Illinois General Assembly

  Bills & Resolutions  
  Compiled Statutes  
  Public Acts  
  Legislative Reports  
  IL Constitution  
  Legislative Guide  
  Legislative Glossary  

 Search By Number
 (example: HB0001)
Search Tips

Search By Keyword

Illinois Compiled Statutes

Information maintained by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Updating the database of the Illinois Compiled Statutes (ILCS) is an ongoing process. Recent laws may not yet be included in the ILCS database, but they are found on this site as Public Acts soon after they become law. For information concerning the relationship between statutes and Public Acts, refer to the Guide.

Because the statute database is maintained primarily for legislative drafting purposes, statutory changes are sometimes included in the statute database before they take effect. If the source note at the end of a Section of the statutes includes a Public Act that has not yet taken effect, the version of the law that is currently in effect may have already been removed from the database and you should refer to that Public Act to see the changes made to the current law.

ESTATES
(755 ILCS 45/) Illinois Power of Attorney Act.

755 ILCS 45/2-10.5

    (755 ILCS 45/2-10.5)
    Sec. 2-10.5. Co-agents.
    (a) Co-agents may not be named by a principal in a statutory short form power of attorney for property under Article III or a statutory short form power of attorney for health care under Article IV. In the event that co-agents are named in any other form of power of attorney, then the provisions of this Section shall govern the use and acceptance of co-agency designations.
    (b) Unless the power of attorney or this Section otherwise provides, authority granted to 2 or more co-agents is exercisable only by their majority consent. However, if prompt action is required to accomplish the purposes of the power of attorney or to avoid irreparable injury to the principal's interests and an agent is unavailable because of absence, illness, or other temporary incapacity, the other agent or agents may act for the principal. If a vacancy occurs in one or more of the designations of agent under a power of attorney, the remaining agent or agents may act for the principal.
    (c) An agent is not liable for the actions of another agent, including a co-agent or predecessor agent, unless the agent participates in or conceals a breach of fiduciary duty committed by the other agent. An agent who has knowledge of a breach or imminent breach of fiduciary duty by another agent must notify the principal and, if the principal is incapacitated, take whatever actions may be reasonably appropriate in the circumstances to safeguard the principal's best interest.
    (d) Any person who acts in good faith reliance on the representation of a co-agent regarding the unavailability of a predecessor agent or one or more co-agents, or the need for prompt action to accomplish the purposes of the power of attorney or to avoid irreparable injury to the principal's interests, will be fully protected and released to the same extent as though the reliant had dealt directly with all named agents. Upon request, the co-agent shall furnish an affidavit or Co-Agent's Certification and Acceptance of Authority to the reliant, but good faith reliance on a document purporting to establish an agency will protect the reliant without the affidavit or Co-Agent's Certification and Acceptance of Authority. A Co-Agent's Certification and Acceptance of Authority shall be in substantially the following form:
 
CO-AGENT'S
CERTIFICATION AND ACCEPTANCE OF AUTHORITY

    I certify that the attached is a true copy of a power of attorney naming the undersigned as agent or co-agent for .......... (insert name of principal).
    I certify that to the best of my knowledge the principal had the capacity to execute the power of attorney, is alive, and has not revoked the power of attorney; that my powers as agent have not been altered or terminated; and that the power of attorney remains in full force and effect.
    I certify that to the best of my knowledge .......... (insert name of unavailable agent) is unavailable due to ................. (specify death, resignation, absence, illness, or other temporary incapacity).
    I certify that prompt action is required to accomplish the purposes of the power of attorney or to avoid irreparable injury to the principal's interests.
    I accept appointment as agent under this power of attorney.
    This certification and acceptance is made under penalty of perjury.*
    Dated: ............
.......................
(Agent's Signature)
.......................
(Print Agent's Name)
.......................
(Agent's Address)
    *(NOTE: Perjury is defined in Section 32-2 of the Criminal Code of 2012, and is a Class 3 felony.)
(Source: P.A. 96-1195, eff. 7-1-11; 97-1150, eff. 1-25-13.)

755 ILCS 45/2-10.6

    (755 ILCS 45/2-10.6)
    Sec. 2-10.6. Power of attorney executed in another state or country; pre-existing powers of attorney.
    (a) A power of attorney executed in another state or country is valid and enforceable in this State if its creation complied when executed with:
        (1) the law of the state or country in which the
    
power of attorney was executed;
        (2) the law of this State;
        (3) the law of the state or country where the
    
principal is domiciled, has a place of abode or business, or is a national; or
        (4) the law of the state or country where the agent
    
is domiciled or has a place of business.
    (b) A power of attorney executed in this State before the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly is valid and enforceable in this State if its creation complied with the law of this State as it existed at the time of execution.
(Source: P.A. 96-1195, eff. 7-1-11.)

755 ILCS 45/2-11

    (755 ILCS 45/2-11) (from Ch. 110 1/2, par. 802-11)
    Sec. 2-11. Saving clause. This Act does not in any way invalidate any agency executed or any act of any agent done, or affect any claim, right or remedy that accrued, prior to September 22, 1987.
    This amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly does not in any way invalidate any agency executed or any act of any agent done, or affect any claim, right, or remedy that accrued prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly.
(Source: P.A. 96-1195, eff. 7-1-11.)

755 ILCS 45/Art. III

 
    (755 ILCS 45/Art. III heading)
ARTICLE III. STATUTORY
SHORT FORM POWER OF ATTORNEY
FOR PROPERTY.

755 ILCS 45/3-1

    (755 ILCS 45/3-1) (from Ch. 110 1/2, par. 803-1)
    Sec. 3-1. Purpose. The General Assembly finds that the public interest requires a standardized form of power of attorney that individuals may use to authorize an agent to act for them in dealing with their property and financial affairs.
    A short statutory form offering a set of optional powers is necessary so that the individual may design the power of attorney best suited to his or her needs in a simple fashion and be assured that the agent's authority will be honored by third parties with whom the agent deals, regardless of the physical or mental condition of the principal at the time the power is exercised.
    The General Assembly intends that when a power in substantially the form set forth in this Act is used, third parties who rely in good faith on the acts of the agent within the scope of the power may do so without fear of liability to the principal. However, this form is not meant to be exclusive and other forms of power of attorney may be used.
(Source: P.A. 85-701.)