Text of IL SB 2777 (2024)

103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 SB2777 Introduced 1/17/2024, by Sen. Natalie Toro SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: 750 ILCS 65/1 from Ch. 40, par. 1001 750 ILCS 65/2 from Ch. 40, par. 1002 750 ILCS 65/5 from Ch. 40, par. 1005 750 ILCS 65/9 from Ch. 40, par. 1009 750 ILCS 65/10 from Ch. 40, par. 1010 750 ILCS 65/11 from Ch. 40, par. 1011 750 ILCS 65/12 from Ch. 40, par. 1012 750 ILCS 65/13 from Ch. 40, par. 1013 750 ILCS 65/14 from Ch. 40, par. 1014 750 ILCS 65/15 from Ch. 40, par. 1015 750 ILCS 65/16 from Ch. 40, par. 1016 750 ILCS 65/17 from Ch. 40, par. 1017 750 ILCS 65/22 from Ch. 40, par. 1022 750 ILCS 75/10 765 ILCS 5/19 from Ch. 30, par. 18 765 ILCS 5/27 from Ch. 30, par. 26 765 ILCS 1005/1 from Ch. 76, par. 1 765 ILCS 1005/1c from Ch. 76, par. 1c Amends the Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Unions Act, the Conveyances Act, the Joint Tenancy Act, and the Rights of Married Persons Act. Inserts gender neutral descriptions showing marital status. LRB103 36549 JRC 66656 b A BILL FOR SB2777LRB103 36549 JRC 66656 b 1 AN ACT concerning property. 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 3represented in the General Assembly: 4 Section 5. The Rights of Married Persons Act is amended by 5changing Sections 1, 2, 5, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 6and 22 as follows: 7 (750 ILCS 65/1) (from Ch. 40, par. 1001) 8 Sec. 1. Rights to sue and be sued. A married person may, in 9all cases, sue and be sued without joining his or her spouse as 10if unmarried. Either spouse A husband or wife may sue the other 11for a tort committed during the marriage. No finding by any 12court under Section 401 of the Illinois Marriage and 13Dissolution of Marriage Act shall be admissible or be used as 14prima facie evidence of a tort in any civil action brought 15under this Act. An attachment or judgment in an action may be 16enforced by or against a married person as if unmarried. 17(Source: P.A. 87-286.) 18 (750 ILCS 65/2) (from Ch. 40, par. 1002) 19 Sec. 2. Defending in own right or for other. If a married 20couple husband and wife are sued together, either may defend 21for his or her own right and, if either neglects to defend, the 22other may defend for both. SB2777- 2 -LRB103 36549 JRC 66656 b 1(Source: P.A. 87-286.) 2 (750 ILCS 65/5) (from Ch. 40, par. 1005) 3 Sec. 5. Neither spouse in a marriage husband or wife shall 4be liable for the debts or liabilities of the other incurred 5before marriage, and (except as herein otherwise provided) 6they shall not be liable for the separate debts of each other, 7nor shall the wages, earnings or property of either, nor the 8rent or income of such property, be liable for the separate 9debts of the other. 10(Source: R.S. 1874, p. 576.) 11 (750 ILCS 65/9) (from Ch. 40, par. 1009) 12 Sec. 9. Property. A married person may own in his or her 13own right real and personal property obtained by descent, 14gift, or purchase and may manage, sell, and convey that 15property to the same extent and in the same manner as an 16unmarried person. When the spouses husband and wife live 17together, however, no transfer or conveyance of goods and 18chattels between the spouses husband and wife shall be valid 19as against the rights and interests of any third person unless 20the transfer or conveyance is in writing and filed in the same 21manner as security interests are required to be filed by the 22laws of this State in cases where the possession of the 23property is to remain with the person giving the security. 24(Source: P.A. 87-286.) SB2777- 3 -LRB103 36549 JRC 66656 b 1 (750 ILCS 65/10) (from Ch. 40, par. 1010) 2 Sec. 10. Should either spouse the husband or wife 3unlawfully obtain or retain possession or control of property 4belonging to the other, either before or after marriage, the 5owner of the property may maintain an action therefor, or for 6any right growing out of the same, in the same manner and to 7the same extent as if they were unmarried. 8(Source: R.S. 1874, p. 576.) 9 (750 ILCS 65/11) (from Ch. 40, par. 1011) 10 Sec. 11. In case one spouse the husband or wife abandons 11the other and leaves the state, and is absent therefrom for one 12year, without providing for the maintenance and support of his 13or her family, or is imprisoned in the penitentiary, the 14circuit court in the county where the abandoned spouse or the 15spouse who is the husband or wife so abandoned or, not 16confined, resides, may, on application by petition, setting 17forth fully the facts, if the court is satisfied of the 18necessity by the evidence, authorize him or her to manage, 19control, sell or incumber the property of the other, as shall 20be necessary, in the judgment of the court, for the support and 21maintenance of the family, and for the purpose of paying debts 22of the other, or debts contracted for the support of the 23family. Notice of such proceedings shall be given as in other 24civil actions, and anything done under or by virtue of the SB2777- 4 -LRB103 36549 JRC 66656 b 1order or judgment of the court, shall be valid to the same 2extent as if the same were done by the party owning the 3property. 4(Source: P.A. 84-1308.) 5 (750 ILCS 65/12) (from Ch. 40, par. 1012) 6 Sec. 12. All contracts, sales or incumbrances made by one 7spouse to a marriage either the husband or wife, by virtue of 8the power contemplated in the preceding section, shall be 9binding on both, and during such absence or confinement, the 10person acting under such power may sue and be sued thereon; and 11for all acts done the property of both shall be liable, and 12execution may be levied or attachment issued accordingly. No 13suit or proceeding shall abate, or be in anywise affected, by 14the return or release of the person absent or confined, but he 15or she shall be permitted to prosecute or defend jointly with 16the other. 17(Source: R.S. 1874, p. 576.) 18 (750 ILCS 65/13) (from Ch. 40, par. 1013) 19 Sec. 13. The spouse husband or wife affected by the 20proceedings contemplated in the 2 preceding sections may have 21the order or judgment of the court set aside or annulled, by 22filing a petition therefor and serving a notice on the person 23in whose favor the same was granted, as in other civil actions. 24But the setting aside of such judgment or order shall in nowise SB2777- 5 -LRB103 36549 JRC 66656 b 1affect any act done thereunder. 2(Source: P.A. 84-1308.) 3 (750 ILCS 65/14) (from Ch. 40, par. 1014) 4 Sec. 14. Either spouse A husband or wife may constitute 5the other as his or her attorney in fact, to control and 6dispose of his or her property for their mutual benefit or 7otherwise, and may revoke the same to the same extent and in 8the same manner as other persons. 9(Source: R.S. 1874, p. 576.) 10 (750 ILCS 65/15) (from Ch. 40, par. 1015) 11 Sec. 15. (a)(1) The expenses of the family and of the 12education of the children shall be chargeable upon the 13property of both spouses husband and wife, or of either of 14them, in favor of creditors therefor, and in relation thereto 15they may be sued jointly or separately. 16 (2) No creditor, who has a claim against a spouse or former 17spouse for an expense incurred by that spouse or former spouse 18which is not a family expense, shall maintain an action 19against the other spouse or former spouse for that expense 20except: 21 (A) an expense for which the other spouse or former 22 spouse agreed, in writing, to be liable; or 23 (B) an expense for goods or merchandise purchased by 24 or in the possession of the other spouse or former spouse, SB2777- 6 -LRB103 36549 JRC 66656 b 1 or for services ordered by the other spouse or former 2 spouse. 3 (3) Any creditor who maintains an action in violation of 4this subsection (a) for an expense other than a family expense 5against a spouse or former spouse other than the spouse or 6former spouse who incurred the expense, shall be liable to the 7other spouse or former spouse for his or her costs, expenses 8and attorney's fees incurred in defending the action. 9 (4) No creditor shall, with respect to any claim against a 10spouse or former spouse for which the creditor is prohibited 11under this subsection (a) from maintaining an action against 12the other spouse or former spouse, engage in any collection 13efforts against the other spouse or former spouse, including, 14but not limited to, informal or formal collection attempts, 15referral of the claim to a collector or collection agency for 16collection from the other spouse or former spouse, or making 17any representation to a credit reporting agency that the other 18spouse or former spouse is any way liable for payment of the 19claim. 20 (b) (Blank). 21 (c) (Blank). 22(Source: P.A. 101-13, eff. 6-12-19.) 23 (750 ILCS 65/16) (from Ch. 40, par. 1016) 24 Sec. 16. Neither spouse the husband nor wife can remove 25the other or their children from their homestead without the SB2777- 7 -LRB103 36549 JRC 66656 b 1consent of the other, unless the owner of the property shall, 2in good faith, provide another homestead suitable to the 3condition in life of the family; and if one spouse abandons the 4other, the abandoned spouse he abandons her, she is entitled 5to the custody of their minor children, unless a court of 6competent jurisdiction, upon application for that purpose, 7shall otherwise direct. 8(Source: R.S. 1874, p. 576.) 9 (750 ILCS 65/17) (from Ch. 40, par. 1017) 10 Sec. 17. When one spouse the husband or wife is under legal 11disability and therefore incapable of executing a deed or 12mortgage, and relinquishing or conveying his or her right to 13homestead in the real property of the other, such other person 14may present his or her petition to the circuit court in the 15county where the petitioner resides, or where the real estate 16to be affected is situated, setting forth the facts, and 17particularly describing the real estate sought to be conveyed 18or mortgaged, and asking for an order authorizing the 19petitioner, or some other person, to execute a deed or 20mortgage for the person who is under legal disability, and 21thereby relinquish his or her right of homestead in the real 22estate. 23(Source: P.A. 83-706.) 24 (750 ILCS 65/22) (from Ch. 40, par. 1022) SB2777- 8 -LRB103 36549 JRC 66656 b 1 Sec. 22. Nothing in this Act abolishes or prevents the 2creation and enjoyment of the estate of tenancy by the 3entirety with respect to any devise, conveyance, assignment, 4or other transfer of property, including a beneficial interest 5in a land trust, maintained or intended for maintenance as a 6homestead by both spouses married to each other together 7during marriage husband and wife during coverture made or 8executed on or after October 1, 1990. 9 This amendatory Act of 1995 is declarative of existing 10law. 11(Source: P.A. 89-88, eff. 6-30-95; 89-438, eff. 12-15-95.) 12 Section 10. The Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and 13Civil Union Act is amended by changing Section 10 as follows: 14 (750 ILCS 75/10) 15 Sec. 10. Definitions. As used in this Act: 16 "Certificate" means a document that certifies that the 17persons named on the certificate have established a civil 18union in this State in compliance with this Act. 19 "Civil union" means a legal relationship between 2 20persons, of either the same or opposite sex, established 21pursuant to this Act. 22 "Department" means the Department of Public Health. 23 "Officiant" means the person authorized to certify a civil 24union in accordance with Section 40. SB2777- 9 -LRB103 36549 JRC 66656 b 1 "Party to a civil union" means a person who has 2established a civil union pursuant to this Act. "Party to a 3civil union" means, and shall be included in, any definition 4or use of the terms "spouse", "family", "immediate family", 5"dependent", "next of kin", "marriage", "married", "married to 6each other", "husband", "wife", "bride", "groom", "wedlock", 7and other terms that refer to or denote the spousal 8relationship, as those terms are used throughout the law, 9regardless of whether the parties to a civil union are of the 10same sex or different sexes. 11(Source: P.A. 96-1513, eff. 6-1-11.) 12 Section 15. The Conveyances Act is amended by changing 13Sections 19 and 27 as follows: 14 (765 ILCS 5/19) (from Ch. 30, par. 18) 15 Sec. 19. The acknowledgment or proof of any deed, 16mortgage, conveyance, power of attorney, or other writing of 17or relating to the sale, conveyance, or other disposition of 18lands or real estate, or any interest therein, by a married 19person woman, may be made and certified the same as if that 20person was unmarried she were a feme sole, and shall have the 21same effect. 22(Source: P.A. 77-435.) 23 (765 ILCS 5/27) (from Ch. 30, par. 26) SB2777- 10 -LRB103 36549 JRC 66656 b 1 Sec. 27. No deed or other instrument shall be construed as 2releasing or waiving the right of homestead, unless the same 3shall contain a clause expressly releasing or waiving such 4right. And no release or waiver of the right of homestead by 5one spouse the husband or wife shall bind the other spouse 6unless such other spouse joins in such release or waiver. 7(Source: P.A. 80-346.) 8 Section 20. The Joint Tenancy Act is amended by changing 9Sections 1 and 1c as follows: 10 (765 ILCS 1005/1) (from Ch. 76, par. 1) 11 Sec. 1. No estate in joint tenancy in any lands, tenements 12or hereditaments, or in any parts thereof or interest therein, 13shall be held or claimed under any grant, legacy or conveyance 14whatsoever heretofore or hereafter made, other than to 15executors and trustees, unless the premises therein mentioned 16shall expressly be thereby declared to pass not in tenancy in 17common but in joint tenancy; and every such estate other than 18to executors and trustees (unless otherwise expressly declared 19as aforesaid, or unless, as to a devise or conveyance of 20homestead property, expressly declared to pass to individuals 21married to each other a husband and wife as tenants by the 22entirety in the manner provided by Section 1c), shall be 23deemed to be in tenancy in common and all conveyances 24heretofore made, or which hereafter may be made, wherein the SB2777- 11 -LRB103 36549 JRC 66656 b 1premises therein mentioned were or shall be expressly declared 2to pass not in tenancy in common but in joint tenancy, are 3hereby declared to have created an estate in joint tenancy 4with the accompanying right of survivorship the same as it 5existed prior to the passage of "An Act to amend Section 1 of 6an Act entitled: 'An Act to revise the law in relation to joint 7rights and obligations,' approved February 25, 1874, in force 8July 1, 1874," approved June 26, 1917. 9(Source: P.A. 86-966.) 10 (765 ILCS 1005/1c) (from Ch. 76, par. 1c) 11 Sec. 1c. Whenever a devise, conveyance, assignment, or 12other transfer of property, including a beneficial interest in 13a land trust, maintained or intended for maintenance as a 14homestead shall be made by both spouses during marriage or a 15civil union husband and wife together during coverture shall 16be made and the instrument of devise, conveyance, assignment, 17or transfer expressly declares that the devise or conveyance 18is made to tenants by the entirety, or if the beneficial 19interest in a land trust is to be held as tenants by the 20entirety, the estate created shall be deemed to be in tenancy 21by the entirety. Where the homestead is held in the name or 22names of a trustee or trustees of a revocable inter vivos trust 23or of revocable inter vivos trusts made by the settlors of such 24trust or trusts who are married to each other or in a civil 25union husband and wife, and the spouses husband and wife are SB2777- 12 -LRB103 36549 JRC 66656 b 1the primary beneficiaries of one or both of the trusts so 2created, and the deed or deeds conveying title to the 3homestead to the trustee or trustees of the trust or trusts 4specifically state that the interests of both spouses the 5husband and wife to the homestead property are to be held as 6tenants by the entirety, the estate created shall be deemed to 7be a tenancy by the entirety. Subject to the provisions of 8paragraph (d) of Section 2 and unless otherwise assented to in 9writing by both tenants by the entirety, the estate in tenancy 10by the entirety so created shall exist only if, and as long as, 11the tenants are and remain married to each other, and upon the 12death of either such tenant the survivor shall retain the 13entire estate; provided that, upon a judgment of dissolution 14of marriage or of declaration of invalidity of marriage, the 15estate shall, by operation of law, become a tenancy in common 16until and unless the court directs otherwise; provided further 17that the estate shall, by operation of law, become a joint 18tenancy upon the creation and maintenance by both spouses 19together of other property as a homestead. A devise, 20conveyance, assignment, or other transfer to 2 grantees who 21are not in fact married to each other or in a civil union 22husband and wife that purports to create an estate by the 23entirety shall be construed as having created an estate in 24joint tenancy. An estate in tenancy by the entirety may be 25created notwithstanding the fact that a grantor is or the 26grantors are also named as a grantee or the grantees in a deed. SB2777- 13 -LRB103 36549 JRC 66656 b