Sec. 65. Voluntary conversion of civil union to marriage.

270 words·~1 min read·/il/chapter-750/act-75/65

A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

(a)Parties to a civil union may apply for and receive a marriage license and have the marriage solemnized and registered under Section 209 of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act, provided the parties are otherwise eligible to marry and the parties to the marriage are the same as the parties to the civil union. The fee for application for a marriage license shall be waived in such circumstances.

(b)For a period of one year following the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly, parties to a civil union may have their civil union legally designated and recorded as a marriage, deemed effective on the date of solemnization of the civil union, without payment of any fee, provided the parties' civil union has not been dissolved and there is no pending proceeding to dissolve the civil union. Upon application to a county clerk, the parties shall be issued a marriage certificate. The parties' signatures on the marriage certificate and return of the signed certificate for recording shall be sufficient to convert the civil union into a marriage. The county clerk shall notify the Department of Public Health within 45 days by furnishing a copy of the certificate to the Department of Public Health.

(c)When parties to a civil union have married, or when their civil union has been converted to a marriage under this Section, the parties, as of the date stated on the marriage certificate, shall no longer be considered in a civil union, but rather shall be in a legal marriage.