Di Bella v. Cuccio

In 1957 the General Assembly repealed the Bastardy Act of 1872, and in its place enacted the Paternity Act to govern the rights and liabilities of the parents of children born out of wedlock. Under the former act the maximum liability of the father of such child was $1,100, payable over a ten-year period. (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1955, chap. 17, par. 8.) Under the new act the father is liable for the support, maintenance and welfare of the child until the child reaches 18 years of age, or is adopted. He is liable also- for the reasonable expenses of the mother during the period of her “pregnancy,…