Legislation

Governor Quinn signed the QTIP trust legislation into law yesterday to take effect immediately. It may be found at the General Assembly website under Senate Bill 2115 or Public Act 96-789. by clicking here. Public Act 96-789 creates QTIP trust legislation for an Illinois surviving spouse if the other spouse dies in 2009. It addresses the issues caused by the decoupling of federal and Illinois exemptions for estate taxes for 2009.

Generally, immediate effective dates are a nightmare for those who must enforce, administer, or implement a new law. Three recent public acts with immediate effective dates amend the Residential Real Property Disclosure Act, the Health Care Surrogate Act, and the Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity Form. This is a short summary of all three. Residential Real Property Disclosure Act. Public Act 96-232 (Smith, D-Canton; Sullivan, D-Rushville) requires the seller to disclose whether the property has been used for the manufacture of methamphetamine. Effective Aug. 11, 2009. Health Care Surrogate Act. Public Act 96-492 (Wilhelmi, D-Joliet; Ryg, D-Vernon Hills) does two things. (1) Requires that a health-care facility permanently maintain any advance directive of a patient or authorized person. (2) Authorizes a surrogate to make decisions for the patient until removed by the patient who regains decisional capacity, a guardian of the person is appointed, or the patient dies. Effective Aug. 14, 2009. Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity Form. Public Act 96-333 (Martinez, D-Chicago; Mell, D-Chicago) does three things. (1) The voluntary acknowledgment of paternity form prepared by Health and Family Services must be the same form in child-support collection or under the Vital Records Act. This form must inform the mother and putative father that they have the right to request DNA tests for paternity, and if they sign this form that they waive this right. This part of the form must be in boldface capitals and letters not less than 0.25 inches tall.

Public Act 96-583 was signed into law on Tuesday, August 18. It does four things affecting the award of attorney's fees in family law cases: (1) limits the presumption in favor of summary hearings to prejudgment cases, (2) tolls the deadline for filing a final petition for fees in some instances and permits a stipulated deferral of one year for such a filing, (3) eliminates the requirement that the attorney must file billing statements in court if he or she is seeking a consent judgment, (4) and expands the applicability for fee awards for hearings that are prompted by improper purposes. Effective January 1, 2010.

I had the wrong effective date for a new public act in today's E-Clips. PA 96-111 takes effect on Oct. 29, 2009. I had it down incorrectly as April 1, 2010. It does the following: Mortgage foreclosure. (1) Requires new owners of mortgaged real estate—a holder or purchaser, receiver, or mortgagee-in-possession—to give notice to known occupants of “dwelling units” of changes in ownership after a judicial sale. For mortgagees-in-possession it allows the occupant to retain possession of the rented property for whichever is shorter: (a) 120 days after the notice of the hearing on a properly served supplemental petition; or (b) the duration of the lease. If the duration of the lease is less than 30 days from the date of the order, the order must allow the occupant to stay for 30 days from the date of the order. (2) Requires a receiver to accept all rental payments from an occupant and any payments from a third party or any rental-assistance program. (3) Prohibits a receiver from increasing the rent without leave of court. The court must find by a preponderance of the evidence that the increase is necessary to operate and conserve the real estate. No hearing or notice is necessary for approval for an increase in a specific unit if the occupant agrees to the increase. Makes other changes.