Subject Index Guardians

The Guardianship and Advocacy Commission (GAC) adopted amendments to the Part titled Human Rights Authority, updating various procedures of GAC’s regional human rights authorities. The amendments add the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Administrative Act, the Specialized Living Centers Act, the Juvenile Court Act of 1987, the Unified Code of Corrections, the Mental Treatment for Incarcerated Persons Act, and the Youth Mental Health Protection Act to the statutes for violations of which may be investigated by regional authorities.

The Illinois General Assembly amended the Guardianship and Advocacy Act. The state’s guardianship training program, which covers the duties and responsibilities of guardians appointed under the Probate Act, must now include content regarding Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

This Act creates the Supported Decision-Making Agreement Act, which enables supported decision-making agreements for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

On July 14, 2020, the Second District of the Illinois Appellate Court held that petitioners for guardianship cannot recover attorney fees from a transfer-on-death (TOD) account.

The Supreme Court of Illinois, in a case of first impression, held that an attorney who acts within the scope of his appointment as guardian ad litem is protected from civil liability by quasi-judicial immunity.

Amendments to the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Account Program (74 Ill. Adm. Code 722 (effective May 23, 2018)) clarify that the parents of an adult with a disability can manage ABLE accounts on behalf of their child without appointment by a court.

The adopted amendment changes eligibility requirements for the state-funded option of subsidized guardianship.

Amendments adopted to the issuance of licenses (41 Ill. Reg. 8268 (eff. Oct. 30, 2017)), by the Secretary of State ("SOS"), have established new procedures that allow the SOS to issue identification cards to youths under guardianship or custody of the Department of Children and Family Services (e.g., foster children) ("DCFS"), as well as granting the SOS the ability to issue licenses to persons recently released from the Department of Corrections or the Department of Juvenile Justice.

Absent a written court order explicitly directing a plenary guardian to exercise powers of principal under agency pursuant to the Illinois Power of Attorney Act ("POA Act"), the appointment of a plenary guardian does not automatically revoke an existing POA for health care.

A father who was ordered to pay $350 per week to the mother and official guardian of his adult disabled daughter, successfully appealed the trial court's order for its reliance on the Probate Act of 1975 (755 ILCS 5.1-1 et seq.) rather than the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (750 ILCS 5/513.5).

Section 11a-17 of the Probate Act was amended to add a new subsection expanding a guardian's duties to include making reasonable efforts to communicate with a ward's adult children regarding the ward's status.

Under the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act, if the guardian of a ward's estate or person petitions a court on behalf of the ward, the court may permit the guardian to file for dissolution of marriage, legal separation, or declaration of invalidity for the dissolution of a marriage.

The Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act has been amended to allow an individual to request a "security freeze" on the credit report of a minor or a disabled person if they meet certain qualifications, and provide proper identification and authority for the request.

Guardianship cases that require the appointment of a guardian ad litem generally require that the petitioner pay for any guardian ad litem fees when the respondent is unable to pay. 755 ILCS 5/11a-10.

The Probate Act of 1975 has been amended to provide an exception to a public guardian's duty to maintain insurance on the real and personal property belonging to the guardian's ward. 755 ILCS 5/13-5.

An amendment has been made to the Probate Act to allow for the extension of temporary guardianship for disabled adults (755 ILCS 5/11a-4).

The Probate Act of 1975 has been amended to safeguard parental rights. (755 ILCS 5/11-5)

The Probate Act of 1975 now provides guidelines regarding consent by guardians for the sterilization of a ward. (755 ILCS 5/11a-17.1). 

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services adopted a new section to its rules regulating state payments to guardians who care for children as foster parents.