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92_SB1949eng
SB1949 Engrossed LRB9216014WHpc
1 AN ACT concerning guardianship.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The Probate Act of 1975 is amended by
5 changing Section 13-5 as follows:
6 (755 ILCS 5/13-5) (from Ch. 110 1/2, par. 13-5)
7 Sec. 13-5. Powers and duties of public guardian.) The
8 court may appoint the public guardian as the guardian of any
9 disabled adult who is in need of a public guardian and whose
10 estate exceeds $25,000. When a disabled adult who has a
11 smaller estate is in need of guardianship services, the court
12 shall appoint the State guardian pursuant to Section 30 of
13 the Guardianship and Advocacy Act. If the public guardian is
14 appointed guardian of a disabled adult and the estate of the
15 disabled adult is thereafter reduced to less than $25,000,
16 the court may, upon the petition of the public guardian and
17 the approval by the court of a final accounting of the
18 disabled adult's estate, discharge the public guardian and
19 transfer the guardianship to the State guardian. The public
20 guardian shall serve not less than 14 days' notice to the
21 State guardian of the hearing date regarding the transfer.
22 When appointed by the court, the public guardian has the same
23 powers and duties as other guardians appointed under this
24 Act, with the following additions and modifications:
25 (a) The public guardian shall monitor the ward and his
26 care and progress on a continuous basis. Monitoring shall at
27 minimum consist of monthly contact with the ward, and the
28 receipt of periodic reports from all individuals and
29 agencies, public or private, providing care or related
30 services to the ward.
31 (b) Placement of a ward outside of the ward's home may
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1 be made only after the public guardian or his representative
2 has visited the facility in which placement is proposed.
3 (c) The public guardian shall prepare an inventory of
4 the ward's belongings and assets and shall maintain insurance
5 on all of the ward's real and personal property. No personal
6 property shall be removed from the ward's possession except
7 for storage pending final placement or for liquidation in
8 accordance with this Act.
9 (d) The public guardian shall make no substantial
10 distribution of the ward's estate without a court order.
11 (e) The public guardian may liquidate assets of the ward
12 to pay for the costs of the ward's care and for storage of
13 the ward's personal property only after notice of such
14 pending action is given to all potential heirs at law, unless
15 notice is waived by the court; provided, however, that a
16 person who has been so notified may elect to pay for care or
17 storage or to pay fair market value of the asset or assets
18 sought to be sold in lieu of liquidation.
19 (f) Real property of the ward may be sold at fair market
20 value after an appraisal of the property has been made by a
21 licensed appraiser; provided, however, that the ward's
22 residence may be sold only if the court finds that the ward
23 is not likely to be able to return home at a future date.
24 (g) The public guardian shall, at such intervals as the
25 court may direct, submit to the court an affidavit setting
26 forth in detail the services he has provided for the benefit
27 of the ward. The court shall set reasonable and appropriate
28 fees for such services. The public guardian may petition the
29 court for the payment of reasonable and appropriate fees on
30 not less than a quarterly basis, or sooner as approved by the
31 court.
32 (h) Upon the death of the ward, the public guardian
33 shall turn over to the court-appointed administrator all of
34 the ward's assets and an account of his receipt and
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1 administration of the ward's property. A guardian ad litem
2 shall be appointed for an accounting when the estate exceeds
3 the amount set in Section 25-1 of this Act for administration
4 of small estates.
5 (i) (1) On petition of any person who appears to have an
6 interest in the estate, the court by temporary order may
7 restrain the public guardian from performing specified
8 acts of administration, disbursement or distribution, or
9 from exercise of any powers or discharge of any duties of
10 his office, or make any other order to secure proper
11 performance of his duty, if it appears to the court that
12 the public guardian might otherwise take some action
13 contrary to the best interests of the ward. Persons with
14 whom the public guardian may transact business may be
15 made parties.
16 (2) The matter shall be set for hearing within 10
17 days unless the parties otherwise agree or unless for
18 good cause shown the court determines that additional
19 time is required. Notice as the court directs shall be
20 given to the public guardian and his attorney of record,
21 if any, and to any other parties named defendant in the
22 petition.
23 (j) On petition of the public guardian, the court in its
24 discretion may for good cause shown transfer guardianship to
25 the State guardian.
26 (k) No later than January 31 of each year, the public
27 guardian shall file an annual report with the clerk of the
28 Circuit Court, indicating, with respect to the period covered
29 by the report, the number of cases which he has handled, the
30 date on which each case was assigned, the date of termination
31 of each case which has been closed during the period, the
32 disposition of each terminated case, and the total amount of
33 fees collected during the period from each ward.
34 (l) When the public guardian is appointed temporary
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1 guardian of a disabled adult pursuant to an emergency
2 petition under circumstances where the court finds that the
3 immediate establishment of a temporary guardianship is
4 necessary to protect the disabled adult's health, welfare, or
5 estate, the public guardian shall be entitled to reasonable
6 and appropriate fees, as determined by the court, for the
7 period of the temporary guardianship, including fees directly
8 associated with establishing the temporary guardianship.
9 (Source: P.A. 87-287.)
10 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
11 becoming law.
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