{ "id": 1083903, "name": "In re ESTATE OF MARY ELIZABETH RIORDAN, Deceased (Patrick M. Riordan, Claimant-Appellant, v. Estate of Riordan, Respondent-Appellee)", "name_abbreviation": "Riordan v. Estate of Riordan", "decision_date": "2004-07-23", "docket_number": "Nos. 3\u201403\u20140805, 3\u201403\u20140980 cons.", "first_page": "594", "last_page": "599", "citations": [ { "type": "official", "cite": "351 Ill. App. 3d 594" } ], "court": { "name_abbreviation": "Ill. App. Ct.", "id": 8837, "name": "Illinois Appellate Court" }, "jurisdiction": { "id": 29, "name_long": "Illinois", "name": "Ill." }, "cites_to": [ { "cite": "742 N.E.2d 874", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "N.E.2d", "year": 2001, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "879" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "318 Ill. App. 3d 152", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Ill. App. 3d", "case_ids": [ 279667 ], "year": 2001, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "159" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/ill-app-3d/318/0152-01" ] }, { "cite": "376 N.E.2d 647", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "N.E.2d", "year": 1978, "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "59 Ill. App. 3d 974", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Ill. App. 3d", "case_ids": [ 3360337 ], "year": 1978, "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/ill-app-3d/59/0974-01" ] }, { "cite": "552 N.E.2d 1043", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "N.E.2d", "year": 1990, "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "195 Ill. App. 3d 891", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Ill. App. 3d", "case_ids": [ 2492225 ], "year": 1990, "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/ill-app-3d/195/0891-01" ] }, { "cite": "379 N.E.2d 935", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "N.E.2d", "weight": 2, "year": 1978, "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "63 Ill. App. 3d 1", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Ill. App. 3d", "case_ids": [ 3337782 ], "weight": 2, "year": 1978, "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/ill-app-3d/63/0001-01" ] }, { "cite": "782 N.E.2d 237", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "N.E.2d", "year": 2002, "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "202 Ill. 2d 563", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Ill. 2d", "case_ids": [ 1442038 ], "year": 2002, "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/ill-2d/202/0563-01" ] }, { "cite": "600 N.E.2d 899", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "N.E.2d", "weight": 2, "year": 1992, "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "234 Ill. App. 3d 627", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Ill. App. 3d", "case_ids": [ 5186599 ], "weight": 2, "year": 1992, "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/ill-app-3d/234/0627-01" ] }, { "cite": "777 N.E.2d 930", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "N.E.2d", "year": 2002, "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "201 Ill. 2d 476", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Ill. 2d", "case_ids": [ 1476994 ], "year": 2002, "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/ill-2d/201/0476-01" ] }, { "cite": "783 N.E.2d 1024", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "N.E.2d", "year": 2002, "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "203 Ill. 2d 64", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Ill. 2d", "case_ids": [ 799395 ], "year": 2002, "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/ill-2d/203/0064-01" ] } ], "analysis": { "cardinality": 609, "char_count": 11099, "ocr_confidence": 0.729, "pagerank": { "raw": 6.770845263994211e-08, "percentile": 0.41074923673156233 }, "sha256": "67a3cbe4b5378985e14d59cdee47a7cd731923ebfc3db2bf0ab6e6ae45cdcfba", "simhash": "1:0bcfbe461248cdc9", "word_count": 1846 }, "last_updated": "2023-07-14T15:22:07.473803+00:00", "provenance": { "date_added": "2019-08-29", "source": "Harvard", "batch": "2018" }, "casebody": { "judges": [ "HOLDRIDGE, EJ., and SCHMIDT, J., concur." ], "parties": [ "In re ESTATE OF MARY ELIZABETH RIORDAN, Deceased (Patrick M. Riordan, Claimant-Appellant, v. Estate of Riordan, Respondent-Appellee)." ], "opinions": [ { "text": "JUSTICE SLATER\ndelivered the opinion of the court:\nFather Patrick Riordan (claimant) filed a statutory custodial claim against his mother\u2019s estate pursuant to section 18 \u2014 1.1 of the Probate Act of 1975 (Act) (755 ILCS 5/18 \u2014 1.1 (West 2002)). The trial court dismissed the claim on the basis that the claimant had not met the three-year requirement of the Act. The court also partially granted a petition for attorney fees filed by the objecting heirs. Appeals from those orders were consolidated in this court on claimant\u2019s motion. We affirm the dismissal of the statutory custodial claim and vacate the award of attorney fees.\nFacts\nClaimant, a Catholic priest, is the son of the decedent, Mary Elizabeth Riordan, who died on November 26, 2001, at the age of 99. On June 16, 1999, claimant took a leave of absence so that he could care for his mother. Prior to that time, claimant would visit Elizabeth two or more days per week at her home in Streator, Illinois, where he rendered nursing and personal care services. Claimant also often spent his vacation time at his mother\u2019s home. Claimant\u2019s sisters, Judy Arbise and Dolores Lonergan, also helped care for Elizabeth. However, after Dolores\u2019s death in 1998, and with Judy\u2019s increasing health problems limiting her ability to help, more of the responsibility fell upon claimant. After he was granted a leave of absence, claimant lived with his mother full time and remained with her until her death.\nFollowing Elizabeth\u2019s death, claimant filed a statutory custodial claim (755 ILCS 5/18 \u2014 1.1 (West 2002)) against his mother\u2019s estate alleging that he suspended his vocation as a priest to care for his mother. As a result, according to claimant, he lost employment opportunities, experienced a significant change in lifestyle and endured emotional distress. Two of Elizabeth\u2019s heirs, Daniel and James Riordan, filed a motion to dismiss the claim on the basis that claimant had not cared for Elizabeth for the three-year period required by the Act. The trial court granted the dismissal motion on that basis.\nAppeal No. 3 \u2014 03 \u2014 0805\nStandard of review\nConstruction of a statute is a matter of law, which we review de novo. See Unzicker v. Kraft Food Ingredients Corp., 203 Ill. 2d 64, 783 N.E.2d 1024 (2002).\nAnalysis\nSection 18 \u2014 1.1 of the Act provides:\n\u201c\u00a7 18 \u2014 1.1. Statutory custodial claim. Any spouse, parent, brother, sister, or child of a disabled person who dedicates himself or herself to the care of the disabled person by living with and personally caring for the disabled person for at least 3 years shall be entitled to a claim against the estate upon the death of the disabled person. The claim shall take into consideration the claimant\u2019s lost employment opportunities, lost lifestyle opportunities, and emotional distress experienced as a result of personally caring for the disabled person. The claim shall be in addition to any other claim, including without limitation a reasonable claim for nursing and other care. The claim shall be based upon the nature and extent of the person\u2019s disability and, at a minimum but subject to the extent of the assets available, shall be in the amounts set forth below:\n1. 100% disability, $100,000\n2. 75% disability, $75,000\n3. 50% disability, $50,000\n4. 25% disability, $25,000[.]\u201d (Emphasis added.) 755 ILCS 5/18\u2014 1.1 (West 2002).\nClaimant acknowledges that he did not begin caring for his mother full time until June 16, 1999. Upon her death in November of 2001, approximately 2xh years had elapsed. Claimant argues, however, that he should be given credit for the two or three days of visitation per week prior to 1999, as well as the vacation time he spent at Elizabeth\u2019s home. We disagree.\nThe statutory award is available to one who \u201cdedicates\u201d himself to the care of the disabled person. That dedication is shown by \u201cliving with and personally caring for the disabled person for at least 3 years.\u201d 755 ILCS 5/18 \u2014 1.1 (West 2002). In the absence of a statutory definition, undefined words must be given their ordinary and popularly understood meaning. In re D.F., 201 Ill. 2d 476, 777 N.E.2d 930 (2002). We believe that \u201cliving with\u201d a disabled person entails more than visiting them when one has time, even when that visitation is regular and extensive. Many adult children visit their parents on a regular basis, but in our opinion section 18 \u2014 1.1 clearly requires some sort of shared living arrangement. Indeed, this court has held that sisters living across the hall from each other did not satisfy the statutory requirement of \u201cliving with\u201d one another. See In re Estate of Hoehn, 234 Ill. App. 3d 627, 600 N.E.2d 899 (1992).\nClaimant asserts that the statute does not require that the three-year period must be continuous. We do not hold that it does. It is certainly conceivable that the period of caregiving may be interrupted for some reason. Nevertheless, to meet the statutory three-year requirement, those periods of caregiving must occur while the claimant is \u201cliving with\u201d the disabled person. Periodic visits, even if they include staying overnight, do not rise to that level.\nClaimant further maintains that we should interpret the statute liberally and deem that he has \u201cconstructively complied\u201d with the three-year requirement. Claimant suggests that because he intended to continue caring for Elizabeth, whose death before the end of the three-year period was beyond his control, we should hold that the statutory requirement is fulfilled as long as the facts establish a good faith intention to comply. However, no rule of statutory construction authorizes a court to declare that the legislature did not mean what the plain language states. Hoehn, 234 Ill. App. 3d 627, 600 N.E.2d 899. A court is bound to declare and enforce the law as enacted; it is not to annex new provisions or substitute different ones, or read into a statute exceptions, limitations or conditions that depart from its plain meaning. People ex rel. Department of Professional Regulation v. Manos, 202 Ill. 2d 563, 782 N.E.2d 237 (2002). Section 18 \u2014 1.1 clearly and unambiguously requires a claimant to live with and personally care for a disabled person for at least three years, and we are not free to modify that provision. Accordingly, we affirm the trial court\u2019s order dismissing the statutory custodial claim.\nAppeal No. 3 \u2014 09 \u2014 0980\nThe issue in this appeal concerns an award of $1,335 in attorney fees to Michael Guio, the lawyer who represented the objecting heirs, Daniel and James Riordan. After claimant was appointed executor of his mother\u2019s estate, he filed the statutory custodial claim on January 17, 2002. On January 24 the attorney for the estate, Emmanuel Guyon, sent a letter to the heirs informing them of the claim and of the conflict of interest it created. Guyon indicated that if the heirs would not consent to the claim, a special administrator would have to be appointed to litigate the issue. On May 8 Guio filed a motion to remove claimant as executor and to disqualify Guyon as attorney for the estate due to the conflict of interest created by the statutory claim. On May 24 Guyon filed a motion to dismiss Gulo\u2019s motion and a petition to appoint a special administrator to defend the estate against the custodial claim. On May 29 the trial court denied the motion to remove claimant as executor and disqualify Guyon in general, but allowed it with respect to the statutory custodial claim. The court also granted the motion to appoint a special administrator.\nThereafter, litigation of claimant\u2019s statutory claim proceeded until it was eventually dismissed by the trial court. On November 3, 2003, Guio filed a petition for attorney fees in the amount of $5,490. The trial court ruled that Gulo\u2019s efforts benefitted the estate, but only until the special administrator was appointed. The court therefore ordered the estate to pay $1,335 of Gulo\u2019s fees.\nOn appeal, claimant contends that attorney fees should not have been awarded because no benefit was conferred on the estate. We agree.\nWhere heirs bring an action against an executor that enhances the value of an estate, they are entitled to have their attorney fees paid from the estate. In re Estate of Freund, 63 Ill. App. 3d 1, 379 N.E.2d 935 (1978). Where the legal services are not in the interest of the estate, however, such fees must be rejected. Freund, 63 Ill. App. 3d 1, 379 N.E.2d 935; see also In re Estate of Debevec, 195 Ill. App. 3d 891, 552 N.E.2d 1043 (1990); In re Estate of Minsky, 59 Ill. App. 3d 974, 376 N.E.2d 647 (1978).\nIn this case the attorney for the estate recognized the conflict of interest generated by the statutory custodial claim and he informed the heirs that a special administrator might need to be appointed. After it was determined that some of the heirs would not consent to the custodial claim, Guyon filed a motion to appoint a special administrator. This action was designed to protect the estate and the heirs and to negate any conflict of interest. While the objecting heirs may have been prudent in hiring their own counsel to protect their interests, we discern no benefit accruing to the estate from that decision. As this court noted in an analogous situation:\n\u201cIf an outside attorney prepared work product that the estate guardian would otherwise necessarily have performed, and so saved the estate guardian attorney expense, that attorney could timely request some compensation from the estate guardian, but we conclude that it would be for the estate guardian, in its discretion, to recommend compensation based on the savings it concluded the work accrued to the estate. If the estate guardian and executor opposed any such compensation, we conclude that the attorney\u2019s client must bear those expenses.\u201d In re Estate of Goffinet, 318 Ill. App. 3d 152, 159, 742 N.E.2d 874, 879 (2001).\nBecause no benefit was conferred on the estate, we find that the trial court erred in awarding $1,335 in attorney fees to Guio from the estate. We therefore vacate that order.\nFor the reasons stated above, the judgment of the circuit court in appeal No. 3 \u2014 03 \u2014 0805 is affirmed. The judgment in appeal No. 3 \u2014 03 \u2014 0980 is vacated.\nNo. 3 \u2014 03 \u2014 0805, Affirmed.\nNo. 3 \u2014 03 \u2014 0980, Vacated.\nHOLDRIDGE, EJ., and SCHMIDT, J., concur.\nThe initial pleadings in this case refer to the decedent as Mary Elizabeth Riordan. Several subsequent pleadings and the statement of facts in claimant\u2019s brief refers to decedent as Elizabeth M. Riordan. The decedent\u2019s will is signed Elizabeth Riordan. We will refer to the decedent as Elizabeth.", "type": "majority", "author": "JUSTICE SLATER" } ], "attorneys": [ "Emmanuel F. Guyon (argued), of Streator, for appellant.", "Bernard L. Engels (argued), of Whitmore & Engels, of Mendota, for appellee Estate of Elizabeth M. Riordan.", "Michael Guio (argued), of M.G. Guio & Associates, Ltd., of Streator, for appellees Daniel Riordan and James A. Riordan." ], "corrections": "", "head_matter": "In re ESTATE OF MARY ELIZABETH RIORDAN, Deceased (Patrick M. Riordan, Claimant-Appellant, v. Estate of Riordan, Respondent-Appellee).\nThird District\nNos. 3\u201403\u20140805, 3\u201403\u20140980 cons.\nOpinion filed July 23, 2004.\nRehearing denied September 10, 2004.\nEmmanuel F. Guyon (argued), of Streator, for appellant.\nBernard L. Engels (argued), of Whitmore & Engels, of Mendota, for appellee Estate of Elizabeth M. Riordan.\nMichael Guio (argued), of M.G. Guio & Associates, Ltd., of Streator, for appellees Daniel Riordan and James A. Riordan." }, "file_name": "0594-01", "first_page_order": 612, "last_page_order": 617 }