State of Illinois
91st General Assembly
Public Acts

[ Home ]  [ ILCS ] [ Search ] [ Bottom ]
 [ Other General Assemblies ]

Public Act 91-0149

SB465 Enrolled                                LRB9100413WHprA

    AN ACT to amend the  Probate  Act  of  1975  by  changing
Section 11-13.

    Be  it  enacted  by  the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:

    Section 5.   The  Probate  Act  of  1975  is  amended  by
changing Section 11-13 as follows:

    (755 ILCS 5/11-13) (from Ch. 110 1/2, par. 11-13)
    Sec.  11-13.   Duties  of  guardian of a minor.  Before a
guardian of a minor may act, the guardian shall be  appointed
by  the  court  of  the  proper  county and, in the case of a
guardian of the minor's estate, the guardian shall  give  the
bond  prescribed  in  Section  12-2.   Except  as provided in
Section 11-13.1 and  Section  11-13.2  with  respect  to  the
standby  or short-term guardian of the person of a minor, the
court shall have control over the person and  estate  of  the
ward.  Under the direction of the court:
    (a)  The  guardian  of the person shall have the custody,
nurture and tuition and shall provide education of  the  ward
and  of  his  children,  but  the  ward's  spouse  may not be
deprived  of  the  custody  and  education  of  the  spouse's
children, without consent of the  spouse,  unless  the  court
finds  that  the  spouse is not a fit and competent person to
have such custody and education.  If  the  ward's  estate  is
insufficient  to  provide  for  the  ward's education and the
guardian of his person fails to provide education, the  court
may  award  the  custody of the ward to some other person for
the purpose of providing education.   If  a  person  makes  a
settlement  upon or provision for the support or education of
a ward and if either parent of the ward is  dead,  the  court
may  make  such  order  for the visitation of the ward by the
person making the settlement or provision as the court  deems
proper.
    (b)  The  guardian  or other representative of the ward's
estate shall have the care, management and investment of  the
estate,  shall manage the estate frugally and shall apply the
income and principal of the estate so far  as  necessary  for
the  comfort  and suitable support and education of the ward,
his children, and persons related by blood  or  marriage  who
are  dependent  upon  or entitled to support from him, or for
any other purpose which the court deems to be  for  the  best
interests  of  the ward, and the court may approve the making
on behalf of  the  ward  of  such  agreements  as  the  court
determines   to  be  for  the  ward's  best  interests.   The
representative may make disbursement of his ward's funds  and
estate  directly  to the ward or other distributee or in such
other manner and in such amounts as the  court  directs.   If
the  estate  of  a  ward  is derived in whole or in part from
payments of  compensation,  adjusted  compensation,  pension,
insurance  or  other  similar  benefits  made directly to the
estate  by  the  Veterans  Administration,  notice   of   the
application for leave to invest or expend the ward's funds or
estate,  together  with  a  copy of the petition and proposed
order,  shall  be  given  to  the  Veterans'   Administration
Regional  Office  in  this  State  at least 7 days before the
hearing on the application.  The court, upon  petition  of  a
guardian of the estate of a minor, may permit the guardian to
make  a  will  or create a revocable or irrevocable trust for
the minor that the court considers appropriate  in  light  of
changes in applicable tax laws that allow for minimization of
State  or  federal  income,  estate,  or  inheritance  taxes;
however,  the  will  or trust must make distributions only to
the persons who would be entitled to   distributions  if  the
minor  were to die intestate and the will or trust must  make
distributions to those persons in the same amounts  to  which
they  would be entitled if the minor were to die intestate.
    (c)  Upon  the  direction  of  the court which issued his
letters a representative may perform  the  contracts  of  his
ward  which  were  legally  subsisting  at  the  time  of the
commencement of the guardianship.  The  court  may  authorize
the guardian to execute and deliver any bill of sale, deed or
other instrument.
    (d)  The  representative  of  the  estate of a ward shall
appear for and represent the ward in  all  legal  proceedings
unless  another  person  is  appointed  for  that  purpose as
representative or next friend.   This  does  not  impair  the
power of any court to appoint a representative or next friend
to  defend  the  interests  of  the ward in that court, or to
appoint or allow any person as the next friend of a  ward  to
commence,  prosecute  or defend any proceeding in his behalf.
Any proceeding on behalf of a  minor  may  be  commenced  and
prosecuted by his next friend, without any previous authority
or  appointment  by  the court if the next friend enters bond
for costs and files it in the court where the  proceeding  is
pending.  Without  impairing  the  power  of the court in any
respect, if the representative of the estate of a  minor  and
another  person as next friend shall appear for and represent
the minor in a legal proceeding in which the compensation  of
the  attorney or attorneys representing the guardian and next
friend  is  solely  determined   under   a   contingent   fee
arrangement,  the  guardian  of the estate of the minor shall
not participate in or have any duty to review the prosecution
of  the   action,   to   participate   in   or   review   the
appropriateness  of  any  settlement  of  the  action,  or to
participate  in  or   review   any   determination   of   the
appropriateness  of  any  fees  awarded  to  the  attorney or
attorneys employed in the prosecution of the action.
    (e)  Upon petition by any  interested  person  (including
the  standby  or  short-term  guardian),  with such notice to
interested persons as the court directs and a finding by  the
court that it is in the best interest of the minor, the court
may  terminate  or  limit  the  authority  of  a  standby  or
short-term  guardian  or  may  enter such other orders as the
court deems necessary to provide for the best interest of the
minor.  The petition for termination  or  limitation  of  the
authority  of  a standby or short-term guardian may, but need
not, be combined with a petition to have a guardian appointed
for the minor.
(Source: P.A. 90-345, eff. 8-8-97.)

[ Top ]