SB0195 EnrolledLRB103 27018 LNS 53385 b

1    AN ACT concerning civil law.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Probate Act of 1975 is amended by changing
5Section 11-5 as follows:
 
6    (755 ILCS 5/11-5)  (from Ch. 110 1/2, par. 11-5)
7    Sec. 11-5. Appointment of guardian.
8    (a) Upon the filing of a petition for the appointment of a
9guardian or on its own motion, the court may appoint a guardian
10of the estate or of both the person and estate, of a minor, or
11may appoint a guardian of the person only of a minor or minors,
12as the court finds to be in the best interest of the minor or
13minors.
14    (a-1) A parent, adoptive parent or adjudicated parent,
15whose parental rights have not been terminated, may designate
16in any writing, including a will, a person qualified to act
17under Section 11-3 to be appointed as guardian of the person or
18estate, or both, of an unmarried minor or of a child likely to
19be born. A parent, adoptive parent or adjudicated parent,
20whose parental rights have not been terminated, or a guardian
21or a standby guardian of an unmarried minor or of a child
22likely to be born may designate in any writing, including a
23will, a person qualified to act under Section 11-3 to be

 

 

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1appointed as successor guardian of the minor's person or
2estate, or both. The designation must be witnessed by 2 or more
3credible witnesses at least 18 years of age, neither of whom is
4the person designated as the guardian. The designation may be
5proved by any competent evidence. If the designation is
6executed and attested in the same manner as a will, it shall
7have prima facie validity. The designation of a guardian or
8successor guardian does not affect the rights of the other
9parent in the minor.
10    (b) The court lacks jurisdiction to proceed on a petition
11for the appointment of a guardian of a minor if it finds that
12(i) the minor has a living parent, adoptive parent or
13adjudicated parent, whose parental rights have not been
14terminated, whose whereabouts are known, and who is willing
15and able to make and carry out day-to-day child care decisions
16concerning the minor, unless: (1) the parent or parents
17voluntarily relinquished physical custody of the minor; (2)
18after receiving notice of the hearing under Section 11-10.1,
19the parent or parents fail to object to the appointment at the
20hearing on the petition; (3) the parent or parents consent to
21the appointment as evidenced by a written document that has
22been notarized and dated, or by a personal appearance and
23consent in open court; or (4) the parent or parents, due to an
24administrative separation, are unable to give consent to the
25appointment in person or by a notarized, written document as
26evidenced by a sworn affidavit submitted by the petitioner

 

 

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1describing the parent's or parents' inability to receive
2notice or give consent; or (ii) there is a guardian for the
3minor appointed by a court of competent jurisdiction. There
4shall be a rebuttable presumption that a parent of a minor is
5willing and able to make and carry out day-to-day child care
6decisions concerning the minor, but the presumption may be
7rebutted by a preponderance of the evidence. If a short-term
8guardian has been appointed for the minor prior to the filing
9of the petition and the petitioner for guardianship is not the
10short-term guardian, there shall be a rebuttable presumption
11that it is in the best interest of the minor to remain in the
12care of the short-term guardian. The petitioner shall have the
13burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that it is
14not in the child's best interest to remain with the short-term
15guardian.
16    (b-1) If the court finds the appointment of a guardian of
17the minor to be in the best interest of the minor, and if a
18standby guardian has previously been appointed for the minor
19under Section 11-5.3, the court shall appoint the standby
20guardian as the guardian of the person or estate, or both, of
21the minor unless the court finds, upon good cause shown, that
22the appointment would no longer be in the best interest of the
23minor.
24    (b-2) No petition for the appointment of a guardian of a
25minor shall be filed if the primary purpose of the filing is to
26reduce the financial resources available to the minor in order

 

 

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1to cause the minor to qualify for public or private financial
2assistance from an educational institution. The court may deny
3the petition if it finds by a preponderance of the evidence
4that the primary purpose of the filing is to enable the minor
5to declare financial independence so that the minor may obtain
6public or private financial assistance from an educational
7institution or a State or federal student financial aid
8program.
9    (c) If the minor is 14 years of age or more, the minor may
10nominate the guardian of the minor's person and estate,
11subject to approval of the court. If the minor's nominee is not
12approved by the court or if, after notice to the minor, the
13minor fails to nominate a guardian of the minor's person or
14estate, the court may appoint the guardian without nomination.
15    (d) The court shall not appoint as guardian of the person
16of the minor any person whom the court has determined had
17caused or substantially contributed to the minor becoming a
18neglected or abused minor as defined in the Juvenile Court Act
19of 1987, unless 2 years have elapsed since the last proven
20incident of abuse or neglect and the court determines that
21appointment of such person as guardian is in the best
22interests of the minor.
23    (e) Previous statements made by the minor relating to any
24allegations that the minor is an abused or neglected child
25within the meaning of the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting
26Act, or an abused or neglected minor within the meaning of the

 

 

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1Juvenile Court Act of 1987, shall be admissible in evidence in
2a hearing concerning appointment of a guardian of the person
3or estate of the minor. No such statement, however, if
4uncorroborated and not subject to cross-examination, shall be
5sufficient in itself to support a finding of abuse or neglect.
6(Source: P.A. 101-120, eff. 7-23-19.)
 
7    Section 10. The Educational Planning Services Consumer
8Protection Act is amended by changing Sections 10, 15, 20, 25,
930, 40, and 90 as follows:
 
10    (815 ILCS 616/10)
11    Sec. 10. Purpose and construction. The purpose of this Act
12is to protect consumers who enter into agreements with
13educational planning service providers and to regulate
14educational planning service providers. This Act shall be
15construed as a consumer protection law for all purposes. This
16Act shall be liberally construed to effectuate its purpose.
17(Source: P.A. 102-571, eff. 1-1-22.)
 
18    (815 ILCS 616/15)
19    Sec. 15. Definitions. As used in this Act:
20    "Consumer" means any person who purchases or contracts for
21the purchase of educational planning services.
22    "Educational planning services" means college and career
23preparatory planning services, including, but not limited to,

 

 

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1advice regarding and assistance with college and career
2searches; college application preparation or submission;
3financial aid application planning, preparation, or
4submission; and scholarship searches and applications.
5    "Educational planning service provider" means any person
6or entity engaging in or holding itself out as engaging in the
7business of providing educational planning services in
8exchange for any fee or compensation, or any person who
9solicits or acts on behalf of any person or entity engaging in
10or holding itself out as engaging in the business of providing
11educational planning services in exchange for any fee or
12compensation. "Educational planning service provider" does not
13include any of the following:
14        (1) An A not-for-profit or public institution of
15    higher learning, as defined in the Higher Education
16    Student Assistance Act, and the individuals employed by
17    that institution where educational planning services are
18    provided as part of the financial aid or career counseling
19    services offered by the institution.
20        (2) Public entities and their officers while acting in
21    their official capacities.
22        (3) Persons acting on behalf of a consumer under court
23    order or as a legal representative.
24    "Enrollment fee" or "set up fee" means any fee,
25obligation, or compensation paid or to be paid by the consumer
26to an educational planning service provider in consideration

 

 

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1of or in connection with establishing a contract or other
2agreement with a consumer related to the provision of
3educational planning services.
4    "Maintenance fee" means any fee, obligation, or
5compensation paid or to be paid by the consumer on a periodic
6basis to an educational planning service provider in
7consideration for maintaining the relationship and services to
8be provided by the educational planning service provider in
9accordance with a contract with a consumer related to the
10provision of educational planning services.
11(Source: P.A. 102-571, eff. 1-1-22.)
 
12    (815 ILCS 616/20)
13    Sec. 20. Prohibitions and requirements.
14    (a) It shall be unlawful for any person or entity to act as
15an educational planning service provider unless it remains in
16compliance with except as authorized by this Act.
17    (b) An educational planning service provider may not
18provide educational planning services to a consumer for a fee
19without a written contract signed and dated by both the
20consumer and the educational planning service provider. A
21contract between an educational planning service provider and
22a consumer for the provision of educational planning services
23shall disclose clearly and conspicuously all of the following:
24        (1) The name and address of the consumer.
25        (2) The date of execution of the contract.

 

 

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1        (3) The legal name of the educational planning service
2    provider, including any other business names used by the
3    educational planning service provider.
4        (4) The corporate address and regular business
5    address, including a street address, of the educational
6    planning service provider.
7        (5) The telephone number at which the consumer may
8    speak with a representative of the educational planning
9    service provider during normal business hours.
10        (6) A description of the services and an itemized list
11    of all fees to be paid by the consumer for each service and
12    the date, approximate date, or circumstances under which
13    each fee will become due.
14        (7) The contents of the Consumer Notice and Rights
15    Form provided in Section 25 of this Act.
16        (8) A written notice to the consumer that the consumer
17    may cancel the contract at any time until after the
18    educational planning service provider has fully performed
19    each service the educational planning service provider
20    contracted to perform or represented he or she would
21    perform and that the consumer may not be required to pay
22    for services the consumer did not receive and shall be
23    entitled to a full refund of any fees paid for educational
24    planning services not provided.
25        (9) A form the consumer may use to cancel the contract
26    pursuant to this Act. The form shall include the name and

 

 

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1    mailing address of the educational planning service
2    provider and shall disclose clearly and conspicuously how
3    the consumer can cancel the contract, including applicable
4    addresses, telephone numbers, facsimile numbers, and
5    electronic mail addresses the consumer can use to cancel
6    the contract. Notwithstanding any other provision of this
7    paragraph (9) to the contrary, a consumer's lack of strict
8    adherence to an educational planning service provider's
9    cancellation form or processes does not invalidate a
10    consumer's good faith and reasonable method or form of
11    cancellation.
12    (c) If an educational planning service provider
13communicates with a consumer primarily in a language other
14than English, then the educational planning service provider
15shall furnish to the consumer a translation of all the
16disclosures and documents required by this Act, including, but
17not limited to, the contract, in that other language.
18    (d) An educational planning service provider may not
19charge or receive from a consumer any enrollment fee, set up
20fee, up-front fee of any kind, or maintenance fee, and a
21consumer shall pay only for the educational planning services
22provided.
23    (e) An educational planning service provider may not do
24any of the following:
25        (1) Represent, expressly or by implication, any
26    results or outcomes of its educational planning services

 

 

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1    in any advertising, marketing, or other communication to
2    consumers unless the educational planning service provider
3    possesses substantiation for such representation at the
4    time such representation is made.
5        (2) Expressly or by implication, make any unfair or
6    deceptive representations or any omissions of material
7    facts in any of its advertising or marketing
8    communications concerning educational planning services.
9        (3) Advertise or market educational planning services,
10    enter into a contract for educational planning services,
11    or provide educational planning services without making
12    the disclosures required in this Act at the times and in
13    the form and manner as described in this Act.
14        (4) Advise about or represent, expressly or by
15    implication, any unlawful services to be provided or fees
16    to be collected by the educational planning service
17    provider.
18        (5) Advise or represent, expressly or by implication,
19    that consumers pay any fees that are unearned by the
20    educational planning service provider.
21        (6) Advise, encourage, or represent, expressly or by
22    implication, that a consumer provide false or misleading
23    information about financial or other circumstances to gain
24    admission into a higher education institution or to be
25    eligible for student financial aid, including, but not
26    limited to, advising a consumer to petition for the

 

 

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1    appointment of a guardian for a minor for the primary
2    purpose of reducing the financial resources available to
3    the minor in order to cause the minor to qualify for public
4    or private financial aid.
5(Source: P.A. 102-571, eff. 1-1-22.)
 
6    (815 ILCS 616/25)
7    Sec. 25. Required disclosures.
8    (a) In any marketing or advertising communications, an
9education planning service provider must provide the following
10disclosure verbatim, both orally and in writing, with the
11caption:
 
12    
CONSUMER NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY
13    
OF FREE THESE SERVICES FOR FREE
14        General educational Educational planning services may
15    be available of this type are provided free of charge from
16    at no cost to you by the Illinois Student Assistance
17    Commission and may also be offered by other public or
18    not-for-profit entities, such as a public library or an
19    institution of higher learning.
 
20    (b) An educational planning service provider must provide
21the following warning verbatim, both orally and in writing,
22with the caption "CONSUMER NOTICE AND RIGHTS FORM" in at least
2318-point 28-point font and the remaining portion in at least

 

 

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112-point 14-point font, to a consumer before the consumer
2signs a contract for the educational planning service
3provider's services:
 
4    
CONSUMER NOTICE AND RIGHTS FORM

 
5    
AVAILABILITY OF FREE THESE SERVICES FOR FREE
6        General educational Educational planning services may
7    be available of this type are provided free of charge from
8    at no cost to you by the Illinois Student Assistance
9    Commission and may be offered by other public or
10    not-for-profit entities, such as a public library or an
11    institution of higher learning.
 
12    
YOUR RIGHT TO CANCEL
13        If you sign a contract with an educational planning
14    service provider, you have the right to cancel at any time
15    and receive a full refund of all unearned fees you have
16    paid to the provider. You will not be responsible for
17    payment of services that are not fully performed.
 
18    
IF YOU ARE DISSATISFIED OR YOU HAVE QUESTIONS
19        If you are dissatisfied with an educational planning
20    service provider or have any questions, please bring it to
21    the attention of the Illinois Attorney General's Office.
 

 

 

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1    (c) The educational planning service provider must
2maintain proof that it has provided to the consumer the
3Consumer Notice and Rights Form in accordance with subsection
4(b) of this Section.
5    (d) The consumer shall sign and date an acknowledgment
6form titled "Consumer Notice and Rights Form" that states: "I,
7the consumer, have received from the educational planning
8service provider a copy of the form titled "Consumer Notice
9and Rights Form," and I have been provided the Illinois
10Student Assistance Commission's Internet website address where
11I can obtain general educational planning services are
12provided free of charge.". The educational planning service
13provider or its representative shall also sign and date the
14acknowledgment form, which shall include the name and address
15of the educational planning service provider. The
16acknowledgment form shall be in duplicate and shall be
17incorporated into the Consumer Notice and Rights Form under
18subsection (b) of this Section. The original acknowledgment
19form shall be retained by the educational planning service
20provider, and the duplicate copy shall be retained by the
21consumer.
22    (e) If the acknowledgment form under subsection (d) of
23this Section is in an electronic format, then, in addition to
24the other requirements of this Act, the acknowledgment form
25shall:
26        (1) contain a live link to the Illinois Student

 

 

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1    Assistance Commission's Internet website where general
2    educational planning services may be available are offered
3    free of charge; and
4        (2) be digitally signed by the consumer in compliance
5    with the provisions of the federal Electronic Signatures
6    in Global and National Commerce Act concerning consumer
7    disclosures, including subsection (c) of Section 101 of
8    that Act.
9(Source: P.A. 102-571, eff. 1-1-22.)
 
10    (815 ILCS 616/30)
11    Sec. 30. Cancellation of contract; refund.
12    (a) A consumer may cancel a contract with an educational
13planning service provider at any time before the educational
14planning service provider has fully performed each service the
15educational planning service provider contracted to perform or
16represented it would perform.
17    (b) If a consumer cancels a contract with an educational
18planning service provider, then the educational planning
19service provider shall refund all fees and compensation, with
20the exception of any earned fees for services provided.
21    (c) At any time upon a material violation of this Act on
22the part of the educational planning service provider, the
23educational planning service provider shall refund all fees
24and compensation to the consumer.
25    (d) An educational planning service provider shall make

 

 

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1any refund required under this Act within 5 business days
2after the notice of cancellation or voiding of the contract
3due to a violation of this Act and shall include with the
4refund a full statement of account showing fees received and
5fees refunded.
6    (e) Upon cancellation or voiding of the contract, all
7direct debit authorizations granted to the educational
8planning service provider by the consumer shall be considered
9revoked and voided.
10    (f) Upon the termination of the contract for any reason,
11the educational planning service provider shall provide a
12timely and accurate response to any postsecondary institution,
13agency, or other entity that contacts the provider in
14reference to the consumer, indicating that the provider notice
15that it no longer represents the consumer to any entity or
16agency with whom the educational planning service provider has
17had any prior communication on behalf of the consumer in
18connection with the provision of any educational planning
19services.
20(Source: P.A. 102-571, eff. 1-1-22.)
 
21    (815 ILCS 616/40)
22    Sec. 40. Civil remedies; injunction.
23    (a) A material violation of this Act constitutes an
24unlawful practice under the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive
25Business Practices Act. All remedies, penalties, and authority

 

 

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1granted to the Attorney General or State's Attorney by the
2Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act shall be
3available to him or her for the enforcement of this Act.
4    (b) A consumer who suffers loss by reason of a material
5violation of this Act may bring a civil action in accordance
6with the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act
7to enforce a provision of this Act. All remedies and rights
8granted to a consumer by the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive
9Business Practices Act shall be available to the consumer
10bringing such an action. The remedies and rights provided for
11in this Act are not exclusive, but cumulative, and all other
12applicable claims are specifically preserved.
13    (c) Any contract for educational planning services made in
14material violation of this Act shall be null and void and of no
15legal effect.
16    (d) To engage in educational planning services in
17violation of this Act is declared to be inimical to the public
18welfare and to constitute a public nuisance. The Illinois
19Student Assistance Commission may, in the name of the people
20of the State of Illinois, through the Attorney General, file a
21complaint for an injunction in the circuit court to enjoin
22such person from engaging in that unlawful business. An
23injunction proceeding shall be in addition to and not in lieu
24of penalties and remedies otherwise provided in this Act.
25(Source: P.A. 102-571, eff. 1-1-22.)
 

 

 

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1    (815 ILCS 616/90)
2    Sec. 90. Rules. The Illinois Student Assistance Commission
3shall adopt and enforce all reasonable rules necessary or
4appropriate for the administration of this Act.
5(Source: P.A. 102-571, eff. 1-1-22.)