Paternity can be established in a number of different ways under Illinois law. Establishing paternity is important because, once established, a court can allocate parental responsibilities (formerly known as custody), allocate parenting time, and order child support. The level of complexity in establishing paternity depends upon the particular circumstances of the individuals involved.

Paternity Determinations

Under Illinois law, paternity is established through any of the following means:

At the beginning of the year, changes went into effect in Illinois related to the process for obtaining a divorce. The fault grounds for a divorce have been eliminated. Instead, divorces will be granted when irreconcilable differences exist in the marriage.

Elimination of Fault

Previously, divorce in Illinois could be based on some sort of fault by one of the parties. This included acts such as adultery or physical and/or mental cruelty. As 2016 begins, Illinois will no longer deal with these fault grounds for divorce. Instead, under Illinois law, couples can get divorced when it is shown that they have irreconcilable differences causing an irretrievable breakdown of the marriage. This means that prior efforts at reconciliation have been unsuccessful and future attempts are not practicable.

Individuals who are planning on marrying may be interested in forming a premarital agreement. This type of agreement defines the rights and responsibilities of each party during a relationship, as well as what happen in the event the relationship ends. Premarital agreements are also referred to as prenuptial agreements.

Forming an Agreement

Pursuant to Illinois law, a premarital agreement is an agreement made between individuals who intend to marry each other. The agreement becomes effective once the marriage actually occurs. In order to be enforceable, the agreement must be in writing, signed by both parties, and entered into voluntarily.

Adoption brings together a child in need of parents and individuals who are willing to meet that need. As a result, adoptions are very beneficial for both children and parents. However, due to the different nature of adoption, there are unique issues related to the child's birth certificate.

Requesting a Copy of a Birth Certificate

Under Illinois law, an adult adoptee (considered a person 21 years of age or older) can request a non-certified copy of his or her original birth certificate. Further, this law allows the biological parents of a child placed for adoption to specify whether they would like to be available in the event the child wishes to contact them. Biological parents can also make their identifying information available.

Under certain circumstances, an individual may wish to request that a court declare his or her marriage invalid. Invalidity of a marriage, which was formerly known as annulment, is a distinct process from divorce. In order to have a marriage declared invalid, the marriage must have occurred under specific circumstances as described by law.

Invalid Marriages

Under Illinois law, a marriage may be found invalid if it was entered into under one of the following conditions: