There have not been any amendments to the Illinois law governing homestead rights since 2005, so the change in Illinois indicated likely refers to the new civil union law, which became effective June 1, 2011. Under that law, every reference to “spouse” in any Illinois statute is now deemed to include a “party to a civil union.” 750 ILCS 75/10. A “party to a civil union” is someone who has established a civil union approved by a county clerk after “an application has been completed and signed by both parties, applicable fees have been paid, and both parties have appeared before the county clerk.” 750 ILCS 75/30.

Thus, any homestead and notice rights of a spouse will apply to a party to a civil union. Because the Illinois homestead exemption requires that “the individual and his or her spouse” sign the waiver of homestead of exemption, under the new civil union law, any party to a civil union also must sign the homestead exemption. 735 ILCS 5/12-904.

Having said that, a non-titled spouse in a non-community property state is not required to sign a notice of right to rescission under TILA and Regulation Z. 12 CFR 226.23(a). Illinois is not a community property state, and we doubt that the bulletin was intended to include Illinois with respect to its requirement for a non-titled spouse to sign the notice of right to rescission.