Illinois General Assembly - Illinois Compiled Statutes

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755 ILCS 5/13-5

(755 ILCS 5/13-5) (from Ch. 110 1/2, par. 13-5)

Sec. 13-5. Powers and duties of public guardian.)

  The court may appoint
the public guardian as the guardian of any adult with a disability who is in need
of a public guardian and whose estate exceeds $25,000.  When an adult with a disability 
who has a smaller estate is in need of guardianship services, the court
shall appoint the State guardian pursuant to Section 30 of the Guardianship
and Advocacy Act.
If the public guardian is appointed guardian of an adult with a disability and the
estate of the adult with a disability is thereafter reduced to less than $25,000, the
court may, upon the petition of the public guardian and the approval by the
court of a final accounting of the estate of the adult with a disability, discharge the
public guardian and transfer the guardianship to the State guardian.  The
public guardian shall serve not less than 14 days' notice to the State guardian
of the hearing date regarding the transfer.
When appointed by the court, the public guardian has the
same powers and duties as other guardians appointed under this Act, with
the following additions and modifications:

(a) The public guardian shall monitor the ward and his care and progress
on a continuous basis.  Monitoring shall at minimum consist of monthly
contact with the ward, and the receipt of periodic reports from all
individuals and agencies, public or private, providing care or related
services to the ward.

(b) Placement of a ward outside of the ward's home may be made only after
the public guardian or his representative has visited the facility in which
placement is proposed.

(c) The public guardian shall prepare an inventory of the ward's belongings
and assets and shall maintain insurance on all of the ward's real and personal
property, unless the court determines, and issues an order finding, that (1) the real or personal property lacks sufficient equity, (2) the estate lacks sufficient funds to pay for insurance, or (3) the property is otherwise uninsurable.  No personal property shall be removed from the ward's possession
except for storage pending final placement or for liquidation in accordance
with this Act.

(d) The public guardian shall make no substantial distribution of the
ward's estate without a court order.

(e) The public guardian may liquidate assets of the ward to pay for the
costs of the ward's care and for storage of the ward's personal property
only after notice of such pending action is given to all potential heirs
at law, unless notice is waived by the court; provided, however, that a
person who has been so notified may elect to pay for care or storage or
to pay fair market value of the asset or assets sought to be sold in lieu
of liquidation.

(f) Real property of the ward may be sold at fair market value after an
appraisal of the property has been made by a licensed appraiser; provided,
however, that the ward's residence may be sold only if the court finds that
the ward is not likely to be able to return home at a future date.

(g) The public guardian shall, at such intervals as the court may direct,
submit to the court an affidavit setting forth in detail the services he
has provided for the benefit of the ward.

(h) Upon the death of the ward, the public guardian shall turn over to
the court-appointed administrator all of the ward's assets and an account
of his receipt and administration of the ward's property.  A guardian ad
litem shall be appointed for an accounting when the estate exceeds the amount
set in Section 25-1 of this Act for administration of small estates.

(i)(1) On petition of any person who appears to have an interest in
the estate, the court by temporary order may restrain the public guardian
from performing specified acts of administration, disbursement or distribution,
or from exercise of any powers or discharge of any duties of his office,
or make any other order to secure proper performance of his duty, if it
appears to the court that the public guardian might otherwise take some
action contrary to the best interests of the ward.  Persons with whom the
public guardian may transact business may be made parties.

(2) The matter shall be set for hearing within 10 days unless the parties
otherwise agree or unless for good cause shown the court determines that
additional time is required.  Notice as the court directs shall be given
to the public guardian and his attorney of record, if any, and to any other
parties named defendant in the petition.

(j) On petition of the public guardian, the court in its discretion may
for good cause shown transfer guardianship to the State guardian.

(k) No later than January 31 of each year, the public guardian shall file
an annual report with the clerk of the Circuit Court, indicating, with respect
to the period covered by the report, the number of cases which he has handled,
the date on which each case was assigned, the date of termination of each
case which has been closed during the period, the disposition of each
terminated case, and the total amount of fees collected during the period
from each ward.

(l) (Blank).

(Source: P.A. 99-143, eff. 7-27-15.)