(755 ILCS 5/20-2) (from Ch. 110 1/2, par. 20-2)
Sec. 20-2.
Leasing real estate.
(a) A representative may lease the real estate of a decedent or ward upon
such terms and for such length of time not inconsistent with the provisions of
the decedent's will, if any, as the court may authorize. Real estate
specifically bequeathed may not be leased without the written assent of the
legatee filed with the court.
(b) Before leasing real estate, a representative must file in the court
which issued his letters a petition setting forth a description of the real
estate sought to be leased, its improvements, and the facts and circumstances
upon which the petition is founded. A copy of the proposed lease must be
attached to the petition. Upon the filing of the petition the court shall set
it for hearing not less than 10 days thereafter. It
is the duty of the petitioner to mail a notice of the hearing and a copy of the
petition to the heirs or legatees of the decedent or to the ward, as the case
may be, not less than 5 days prior to the hearing, but where the duration of a
lease of a ward's real estate does not exceed 5 years or extend beyond the
minority of the ward, the court in its discretion may hear the petition without
notice.
(c) A representative who has a lease of farm property owned by a decedent
or ward in existence on or before the date he or she assumed the duty
of representative may continue according to the terms of the lease until
(1) the estate of the decedent is closed, (2) the wardship is terminated, or
(3) a court order is entered finding that the terms of the lease are unfair or
that service as a representative, under the facts before the court, is
incompatible with the representative's operation of the decedent's or ward's
farm property. The fact that the representative receives profits from the
lease is not a violation of the representative's fiduciary duty imposed by this
Act.
(Source: P.A. 89-540, eff. 1-1-97.)
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