Elder Law

(Davis, D-East Hazel Crest) amends the Probate Act of 1975 to provide that a person may not act as the guardian of an adult with a disability until he or she has completed a training program developed by the State Guardian or by another suitable provider approved by the court. Exempts public guardians, state guardians, attorneys currently authorized to practice law, and persons who are certified as National Certified Guardians by the Center for Guardianship Certification. Provides that the Governor may designate, without the advice and consent of the Senate, the Office of State Guardian as an interim public guardian to fill a vacancy in one or more counties. Makes other changes. It has just been introduced.

(Mitchell, R-Decatur) requires that a specified notice to creditors be delivered to the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, at the Bureau of Collections at the Chicago office of the Department, if the decedent was 55 years of age or older or resided in a nursing facility or other medical institution. Requires that a copy of the petition to admit the will to probate or for letters of administration and the decedent's social security number and date of birth be attached to the notice delivered to the Department. It was just introduced.  

(Oberweis, R-Sugar Grove) provides that the notice to parties in a contested case under the Act shall be served, among other forms of service, by electronic mail. Provides that parties in a contested case under the Act shall be notified, among other forms of notification, by electronic mail of any decision or order in that case. 

Provides that an agency may require all attorneys to designate an electronic mail address to which all documents required under certain specified sections may be transmitted. Provides that if an attorney is required to designate an electronic mail address, he or she must designate one primary electronic mail address, and may designate no more than two secondary electronic mail addresses. 

Provides that an agency may request, but not require, an unrepresented party to designate an electronic mail address to which all documents required under certain specified sections may be transmitted. 

Allows an agency to, by rule, make electronic mail the default option for service of documents. Provides that service by electronic mail is complete on the first business day following transmission. It has just been introduced. 

(Martwick, D-Chicago) provides that one of the persons who performed the evaluations upon which the report relating to the adjudication of disability is based shall be a licensed physician unless the evaluation and report are completed by a licensed clinical psychologist and the evaluation is limited to the respondent’s mental condition. It just has been introduced. 

(Barickman, R-Bloomington) provides a means for correcting inadvertent failures to correctly name necessary parties in actions for administrative review, which are called misnomers.

(1) It amends the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) to mandate 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 rules citation. 

(2) It amends the ARL to prohibit 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 amends the ARL to allow a court to correct misnomers for an erroneous identification of the administrative agency.

Senate Bill 584 passed out of Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday but will receive some tweaking amendments. 

(Barickman, R-Bloomington) provides a means for correcting inadvertent failures to name necessary parties in actions for administrative review.

(1) It amends the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) to mandate 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 rules citation. 

(2) It also amends the APA to allow service by electronic mail if agreed to by the parties in contested cases.  

(3) It amends the Administrative Review Law (ARL) in the Code of Civil Procedure to state that this Article is to be liberally construed in the interests of justice to grant an orderly method of judicial review of administrative agency decisions.

(4) It amends the ARL to prohibit 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.

(5) It amends the ARL to allow a court to correct misnomers for an erroneous identification of the administrative agency.

Senate Bill 584 was just introduced.

(Hutchinson, D-Chicago Heights) creates the Business Opportunity Tax that imposes a tax on all entities that issue a Form W-2 or a Form 1099 to a resident of Illinois. It imposes a sliding scale of taxation based on the employer’s total Illinois payroll as follows. (1) if the taxpayer’s total Illinois payroll for the taxable year is less than $100,000, then the annual tax is $225; (2) if the taxpayer’s total Illinois payroll for the taxable year is $100,000 or more but less than $250,000, then the annual tax is $750; (3) if the taxpayer’s total Illinois payroll for the taxable year is $250,000 or more but less than $500,000, then the annual tax is $3,750; (4) if the taxpayer’s total Illinois payroll for the taxable year is $500,000 or more but less than $1,500,000, then the annual tax is $7,500; and (5) if the taxpayer’s total Illinois payroll for the taxable year is $1,500,000 or more, then the annual tax is $15,000.

The following are exempt from taxation under this Act: (1) governmental employers described in Section 707 of the Illinois Income Tax Act; and (2) not-for-profit corporations that are exempt from taxation under Sections 501(c) or 501(d) of the Internal Revenue Code or organized under the General Not For Profit Corporation Act of 1986. Senate Amendment No. 2 becomes the bill and was just filed. It is part of the “grand bargain” being attempted by Senate leaders.

(Fine, D-Glenview; Silverstein, D-Chicago) amends the personal guardian statute in the Probate Code. If there is no court order to the contrary, requires the guardian to use reasonable efforts to notify the ward’s known adult children, who have requested notification and provided contact information, of the ward’s admission to a hospital or hospice program, the arrangements for the disposition of the ward’s remains, or the ward’s death.

If a guardian unreasonably prevents an adult child of the ward from visiting the ward, the court, upon a verified petition by an adult child, may order the guardian to permit visitation between the ward and the adult child if the court finds that the visitation is in the ward’s best interests. In making its determination, the court shall consider the standards set forth in current law. subsection (e) of this Section. This new subsection (g) does not apply to duly appointed Public Guardians and the Office of State Guardian. 

Effective January 1, 2017.

Public Act 99-775 (Welch, D-Westchester; Connelly, R-Lisle) provides procedures and requirements for the access and control by guardians, executors, agents, and other fiduciaries of the digital assets of persons who are deceased, under a legal disability, or subject to the terms of a trust.

Effective August 12, 2016.

(Silverstein, D-Chicago; Lang, D-Chicago) seeks to reverse the holding of the Mendelson case (2016 IL App (2d) 150084). It provides that the transfer of real property to a trust requires a transfer of legal title to the trustee evidenced by a written instrument of conveyance and acceptance by the trustee. Provides that for any interest in real property to become trust property in a trust of which any transferor is a trustee, the instrument of conveyance shall additionally be recorded in the appropriate real property records.  

Effective January 1, 2017.