Illinois exam glossary
Attorney review period in Illinois real estate
The attorney's inbox does not necessarily start the review clock. The signed contract may have started it days earlier, and a second deadline may already be running. Find the clause, its trigger and its notice requirements before relying on a familiar five-day number.
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The short answer
An attorney review period is a contract provision that gives the specified attorneys or parties defined powers to review, approve, disapprove or propose changes within a stated time. An ordinary Illinois resale does not gain an automatic five-day cancellation right merely because attorney review is common in some forms. Read the signed clause for the trigger, permitted action, notice method, deadline and effect of silence. A proposed change, a termination and an escrow release are separate events.
Reviewed October 25, 2026. PSI covers contract formation, enforceability, notice and execution within National V; its 19-question Contracts allocation is not this page's quota. Patel v. McGrath is a published clause-specific decision, not a current statewide purchase-contract form. The current electronic-transactions source is 815 ILCS 333; the former 5 ILCS 175 was repealed. These examples are original teaching cases and do not compute a private transaction's deadline.
Read five things before counting five days
- Find the actual review right. Read the executed agreement, incorporated riders and later changes. A sentence encouraging legal advice is not automatically a post-acceptance cancellation clause. An approval-as-to-form provision can also differ from one permitting broader disapproval or negotiation. Do not infer the same powers from the heading alone.
- Identify the trigger and time rules. The clause might run from acceptance or another stated event. Check whether the trigger date is included, how business days and holidays are defined, the deadline hour and the required time zone. Late delivery of a file to counsel does not itself rewrite a trigger tied to acceptance.
- Separate the permitted actions. Approval, disapproval, a proposed modification and a request for information need not have the same effect. A proposal under an already formed contract can invite negotiation while preserving that contract. Express rejection or different wording can matter; a not-a-counteroffer label is not a universal cure for contradictory terms.
- Read the notice provision. Identify the authorized actor, required writing, recipient, address, delivery method and event that makes notice effective. Drafting, sending, receiving and opening a message are distinct facts. Electronic form can be legally recognized without curing an unauthorized sender, a missed deadline or a failed required delivery.
- Calendar the next event too. A clause can set one deadline for proposing changes and another for reaching agreement. Both may run from acceptance. Determine what timely action, no action or unresolved proposals do under that wording. A request for more time alone does not establish an extension. Keep inspection, financing, title and closing deadlines separate unless an effective change affects them.
| Question | Look for | Do not assume |
|---|---|---|
| What right exists? | Executed clause, riders and authorized changes | Every form grants the same cancellation right |
| When did the clock start? | Acceptance or another defined trigger | Counsel receipt always starts it |
| How are days counted? | Business/calendar definitions, exclusions, time | Every weekday counts under every form |
| Who may act and how? | Authorized attorney/party, writing and notice terms | Any broker message exercises counsel's power |
| What does a proposal do? | Scope, preservation and resolution language | All proposals are counteroffers or all are harmless |
| When must agreement be reached? | The separate resolution trigger and deadline | Ten more days always follow the first letter |
| What does silence do? | Waiver, deemed approval or other stated effect | Every contingency expires with review |
| What proof is needed? | Acceptance, final notice, delivery and authorized changes | A draft or sent-folder entry proves receipt |
The distinctions that matter
| Distinction | How it works | What to notice |
|---|---|---|
| Contract right and assumed cooling-off period | The signed provision defines the review right. Local familiarity does not create an automatic five-day escape from every signed purchase. | Find the actual clause and any separate statutory right. |
| Consultation and cancellation | Advice to obtain counsel can encourage review without granting a post-acceptance exit. | Recommendation is not the same as a defined termination power. |
| Formation and a later termination condition | Patel treated the particular accepted contract as formed, with its review clause operating as a condition subsequent. | Do not assume nothing binds the parties until an attorney replies. |
| Proposal and agreed amendment | A proposal asks for different terms. An accepted, properly authorized change supplies the agreement the proposal alone does not establish. | Requesting a longer deadline is not receiving one. |
| Unstated reason and permitted reason | Patel distinguished not stating a reason from actually relying on a reason prohibited by the contract. | Silence about a reason does not erase a price-only restriction. |
| Five-day and ten-day clocks | In the Patel contract, both were measured from acceptance. That is different from ten extra days after a proposal. | Read each trigger independently. |
| Sent, received and read | The governing agreement and applicable electronic-transactions rules distinguish these events. Human awareness is not always required for electronic receipt. | A sent-folder timestamp or unread inbox does not settle every notice question. |
| Electronic validity and notice compliance | 815 ILCS 333 recognizes electronic records and signatures under its conditions. It does not make every electronic message an effective contractual election. | Check agreement to transact electronically, attribution and the notice terms. |
| Review waiver and other contingencies | A clause may waive review after untimely silence without automatically canceling every other independent right. | Keep the inspection and financing procedures on the calendar. |
| Refund entitlement and authority to release | A claimed termination can raise a refund claim while escrow law still controls a disputed disbursement. | The broker is not the adjudicator of disputed attorney notice. |
Work through the facts
Count the stated five business days
A hypothetical clause starts after Monday, October 19, 2026 acceptance. It excludes the acceptance date, Saturdays and Sundays, with no other excluded dates in this exercise. Effective notice is due by 5 p.m. on the fifth counted day.
- Tuesday October 20 is day one.
- Wednesday, Thursday and Friday are days two, three and four.
- Monday October 26 is day five.
Answer: The stated deadline is 5 p.m. on October 26 under this fictional clause, not a universal Illinois deadline.
Apply an expressly excluded date
Use the same hypothetical clause, but the agreement expressly excludes Monday October 26 from counted business days. All other stated facts remain the same.
- The contract-defined exclusion removes Monday from this exercise.
- Tuesday October 27 becomes day five.
- This stipulation is not a claim that October 26 is an actual legal or bank holiday.
Answer: The deadline is the stated time on October 27 under the modified facts.
Both clocks start at acceptance
A hypothetical clause requires proposals within five business days and agreement within ten business days, both after October 19 acceptance, using the no-other-exclusions counting rules above. Counsel proposes changes Friday October 23.
- The proposal is on counted day four.
- The tenth counted business day after acceptance is November 2.
- The letter does not restart ten days from October 23.
Answer: The stated resolution deadline remains November 2 unless an effective agreement changes it.
Propose changes without rejecting the agreement
A clause like Patel's permits proposals. Timely counsel correspondence requests survey and title changes while expressly preserving the accepted contract.
- The published decision treated the existing agreement and actual correspondence as significant.
- It did not declare every proposed change in every contract a harmless inquiry.
Answer: The proposal is not automatically a formation-stage counteroffer; read the full clause and communication.
A request is not an extension
The review period expires Friday. A broker asks for an extension and updates the internal calendar, but no authorized assent or effective change is established.
- A request and a calendar edit do not establish an agreed extension.
- Identify any actual agreement, authority, required form and notice before relying on a later date.
Answer: The supplied facts do not prove more review time. A live question about authority, assent, waiver or later conduct requires its own analysis.
Received after a stated receipt deadline
The hypothetical agreement requires the designated attorney's receipt by 5 p.m. Counsel drafts at 4:58 p.m., but effective receipt under the stipulated clause occurs at 5:03 p.m. No extension or other modifying facts apply.
- Drafting precedes the deadline, but the required receipt event does not.
- The actual effective event occurred three minutes after 5 p.m.
Answer: Notice is late under these expressly supplied terms; this does not determine an unstated real email system's receipt facts.
Advice before an auction
Auction terms advise bidders to consult an attorney before bidding. The hypothetical agreement grants no post-acceptance approval or disapproval right.
- The stated sentence recommends advice before commitment.
- It does not by itself supply a post-sale review election.
Answer: Do not invent a cancellation clause from consultation advice alone.
Separate the inspection procedure
An agreement requires a particular inspection notice and report pages. A general review letter asks for repairs but supplies neither the stated notice nor those pages, and no waiver or agreed change is established.
- The review and inspection clauses have distinct procedures.
- The provided facts do not show compliance with the inspection condition merely because review is ongoing.
Answer: Keep both tracks and their deadlines separate; do not infer an automatic inspection extension.
A price restriction still matters
The contract prohibits disapproval based solely on stated purchase price. Counsel gives no reason for disapproval, and the seller relists at a substantially higher price.
- Patel treated comparable facts as raising an issue for further proceedings.
- Not giving a reason did not make a prohibited reason permissible.
Answer: The cited appeal did not finally award the property or decide the actual reason as a proven fact.
A disputed refund claim
Buyer claims effective attorney disapproval. Seller contests the notice and anticipated earnest-money return; the sponsoring broker knows of the contest.
- The broker must distinguish claimed contract entitlement from escrow authority.
- A written dispute or actual knowledge invokes the holding rule and its lawful resolution paths.
Answer: Do not release disputed money merely because the buyer labels the letter attorney disapproval.
Mistakes to avoid
- Every ordinary resale gets five statutory days. Identify the signed review provision and any separate applicable rights.
- The clock begins when counsel reads the file. Use the actual contractual trigger.
- A timely proposal always adds ten more days. Read the resolution clock; it may share the acceptance trigger.
- Not a counteroffer is a magic phrase. Consider the whole clause, correspondence and whether a contract already formed.
- An unspecified reason can never violate the contract. A prohibited actual basis can still matter.
- Unread electronic notice is necessarily unreceived. Separate system receipt from human awareness under the governing rules.
- Changing the closing date necessarily revives attorney review. Identify what the parties actually changed.
- The escrow holder decides the legal notice dispute. Use the applicable escrow holding and resolution rules.
Check your understanding
These are original teaching questions, not recalled or predicted PSI questions. Answer first, then explain why the other choices fail.
1. What establishes the attorney-review powers in the ordinary resale described here?
- A broker's calendar entry alone
- The tax assessment
- A universal five-day right created by every listing
- The executed contract and applicable incorporated terms
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. The executed contract and applicable incorporated terms
Find the actual review language. Duration, permitted action and notice are not supplied merely by local custom or a familiar form heading.
2. A clause runs five business days after acceptance, excluding acceptance and weekends, with no other exclusions. Acceptance is Monday. What is day five?
- The first Sunday
- The following Monday
- Friday of that same week
- The day counsel opens the email
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. The following Monday
Tuesday through Friday are days one through four; the next Monday is day five under those stated definitions. A different clause can produce a different result.
3. A clause sets both a five-day proposal limit and a ten-day agreement limit after acceptance. What does a timely proposal establish about the second clock?
- The ten-day limit disappears
- It automatically cancels the contract
- It does not itself replace the stated acceptance trigger
- It always starts ten new days
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. It does not itself replace the stated acceptance trigger
Read each trigger. A timely proposal does not necessarily extend or restart a separately stated resolution period.
4. What did the published Patel decision establish about the particular review clause?
- The accepted contract was formed and its review clause operated as a condition subsequent
- Every suggested change cancels a purchase
- Every Illinois contract uses the same form
- Every review clause prevents formation
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. The accepted contract was formed and its review clause operated as a condition subsequent
The holding concerned the language and correspondence before the court. Do not convert that result into a universal rule that every proposed change preserves every contract.
5. Counsel requests an extension, but no authorized assent or effective change is shown. What is the supported conclusion?
- The inspection contingency necessarily disappears
- The review deadline always moves one week
- The request alone does not prove an extension
- The broker may pick any new date
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. The request alone does not prove an extension
Identify the actual agreement, authority, form and notice. Asking for more time is different from establishing that more time was granted.
6. A hypothetical notice clause requires effective receipt by 5 p.m. The stipulated effective receipt occurs at 5:03 p.m., with no modifying facts. What is correct?
- Drafting at 4:58 p.m. necessarily cures it
- It is timely because counsel worked on it before five
- The deadline automatically moves to tomorrow
- It is late under the stated receipt rule
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. It is late under the stated receipt rule
The required receipt event occurred three minutes after the stated deadline. Drafting, dispatch and effective receipt are distinct.
7. Under the applicable default rule in 815 ILCS 333/15(e), can an electronic record be received even if no individual is aware of receipt?
- Never
- Only after a read receipt is signed
- Yes, subject to the applicable receipt conditions and governing agreement
- Only after the attorney replies
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. Yes, subject to the applicable receipt conditions and governing agreement
The statute distinguishes receipt under subsection (b) from individual awareness. Do not assume unread means unreceived or that every system entry satisfies every notice clause.
8. A contract prohibits price-only disapproval. Counsel states no reason. Which statement is best?
- The prohibited basis becomes permissible
- The contract restriction disappears
- An unstated reason does not authorize an actually prohibited basis
- No reason can ever be investigated
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. An unstated reason does not authorize an actually prohibited basis
Patel distinguished the absence of a stated reason from the underlying basis. It remanded a factual issue rather than conclusively deciding motive or awarding specific performance.
9. A general review letter asks for repairs but does not satisfy the separately stipulated inspection notice and report requirements. No waiver or modification is shown. What follows?
- The broker can waive the missing requirements for both parties
- Inspection compliance is not established merely because review is ongoing
- Every contingency automatically extends
- The repair letter is always a valid statutory termination
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Inspection compliance is not established merely because review is ongoing
Separate clauses can require separate notices, content and timing. Do not infer an automatic inspection extension from attorney discussions.
10. Buyer claims attorney disapproval and a refund. Seller contests the anticipated escrow release, and the broker knows of the contest. What is correct?
- Apply the escrow holding and lawful resolution rules
- Deduct the commission and divide the balance
- The refund label automatically authorizes payment
- Pay whoever signed the first letter
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. Apply the escrow holding and lawful resolution rules
A contractual refund claim and the escrow holder's authority are different. Actual knowledge of a contest matters under Rule 1450.750.
11. Which electronic-transactions source should this current Illinois lesson use?
- The sender's personal email policy alone
- Any text message, regardless of authority or contract
- The Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, 815 ILCS 333, with its conditions
- The repealed 5 ILCS 175 as if still operative
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. The Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, 815 ILCS 333, with its conditions
The current Act recognizes electronic records and signatures under its rules. It does not cure a missing agreement, attribution, authority or required notice event.
12. Auction terms merely advise consultation before bidding and supply no post-acceptance review right in the hypothetical. What is correct?
- Every auction is void until counsel replies
- The advice alone does not establish the requested post-acceptance power
- Consultation advice always creates five exit days
- The broker may add a cancellation clause after signing
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. The advice alone does not establish the requested post-acceptance power
Read what the agreement actually grants. A recommendation to obtain advice is different from an approval, disapproval or termination provision.
Common questions
Is attorney review always five business days in Illinois?
No. Read the signed clause, its definitions and riders. Five business days appears in some forms, but familiarity does not create that right in every transaction. A different clause can provide a different period, limited scope or no post-acceptance review right.
When does the review clock start?
Use the event the agreement names. If it runs from acceptance, later attorney receipt does not itself restart it. Confirm how acceptance is established and delivered, whether the first date counts, the excluded dates, the deadline time and the effective notice event.
Is the purchase binding while attorney review is pending?
The clause controls. Patel treated its particular accepted contract as formed, with a condition subsequent. That does not make every differently worded approval clause identical or decide the effect of missing signatures, acceptance or other formation facts.
Does proposing a modification always reject the contract?
No. A proposal under a formed contract can invite changes without rejecting the existing agreement. Express disapproval, a demand for replacement terms or different clause language can matter. Review the whole communication rather than treating its label as conclusive.
Does the resolution period restart with the first attorney letter?
Only if the governing terms say so or an effective change establishes it. In the cited Patel contract, both the five-business-day and ten-business-day limits ran from acceptance. A timely proposal did not supply an additional ten days from its own date.
Can an attorney disapprove for any reason?
Check the clause. It can limit scope or prohibit a particular basis, such as stated purchase price alone. Not stating a reason is different from actually using a prohibited reason. Do not read a broad review heading as overriding an express restriction.
What did Patel decide about the seller's reason?
The appeal identified a factual issue concerning the prohibited price-only basis, reversed the dismissal and remanded. It did not finally prove the seller's motive or award specific performance. Its contract and correspondence must not be replaced with a universal outcome for every sale.
What happens if no notice is timely served?
Read the stated consequence. A clause may waive its review provision and leave the agreement in effect. That does not automatically decide every separate contingency, later agreement or waiver issue. Keep the complete contract and conduct in view.
Can a broker extend review by changing the calendar?
A calendar entry alone does not establish the parties' agreement. Confirm authority, assent, required form and delivery for an actual extension. A written, clearly authorized extension provides evidence; do not presume an unaccepted request or a closing-date change revived an expired right.
Is an email valid attorney-review notice?
It can be, but electronic form is only part of the question. The current Uniform Electronic Transactions Act applies under its conditions, including agreement to conduct electronically. Verify the actor, attribution, content, recipient, method and effective timing required for this transaction.
Must the recipient open an email before it counts as received?
Not necessarily. Section 15 distinguishes receipt under its system, retrieval and processing conditions from individual awareness, and the governing agreement matters. A read receipt is not a universal prerequisite. Conversely, hitting send does not prove required receipt or that the intended contents arrived. Known failed transmission or receipt can raise additional questions under subsection (g) and other applicable law.
Does attorney review pause inspection or financing?
Do not assume it. Each contingency can have a separate trigger, notice and consequence. Identify an actual clause or effective agreed change before moving another deadline. Ongoing attorney correspondence alone is not proof that every other period stopped.
Can the broker edit the signed contract after review?
A licensee changing a signed transaction document must follow Rule 1450.775, including its written authorization and contemporaneous initial/signature safeguards. Even a seller-signed offer before buyer acceptance is a signed document for that rule. A typed change is not proof of authorized assent.
Does attorney disapproval automatically return earnest money?
A valid termination can support a contractual refund right, but the escrow holder also needs proper authority. Rule 1450.750 recognizes contract directions, required written directions, court orders and contested-funds rules. A broker must not decide a known notice dispute simply by choosing one party's position.
What should a broker do during attorney review?
Deliver documents promptly, record the facts and defined deadlines, communicate authorized factual instructions, retain proof and route legal interpretation to counsel. A broker's real estate license does not itself grant the attorney's contractual power or permission to draft custom legal advice.
What should I practice for exam questions?
Identify the clause, trigger, permitted action, effective notice event and next deadline. Then explain which condition each wrong answer overlooks. These original scenarios teach contract distinctions; they are not official PSI items or a validated readiness prediction.
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Official sources and scope
Checked October 25, 2026. Patel supplies a published example of how particular language and correspondence mattered; it does not replace the signed contract. Current Illinois electronic law is the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act. The written-document and escrow rules create separate safeguards. The dates below use expressly supplied hypothetical counting rules, not a universal Illinois holiday or notice rule.
- PSI June 24, 2026 outline: general contract law and notice
- Patel v. McGrath, No. 2-06-0472 (2007), pages 4-8: requests, counteroffers and the specific attorney-review clause
- 68 Ill. Adm. Code 1450.775(a)-(d): signed documents, alterations, 24-hour copies and binding-contract headings
- Illinois General Assembly, 740 ILCS 80/2 contracts for sale of land and interests
- Chicago Bar Association v. Quinlan and Tyson, 34 Ill. 2d 116 (1966): majority opinion, pages 120-123, reproduced by Justia
- 68 Ill. Adm. Code 1450.750: escrow, transfers, release, records and supervision
- 815 ILCS 333/5, /7 and /9: electronic agreement, recognition and attribution
- 815 ILCS 333/15: electronic sending and receipt
- ILGA current status: former Electronic Commerce Security Act repealed
This is exam preparation, not advice for a specific transaction. State law and the applicable facts control. Our editorial and corrections process explains how to report an issue.