Real Estate Law

(Nekritz, D-Buffalo Grove) creates the Condominium and Common-Interest Community Ombudsperson Act. It creates a state office entitled the Office of the Condominium and Common-Interest Community Ombudsperson within the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. After July 1, 2017, the ombudsperson shall offer training, educational materials, and courses to unit owners, associations, board of managers, and boards of directors in subjects relevant to the operation and management of condominiums and common interest communities and the respective Acts under each. It requires each association to adopt a written policy for resolving complaints made by unit owners. Unit owners may make a written request under this Act to the ombudsperson for assistance in resolving a dispute between a unit owner and an association that involves a violation of either the Condominium Property Act or the Common-Interest Community Property Act. The assistance of the section is available only to unit owners. The department must promulgate a rule assessing nonrefundable fees for the administration and enforcement of this act. House Bill 4204 passed the House on a 60-38 vote and is now in the Senate.

(Harmon, D-Oak Park) creates a new section in the Probate Act entitled “presumptively void transfers.” It applies to caregivers who, either as a result of family relationship, voluntarily, or in exchange for compensation, have assumed responsibility for all or a portion of the care of another person who needs assistance with activities of daily living. It applies to “transfer instruments” that includes a will, trust, deed, form designated as payable on death, contract, or other beneficiary designation form. It presumes, with some exceptions, that a transfer instrument is presumed to be void if the transferee is a caregiver, or a person related to a caregiver, and the fair market value of the transferred property exceeds $20,000. It has some exceptions, which are as follows: (1) if the transferee establishes by clear and convincing evidence that the transfer was not the product of fraud, duress, or undue influence. But it prohibits the court from making that determination solely upon the testimony of the caregiver. (2) If the transfer instrument was reviewed by an “independent attorney” who signs and delivers a statutory certificate of review. (3) If the transferee’s share under the transfer instrument is less than the share the transferee was entitled to under the transferor’s testamentary plan in effect before the transferee became a caregiver. If the caregiver attempts and fails to overcome the presumption under this section, the caregiver must bear the cost of the proceedings, including, without limitation, reasonable attorney’s fees. Assigned to Senate Judiciary Committee.

(Althoff, D-Crystal Lake) amends the Property Tax Code to allow the following persons to represent tax payers before boards of review in counties less than three million: (i) the person has been granted power of attorney by the taxpayer for the specific purpose of an appeal before the board of review; and (ii) meets at least one of the following qualifications: (1) the person is an attorney licensed to practice law in the State of Illinois; (2) the person is a Certified Public Accountant; (3) the person is a licensed Illinois real estate agent; (4) the person possesses a Certified Illinois Assessing Officer certificate from the Illinois Property Assessment Institute; (5) the person possesses a Certified Assessment Evaluator designation from the International Association of Assessing Officers; or (6) the person has obtained Certification as a Member of the Appraisal Institute, Senior Real Estate Analyst, or Senior Real Property Appraiser from the Appraisal Institute or its predecessor organization. Scheduled for a hearing today in Senate Judiciary Committee.