Elder Law

House Bill 4301 (Sosnowski, R-Rockford) provides that if a respondent in an adult guardianship action is residing in a nursing home, assisted living facility, veterans hospital, or any other residence where he or she is receiving care, and the respondent possesses real property located in another county that served as the residence of the respondent, the petitioner must give notice in the county in which the real property of the respondent is located. Requires notice of the hearing to be for no less than 14 days in a newspaper of general circulation in that county. Scheduled for hearing next Wednesday in House Judiciary Committee. 

(Andersson, R-Geneva; Schimpf, R-Murphysboro) amends statutory awards from a decedent's estate to an "adult dependent child."

(1) It creates a separate statutory award for adult dependent child for at least $5,000, but it gives the court discretion to award whatever sum it deems reasonable or agreed upon by the surviving spouse and representative of the decedent's estate or affiant under a small-estate affidavit.

(2) It links the statute to the adult child's financial dependency on the decedent family member.

(3) It creates a process to make the statute work more effectively by requiring the adult child, adult child's agent or guardian, or other adult on behalf of the adult child to provide written notice to the representative or affiant asserting the adult dependent child's financial dependency on the decedent after receipt of a probate notice advising them of this potential award.

Effective June 1, 2018.

(Davis, D-East Hazel Crest; Harmon, D-Oak Park) requires guardians of the person appointed in counties of less than three million to complete a training program within one year from the date of appointment. Public guardians, licensed attorneys, and corporate fiduciaries are exempted from this requirement. A court may exempt, for good cause shown, any other person so appointed. The Act also allows the governor to designate, without consent of the Senate, the Office of State Guardian to be an interim public guardian to fill a vacancy in counties having a population of 500,000 or less for one year or until a gubernatorial appointee is approved by the Senate, whichever is less.

Effective September 8, 2018. 

(Martwick, D-Chicago; Collins, D-Chicago) expands last year's original Unclaimed Life Insurance Benefit Act that required insurance companies to perform a check of policies in force (not lapsed) as of January 1, 2017 against the Social Security Death Master File. Insurance companies must now check all policies that are currently in force or were in force as of January 1, 2000, unless the company shows proof that they did not keep electronic records, in which case they must check all current policies and all policies in effect as of January 1, 2012. 

Governor issued an amendatory veto of this bill, and the General Assembly may override it or accept in the fall veto session. 

(Barickman, R-Bloomington; Andersson, R-Geneva) ensures that the appeals by citizens in administrative review actions are not thrown out of court for a scrivener's error that is called a "misnomer."

(1) It requires that final administrative orders list all of the parties of record together with their last known address of record. The final order must also include whether there are any agency rules requiring a motion for reconsideration as a part of obtaining a reviewable final administrative decision and, if so, the citation to the rule.

(2) It prohibits an action for administrative review to be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction based on the misnomer of any agency that is properly served with summons issued in the action within the applicable time limits. It also prohibits dismissal for failure to perfectly name an agent if a timely action of administrative review has been filed that identifies the final administrative decision under review and makes a good faith effort to properly name the administrative agency.

(3) It allows a court to correct misnomers for an erroneous identification of the administrative agency that was made in good faith.

Effective August 18, 2017.

(Hutchinson, D-Chicago Heights; Will Davis, D-East Hazel Crest) is the revenue bill just enacted into law. The Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act beginning on page 6 is part of this Act. This part of the Act is effective January 1, 2018. 

(Will Davis, D-East Hazel Crest; Harmon, D-Oak Park) requires guardians of the person appointed in counties of less than three million to complete a training program that outlines the responsibilities of the guardian and rights of the ward within one year from the date of appointment. The Office of State Guardian is tasked with providing such a program at no cost, but the chief judge of any circuit may order another program containing substantially similar content. Public guardians, licensed attorneys, and corporate fiduciaries are exempted from this requirement. A court may exempt, for good cause shown, a person so appointed. House Bill 2665 also allows the Governor to designate, without consent of the Senate, the OSG to be an interim public guardian to fill a vacancy in or or more counties having a population of 500,000 for an the lesser of one year or until a gubernatorial appointee is approved by the Senate.

House Bill 2665 passed out of the Senate 33-21-0 and is on the House calendar for concurrence possibly this summer. It would have a January 1, 2019 effective date.

(Martwick, D-Chicago; Collins, D-Chicago) expands last year's original Unclaimed Life Insurance Benefit Act that required insurance companies to perform a check of policies in force (not lapsed) as of January 1, 2017 against the Social Security Death Master File. Insurance companies must now check all policies that are currently in force or were in force as of January 1, 2000, unless the company shows proof that they did not keep electronic records, in which case they must check all current policies and all policies in effect as of January 1, 2012.

Passed both chambers; effective January 1, 2018 if the Governor signs it.