755 ILCS 5/11a-26: Private professional guardian.

(This Section may contain text from a Public Act with a delayed effective date)

(a) As used in this Act, "private professional guardian" means:

(1) a person who receives compensation for services as a guardian to 5 or more persons with disabilities who are not related to the guardian by blood or marriage; or

(2) a not-for-profit corporation qualified to act as guardian under Section 11a-5, including that corporation's officers, directors, employees, and agents.

"Private professional guardian" does not include a government agency, the Office of State Guardian, a public guardian, a corporation qualified to accept and execute trusts in this State, or a financial institution as defined by Section 2 of the Illinois Banking Act.

(b) A petitioner who nominates a private professional guardian to be appointed as temporary, limited, or plenary guardian for a person with a disability shall (i) attach an affidavit to the petition for guardianship stating the petitioner's efforts to contact the respondent's nearest relatives as defined in subsection (e) of Section 11a-8, agent under power of attorney, or other fiduciaries regarding the respondent's need for a guardian, if known or reasonably ascertainable, and (ii) provide notice of the petition for guardianship to the public guardian. This subsection does not apply if a family member of the respondent nominates a private professional guardian.

(c) A private professional guardian may be appointed as guardian if, in addition to meeting the requirements of subsection (a) or (b) of Section 11a-5, that guardian complies with the following requirements:

(1)(i) The private professional guardian will personally meet with and assess the respondent before or as soon as feasible after the appointment; (ii) evaluate what is the least restrictive form of guardianship that is appropriate; and (iii) evaluate options regarding the respondent's living arrangements including community-based, least restrictive living settings that incorporate the respondent's values, preferences, and known wishes.

(2) The president, director, or other corporate officer of a not-for-profit corporation qualified to act as guardian in accordance with subsection (b) of Section 11a-5 shall be named in the order appointing that private professional guardian as guardian of a person with a disability.

(3) A private professional guardian may not:

(i) have any direct or indirect beneficial interest, financial or otherwise, in entities or corporations that transact business with the estate or receive benefits, including referral fees, from persons, entities, or corporations that transact business with the estate or on behalf of the person under its guardianship, excluding any fixed salary received from its employer;

(ii) own, acquire, or possess any pecuniary interest adverse to the persons or estates under its guardianship; or

(iii) on behalf of a person with a disability under its guardianship, directly or indirectly purchase, rent, lease, or sell any property or service from or to any business entity in which the private professional guardian, a spouse, or an immediate family or household member is an owner, officer, partner, director, shareholder, or retains a financial interest.

(4) Within 2 years of the effective date of the amendatory Act of the 104th General Assembly, a person or the president, director, or chief executive officer of a not-for-profit corporation who serves as a private professional guardian shall be certified as a national master guardian or a national certified guardian by the Center for Guardianship Certification or its successor organization. Within 2 years of the effective date of the amendatory Act, employees of the private professional guardian who are responsible for exercising the guardian's powers and duties as guardian of a person with a disability shall be certified as national certified guardians by the Center for Guardianship Certification or its successor organization.

(5) Use sound fiscal controls and policies in managing the estates under its guardianship and, for a private professional guardian that manages, in the aggregate, more than $1 million of assets as a guardian of persons with a disability, arrange for an independent audit by a qualified examiner of its financial records on an annual basis. This report shall be made available to any court presiding over any persons with disabilities for whom the private professional guardian serves as guardian.

(6) File an annual sworn statement affirming continued compliance with paragraph (3) of subsection (c) of this Section.

(7) Maintain a current fee schedule that sets forth information about its hourly rate, costs for its most common and anticipated services such as case management, social work, property management, and such other services as may be appropriate. The fee schedule shall be provided to the court before the appointment of the private professional guardian as guardian of a person with a disability.

(8) Upon presentation of its initial inventory and with every annual account thereafter, file a budget with the court that outlines the annual anticipated estate expenses that also includes a statement estimating the length of time the estate of the person with a disability can afford the services of the private professional guardian before the estate is depleted.

The private professional guardian shall promptly notify the court at such time that it estimates the estate of the person with a disability can no longer afford the services of the private professional guardian or, if the sale of respondent's residence would be required for the continued services of a private professional guardian, within 36 months or less. Upon providing the notification, the private professional guardian shall also present a transition plan for the guardianship of the person with a disability.

(d) Upon appointment and annually thereafter, a private professional guardian acting as temporary, limited, or plenary guardian of a person with a disability shall file an affidavit with the court stating that all of its officers, directors, and employees who are responsible for exercising the guardian's powers and duties as guardian of a person with a disability have, within 5 years of the affidavit filing date, undergone an Illinois State Police background check. This background check shall include a State criminal history, a national criminal history, and the Child Abuse and Neglect Tracking System and be found to be in compliance with paragraph (5) of subsection (a) of Section 11a-5. The private professional guardian shall pay any fees and costs associated with the background checks.

(e) In addition to taking into consideration the requirements set forth in this Section and in Section 11a-12, the court may appoint a private professional guardian as guardian for a person with a disability only upon a finding that the appointment is in the best interests of the person with a disability, taking into consideration the respondent's immediate need for timely medical decision-making including, but not limited to, discharge planning and costs to the estate in appointing a private professional guardian as compared to other available and appropriate options.