Bill Text: IL HB2833 | 2011-2012 | 97th General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Amends the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning the commencement of an action for a declaration of invalidity of marriage.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)

Status: (Failed) 2013-01-08 - Session Sine Die [HB2833 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2011-HB2833-Amended.html

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Rep. Dennis M. Reboletti

Filed: 4/11/2011

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AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 2833
AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 2833 by replacing
everything after the enacting clause with the following:
"Section 5. The Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of
Marriage Act is amended by changing Section 506 as follows:
(750 ILCS 5/506) (from Ch. 40, par. 506)
Sec. 506. Representation of child.
(a) Duties. In any proceedings involving the support,
custody, visitation, education, parentage, property interest,
or general welfare of a minor or dependent child, the court
may, on its own motion or that of any party, only for good
cause shown, appoint an individual attorney to serve in one of
the following capacities to address the issues the court
delineates:
(1) Attorney. The attorney shall provide independent
legal counsel for the child and shall owe the same duties

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of undivided loyalty, confidentiality, and competent
representation as are due an adult client.
(2) Guardian ad litem. The guardian ad litem shall
testify and or submit a written report to the court
regarding his or her recommendations in accordance with the
best interest of the child. The report shall be made
available to all parties at least 30 days prior to the
trial. The report shall set forth the guardian ad litem's
findings, the names and telephone numbers of all
individuals interviewed, and the guardian's conclusions
and recommendations. The guardian ad litem may be called as
a witness for purposes of cross-examination regarding the
guardian ad litem's report or recommendations. The
guardian ad litem shall investigate the facts of the case
and interview the child and the parties and others
possessing special knowledge of the child's circumstance.
However, the guardian ad litem shall not communicate with
any expert witness or other court appointee without prior
approval from the court. The guardian ad litem shall
conduct his or her own independent investigation. The
guardian ad litem's testimony and recommendations may be
used as one factor in rendering a custody decision or in
determining the child's best interests, subject to
cross-examination. The guardian ad litem is not a court's
witness but rather a fiduciary who owes the duties of
undivided loyalty and competent investigation exclusively

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to the minor child. The guardian ad litem shall not file
any petition or pleading and shall not attend any court
hearing unless the guardian ad litem is expected by the
court to testify.
(3) Child representative. The child representative
shall be an attorney and shall advocate what the child
representative finds to be in the best interests of the
child after reviewing the facts and circumstances of the
case. The child representative shall meet with the child
and the parties, investigate the facts of the case, and
encourage settlement and the use of alternative forms of
dispute resolution. The child representative shall have
the same authority and obligation to participate in the
litigation as does an attorney for a party and shall
possess all the powers of investigation as does a guardian
ad litem. The child representative shall consider, but not
be bound by, the expressed wishes of the child. A child
representative shall have received training in child
advocacy or shall possess such experience as determined to
be equivalent to such training by the chief judge of the
circuit where the child representative has been appointed.
The child representative shall not disclose confidential
communications made by the child, except as required by law
or by the Rules of Professional Conduct. The child
representative owes the duties of competent legal
representation and undivided loyalty exclusively to the

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minor child. The child representative shall not
communicate ex-parte with any expert witness or other court
appointee without prior approval from the court. The child
representative shall not render an opinion,
recommendation, or report to the court and shall not be
called as a witness, but shall offer evidence-based legal
arguments. The child representative shall disclose the
position as to what the child representative intends to
advocate in a pre-trial memorandum that shall be served
upon all counsel of record prior to the trial. The position
disclosed in the pre-trial memorandum shall not be
considered evidence. The court and the parties may consider
the position of the child representative for purposes of a
settlement conference.
(a-3) Additional appointments. During the proceedings the
court may appoint an additional attorney to serve in the
capacity described in subdivision (a)(1) or the capacity an
additional attorney to serve in another of the capacities
described in subdivision (a)(2) or (a)(3) on the court's own
motion or that of a party only for good cause shown and when
the reasons for the additional appointment are set forth in
specific written findings.
(a-5) Appointment considerations. In deciding whether to
make an appointment of an attorney for the minor child, a
guardian ad litem, or a child representative, the court shall
consider the nature and adequacy of the evidence to be

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presented by the parties and the availability of other methods
of obtaining information, including social service
organizations and evaluations by mental health professions, as
well as resources for payment.
In no event is this Section intended to or designed to
abrogate the decision making power of the trier of fact. Any
appointment made under this Section is not intended to nor
should it serve to place any appointed individual in the role
of a surrogate judge.
(b) Fees and costs. The court shall enter an order as
appropriate for costs, fees, and disbursements, including a
retainer, when the attorney, guardian ad litem, or child's
representative is appointed. Any person appointed under this
Section shall file with the court within 90 days of his or her
appointment, and every subsequent 90-day period thereafter
during the course of his or her representation, a detailed
invoice for services rendered with a copy being sent to each
party. Failure to submit a detailed invoice for each 90-day
period in the required time period shall preclude collection of
costs, fees, and disbursements for services rendered in said
90-day period. An attorney, guardian ad litem, or child
representative shall not bill the parties any fees for the
preparation and presentation of his or her invoice. The court
shall review the invoice submitted and approve the fees, if
they are reasonable and necessary. The court shall not award
lump sum fees to the attorney, guardian ad litem, or child

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representative. The court shall not authorize payment of bills
that are not properly itemized. Compensation for the attorney,
guardian ad litem, or child representative may be paid at a
reasonable rate, not to exceed $150 per hour. Any order
approving the fees shall require payment by either or both
parents, by any other party or source, or from the marital
estate or the child's separate estate. The court may not order
payment by the Department of Healthcare and Family Services in
cases in which the Department is providing child support
enforcement services under Article X of the Illinois Public Aid
Code. Unless otherwise ordered by the court at the time fees
and costs are approved, all fees and costs payable to an
attorney, guardian ad litem, or child representative under this
Section are by implication deemed to be in the nature of
support of the child and are within the exceptions to discharge
in bankruptcy under 11 U.S.C.A. 523. The provisions of Sections
501 and 508 of this Act shall apply to fees and costs for
attorneys appointed under this Section.
(c) Beginning in 2012, every January 20, the statutory rate
described in subsection (b) shall be automatically increased or
decreased, as applicable, by a percentage equal to the
percentage change in the consumer price index-u during the
preceding 12-month calendar year. "Consumer price index-u"
means the index published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of
the United States Department of Labor that measures that
average change in prices of goods and services purchased by all

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urban consumers, United States city average, all items,
1982-84=100. The new rate resulting from each annual adjustment
shall be made available to the Chief Judge of each judicial
circuit.
(Source: P.A. 94-640, eff. 1-1-06; 95-331, eff. 8-21-07.)".