A number of other new laws and regulations have taken effect recently. Noteworthy changes include:
Matured Savings Bonds
Due to a recent amendment to the Illinois Uniform Disposition of Property Act, any United States Savings Bonds held electronically by the Illinois State Treasurer, or traditional paper Savings Bonds held by the purchaser, will be considered abandoned and convert to property of the State of Illinois if the bonds are five years after their final extended maturity date.
As a background, United States Savings Bonds have only been available for purchase in an electronic form as of January 1, 2012.
If you are holding paper Savings Bonds that have matured and are within the five-year time frame, they should be redeemed at your local bank. If your Savings Bonds are past the five-year final extended maturity date, you can determine if they have been claimed by the State of Illinois by checking the Illinois Treasurer’s Unclaimed Property Search website at https://icash.illinoistreasurer.gov.
New Formula for Child Support Calculations
Effective July 1, 2017, the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act now has a new formula for determining child support.
The prior formula called for a non-custodial parent to pay a specific percentage of his or her net income to the custodial parent; 20% for a minor child, 28% for two minor children, up to 50% for six or more minor children.
The new formula is based upon having an “income share” of the combined net incomes of the parents being treated as a total support obligation. Each parent is responsible for payment of that share of the combined net income in proportion to his or her percentage of the total net income. The non-custodial parent will then be required to pay his or her portion of the income share to the custodial parent.
If one parent has a net income of $50,000, and the other has a net income of $30,000, the total support obligation, referred to as the income share, for two children would be $1,640 per month. The parent making $50,000 would be responsible for 62.5% of the total amount or $1,025. The other parent would be responsible for $615 per month. If the parent making $30,000 had the children most of the time, then that parent would receive $1,025 per month from the other parent as child support.
If the children spend at least 145 nights per year with both parents, then a larger income share, to account for the extra cost of maintaining both households for the children, is split between the parents based on the proportion of time the children spend with each parent.
The amount of the income share is stated in tables maintained by the Department of Health Care and Family Services.
State Energy Bill Leads to Solar Farm Development in Area
Late last year, Illinois enacted a new clean energy bill that came into effect June 1, 2017. One part of the bill was to create incentives for the development of renewable energy production including solar and wind farms.
As a result of these incentives, a number of solar energy developers have been approaching local landowners to enter leases or lease option agreements for the development of solar energy facilities.
While these lease agreements typically provide for payment of substantial rent over several decades, they do impose significant responsibilities on landowners that should be fully understood, and where the requirements are unreasonable, negotiated.
Furthermore, since solar energy is a relatively new field and many of the developers do not have long track records, strong provisions to provide for removal of solar energy facilities at the end of the lease term are very important.
In addition to supporting large scale clean energy development, the energy bill also includes incentives for residential roof-top solar installation.
Before making a long-term lease commitment, the agreements should be reviewed by an attorney. The attorneys at Plager, Krug, Bauer & Rudolph, Ltd. have experience in reviewing both solar and wind energy lease agreements.