(750 ILCS 45/9.1) (from Ch. 40, par. 2509.1)
Sec. 9.1. Notice to Presumed Father.
(a) In any action brought under Section 6 or 7 of this Act where the man signing the petition for an order establishing the existence of the parent and child relationship by consent or the man alleged to be the father in a complaint is different from a man who is presumed to be father of the child under Section 5, a notice shall be served on the presumed father in the same manner as summonses are served in other civil proceedings or, in lieu of personal service, service may be made as follows:
(1) The person requesting notice shall pay to the
Clerk of the Court a mailing fee of $1.50 and furnish to the Clerk an original and one copy of a notice together with an affidavit setting forth the presumed father's last known address. The original notice shall be retained by the Clerk.
(2) The Clerk shall promptly mail to the presumed
father, at the address appearing in the affidavit, the copy of the notice, certified mail, return receipt requested. The envelope and return receipt shall bear the return address of the Clerk. The receipt for certified mail shall state the name and address of the addressee, and the date of mailing, and shall be attached to the original notice.
(3) The return receipt, when returned to the Clerk,
shall be attached to the original notice, and shall constitute proof of service.
(4) The Clerk shall note the fact of service in a
permanent record.
(b) The notice shall read as follows:
IN THE MATTER OF NOTICE TO .......... PRESUMED FATHER.
You have been identified as the presumed father of ......... born on .........
The mother of the child is .........
An action is being brought to establish the parent and child relationship between the named child and a man named by the mother, .........
Under the law, you are presumed to be the father if (1) you and the child's mother are or have been married to each other, and the child was born or conceived during the marriage; or if (2) upon the child's birth, you and the child's mother married each other and you were named, with your consent, as the child's father on the child's birth certificate.
As the presumed father, you have certain legal rights with respect to the named child, including the right to notice of the filing of proceedings instituted for the establishment of parentage of said child and if named as the father in a petition to establish parentage, the right to submit, along with the mother and child, to deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) tests to determine inherited characteristics. If you wish to retain your rights with respect to said child, you must file with the Clerk of this Circuit Court of ......... County, Illinois whose address is ........, Illinois, within 30 days after the date of receipt of this notice, a declaration of parentage stating that you are, in fact, the father of said child and that you intend to retain your legal rights with respect to said child, or request to be notified of any further proceedings with respect to the parentage of said child.
If you do not file such declaration of parentage, or a request for notice, then whatever legal rights you have with respect to the named child, including the right to notice of any future proceedings for the establishment of parentage of the child, may be terminated without any further notice to you. When your legal rights with respect to the named child are so terminated, you will not be entitled to notice of any future proceedings.
(c) The notice to presumed fathers provided for in this Section in any action brought by a public agency shall be prepared and mailed by such public agency and the mailing fee to the Clerk shall be waived.
(Source: P.A. 90-23, eff. 1-1-98.)
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Last modified: February 18, 2015