 months within the one year period immediately
18 preceding the placement of the child for adoption
19 and openly held himself out to be the father of the
20 child; or
21 (vii) has timely registered with the Putative
22 Father Registry, as provided in Section 12.1 of this
23 Act, and prior to the expiration of the time limit
24 for registering under subsection (b) of that Section
25 30 days from the date of such registration,
26 commenced legal proceedings to establish paternity
27 under the Illinois Parentage Act of 1984 or under
28 the law of the jurisdiction of the child's birth; or
29 (2) The legal guardian of the person of the child,
30 if there is no surviving parent; or
31 (3) An agency, if the child has been surrendered
32 for adoption to such agency; or
33 (4) Any person or agency having legal custody of a
34 child by court order if the parental rights of the
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1 parents have been judicially terminated, and the court
2 having jurisdiction of the guardianship of the child has
3 authorized the consent to the adoption; or
4 (5) The execution and verification of the petition
5 by any petitioner who is also a parent of the child
6 sought to be adopted shall be sufficient evidence of such
7 parent's consent to the adoption.
8 (c) Where surrenders to an agency are required in the
9 case of a placement for adoption of a minor child by an
10 agency, the surrenders of the following persons shall be
11 sufficient:
12 (1) (A) The mother of the minor child; and
13 (B) The father of the minor child, if the father;
14 (i) was married to the mother on the date of
15 birth of the child or within 300 days before the
16 birth of the child, except for a husband or former
17 husband who has been found by a court of competent
18 jurisdiction not to be the biological father of the
19 child; or
20 (ii) is the father of the child under a
21 judgment for adoption, an order of parentage, or an
22 acknowledgment of parentage or paternity pursuant to
23 subsection (a) of Section 5 of the Illinois
24 Parentage Act of 1984; or
25 (iii) in the case of a child placed with the
26 adopting parents less than 6 months after birth,
27 openly lived with the child, the child's biological
28 mother, or both, and held himself out to be the
29 child's biological father during the first 30 days
30 following the birth of a child; or
31 (iv) in the case of a child placed with the
32 adopting parents less than 6 months after birth,
33 made a good faith effort to pay a reasonable amount
34 of the expenses related to the birth of the child
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1 and to provide a reasonable amount for the financial
2 support of the child before the expiration of 30
3 days following the birth of the child, provided that
4 the court may consider in its determination all
5 relevant circumstances, including the financial
6 condition of both biological parents; or
7 (v) in the case of a child placed with the
8 adopting parents more than six months after birth,
9 has maintained substantial and continuous or
10 repeated contact with the child as manifested by:
11 (I) the payment by the father toward the support of
12 the child of a fair and reasonable sum, according to
13 the father's means, and either (II) the father's
14 visiting the child at least monthly when physically
15 and financially able to do so and not prevented from
16 doing so by the person or authorized agency having
17 lawful custody of the child or (III) the father's
18 regular communication with the child or with the
19 person or agency having the care or custody of the
20 child, when physically and financially unable to
21 visit the child or prevented from doing so by the
22 person or authorized agency having lawful custody of
23 the child. The subjective intent of the father,
24 whether expressed or otherwise, unsupported by
25 evidence of acts specified in this sub-paragraph as
26 manifesting such intent, shall not preclude a
27 determination that the father failed to maintain
28 substantial and continuous or repeated contact with
29 the child; or
30 (vi) in the case of a child placed with the
31 adopting parents more than six months after birth,
32 openly lived with the child for a period of six
33 months within the one year period immediately
34 preceding the placement of the child for adoption
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1 and openly held himself out to be the father of the
2 child; or
3 (vii) has timely registered with the Putative
4 Father Registry, as provided in Section 12.1 of this
5 Act, and prior to the expiration of the time limit
6 for registering under subsection (b) of that Section
7 30 days from the date of such registration,
8 commenced legal proceedings to establish paternity
9 under the Illinois Parentage Act of 1984, or under
10 the law of the jurisdiction of the child's birth.
11 (d) In making a determination under subparagraphs (b)
12 (1) and (c) (1), no showing shall be required of diligent
13 efforts by a person or agency to encourage the father to
14 perform the acts specified therein.
15 (e) In the case of the adoption of an adult, only the
16 consent of such adult shall be required.
17 (Source: P.A. 89-315, eff. 1-1-96; 89-641, eff. 8-9-96;
18 90-15, eff. 6-13-97.)
19 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
20 becoming law.