Your state's pack. New issue every Monday. Bookmark it. I built this for the Illinois T&E solo who knows the Probate Act of 1975 cold but still loses an afternoon a week tracking the moving HFS Medical Assistance pieces.
For licensed attorneys. This pack is general legal information and professional commentary for practicing attorneys — it is not legal advice, does not apply to any specific matter, and creates no attorney-client relationship. Verify every authority against the cited primary source before relying on it with a client. Published by Mike Moss, a Utah-admitted attorney, as an AI-enablement information product; it is not an offer of legal services and is not a representation that the author is admitted to practice in your jurisdiction.
Three developments I think actually matter to an Illinois T&E solo. Each has a read that lands on your practice specifically — and each comes with a reachable citation so you can verify it yourself before you use it with a client.
735 ILCS 5/12-901 raises the individual homestead exemption from $15,000 to $50,000 (and to $100,000 total for co-owned property).
A materially larger creditor-protection floor for the Illinois solo’s clients — but note it is the creditor-law homestead, separate from Medicaid’s home-equity limit and from estate-recovery exposure.
Illinois files a claim against the probate estate for medical assistance provided after age 55 (305 ILCS 5/5-13); Public Act 102-1037 (eff. June 2, 2022) restricts new TEFRA liens on real property.
Because recovery runs against the probate estate, a TOD instrument or funded living trust that keeps the home out of probate is the planning shield. The unfunded trust is the malpractice trap.
Maximum CSRA is $162,660 (minimum $32,532); the special income standard is $2,982/mo. Illinois applies the federal $752,000 home-equity floor.
Two places this lands: community-spouse protection math and the income cap for institutional eligibility. Flag the 2028 OBBBA $1,000,000 home-equity cap now.
42 U.S.C. § 1396p · CMS 2026 Standards (medicaid.gov)
This week in Illinois for the T&E solo with Medicaid-planning clients: what the Illinois State Bar Association, the Cook County (and collar-county) Probate Divisions, and HFS put in front of you.
The ISBA CLE calendar, the Trusts and Estates Section, and the HFS policy updates all publish on different schedules. This is that sift, already done, with the link on each item.