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Category: Child Support

Parentage Cases 101: Establishing Parental Responsibilities and Child Support for Non-Married Co-Parents

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Written by Olivia St. Clair Long on 10.10.24

Illinois Parentage Act of 2015 is located at 750 ILCS 46/101 et seq. This law determines how legal parentage can be established through the court system. Beyond establishing legal parentage, this Act is used anytime two people who share children but have never been married seek the court’s intervention in establishing child support or the allocation of parental responsibilities (parental decision-making and parenting time).

Who Can File a Parentage Case in Illinois? 

To file a case under the Parentage Act, you need to have standing. Per 750 ILCS 46/602, you cannot bring a legal action under the Act unless you are:

  • The child in question
  • Mother of the child
  • Person pregnant with the child
  • Presumed parent
  • Alleged parent
  • Intended parent
  • Authorized government or adoption or licensed child welfare agency
  • Department of Healthcare and Family Servies
  • Representative authorized by law to act for someone on this list who is deceased, incapacitated, or a minor.

Presumed Parent? Alleged Parent? Intended Parent?

A presumed parent is someone who, by operation of the law, is recognized by the court as being the parent of a child, but who has not been adjudicated that child’s parent. For example:

  • Anyone married to the mother when the mother gives birth to a child is the presumed parent of that child.
  • If a child is born to a mother less than 300 days after the dissolution of a marriage, then the mother’s former spouse is the presumed parent of that child.
  • Even if a person marries a mother after the birth of the child, but the person’s name is listed on the child’s birth certificate, then that person is the presumed parent of the child.

An alleged parent is anyone alleging to be or who is alleged to be a child’s parent, but whose legal parenthood has not yet been established.

An intended parent is someone who enters into a gestational surrogacy agreement or other assisted reproductive technology arrangement under which they will be the legal parent of any resulting child.

When Can You Bring a Parentage Case in Illinois? 

If you have standing, you can bring a legal action under the Parentage Act, but depending on your relationship to the case, you do not have an unlimited amount of time to do so. Per 750 ILCS 46/607, if a child is initiating their own parentage case, then there is no time limit imposed. That child can bring a case even after that child has reached the legal age of adulthood.

If an alleged parent wants to bring a parentage action to prove they are the child’s parent, but the child already has a presumed parent, then a two-year statute of limitations applies.

That means that, for example, if you believe you are Child A’s father, but Child A already has a presumed father, then you only have two years after you discover or should have discovered that you were in fact Child A’s father in which to bring a parentage action. If Child A has no presumed father, then you can initiate a parentage action any time.

Who Can Be Subject to a Parentage Action in Illinois? 

Not only do you have to have standing to bring a parentage action In Illinois and do so within the designation statue of limitations, but you also need to make sure that the person you are seeking to have adjudicated as a parent is subject to the Illinois courts’ jurisdiction. In Illinois, the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA) (750 ILCS 22/201) outlines how to extend personal jurisdiction to those living out-of-state.

For example, if you are seeking to file a Parentage Action against a non-Illinois resident, you need to ensure that the Illinois courts can exert personal jurisdiction over that person.

There are a few ways in which a non-Illinois resident can be subject to personal jurisdiction in Illinois for the purposes of a parentage action. These include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Being personally served with notice of the legal action while present in the state
  • Consenting to be subject to the jurisdiction of the state
  • Having previously lived with the child in the state
  • Having previously lived in the state and provided prenatal expenses or support for the child
  • Having caused the child to live in the state as a result of their acts or directives
  • Having had sex in the state that may have resulted in the conception of the child

Remember – the Illinois Court must have jurisdiction over the child, as well, for any legal actions that involve child custody. The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) (750 ILCS 36/101 et seq.) controls in this regard.

When Should You Establish Parentage?

It is, unfortunately, common for non-married parents to wait until disputes arise before establishing the legal boundaries of their relationships with and duties to their children. However, non-married coparents can benefit from having a parentage agreement in place as soon as the child is born. This way, the parents can avoid unnecessary conflicts in the future.

In reality, many non-married parent couples wait until their relationships have broken up before establishing parentage and getting a Parental Allocation Judgment entered with the court. Some wait even longer, until disputes erupt regarding the parenting time schedule or division of parental responsibilities, which makes coming to an agreement even more difficult, time consuming, and costly.

How Do the IMDMA and Parentage Act Intersect? 

The Parentage Act and the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (IMDMA) go hand-in-hand. The Parentage Act leans heavily on the provisions of the IMDMA, particularly when it refers to how child support should be calculated and enforced, or subsequently modified. The Parentage Act also allows for temporary allocation of parental responsibilities and awards for interim attorneys’ fees in accordance with the IMDMA

So, even though the IMDMA is meant to guide the process for dissolving a marriage, its provisions often control in parentage cases. You will generally see parentage case pleadings refer to both statues.

“In determining the allocation of parental responsibilities, relocation, parenting time, parenting time interference, support for a non-minor disabled child, educational expenses for a non-minor child, and related post-judgment issues, the court shall apply the relevant standards of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act. Specifically, in determining the amount of a child support award, the court shall use the guidelines and standards set forth in subsection (a) of Section 505 and in Section 505.2 of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act.”

750 ILCS 46/802.

Reach Out to an Experienced Illinois Family Law Attorney 

Family law cases involving co-parents who were never married are rarely simple. There are a number of complicated state laws at play. Before you even begin, you need to make sure that those rules are followed, otherwise you have wasted time and money and gotten nowhere. That is why the experienced Illinois family Law attorneys at O. Long Law, LLC, are a great resource. Reach out to our office today to schedule a consultation to discuss your parentage case and how we can help guide you in the right direction.

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