99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2015 and 2016
SB1596
 
Introduced 2/20/2015, by Sen. Dan Kotowski
 
SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:



55 ILCS 5/3-5048 new

 Amends the Counties Code. Provides that a county recorder may implement a county will depository and if so created shall provide a form affidavit for a depositor of a will to file with the deposited will. States the requirements of the form affidavit. Provides for the county recorders duties as it relates to acceptance of wills, storage of wills, release of wills, and destruction of wills. Provides for different fees the county recorder may charge.



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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
 
 
A BILL FOR
 


SB1596LRB099 06862 AWJ 26940 b



1 AN ACT concerning local government.


2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,

3represented in the General Assembly:



4 Section 5. The Counties Code is amended by adding Section 
53-5048 as follows:

6 (55 ILCS 5/3-5048 new)
7 Sec. 3-5048. Deposit of wills.
8 (a) As used in this Section:
9 "Depositor" means an attorney licensed or formerly 
10licensed to practice in the State of Illinois, the attorney's 
11representative, the guardian for the attorney, the personal 
12representative of the attorney's decedent's estate, or the 
13testator.
14 "Testator" means a person who executed a will, other than 
15as a witness or official to whom acknowledgment of signing was 
16given.
17 "Will" refers to an original: 
18  (1) will;
19  (2) codicil;
20  (3) will and one or more codicils;
21  (4) trust; or
22  (5) trust and one or more trust amendments.
23 (b) A county recorder may implement a county will 
 
 
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1depository pursuant to this Section. If a county recorder 
2implements a will depository, they shall create a form 
3affidavit, to be signed by the testator and notarized, which:
4  (1) states the testator's full first, middle, and last 
5 name;
6  (2) states the testator's date of birth and last four 
7 digits of the testator's Social Security number;
8  (3) states the testator's current address;
9  (4) states that the document being presented to the 
10 county recorder is the testator's will;
11  (5) lists up to 10 individuals to whom the county 
12 recorder is authorized to deliver the will;
13  (6) has a section reserved for county recorder office 
14 staff where the employee accepting the document will write 
15 the name of the testator, name of the depositor, date of 
16 deposit, confirmation that photo identification was 
17 inspected, and a space to indicate the employee name or 
18 identification number; and
19  (7) has a blank section in the upper right corner of 
20 the front side to affix a unique document number, date and 
21 time of deposit, and amount of recording fee. 
22 (c) If a county has created a will depository, a depositor 
23may deposit a will with the county recorder if they present a 
24notarized affidavit under subsection (b). If a depositor is not 
25the testator, the county recorder may require proof of 
26authority to deposit the will. Wills will only be accepted for 
 
 
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1deposit if they are the originally signed will.

2 (d) The county recorder shall collect a fee of $25 for each 
3deposit of a will of up to 10 pages and may charge an 
4additional $1 for each page above 10 pages. The county recorder 
5shall not collect a separate fee for additional documents 
6concurrently deposited in relation to a single testator or for 
7a single joint will prepared for a husband and wife.

8 (e) Upon receipt of a will under this Section, the county 
9recorder shall:
10  (1) provide the depositor with a receipt for the 
11 affidavit and will, which receipt shall contain the 
12 information designated on the envelope in accordance with 
13 paragraph (3) of this subsection;
14  (2) electronically affix a unique document number, 
15 date and time of deposit, and amount of recording fee in 
16 the upper right corner of the affidavit;
17  (3) scan in and electronically store a copy of the 
18 affidavit and will;
19  (4) place the affidavit and will or wills deposited 
20 concurrently in relation to a single testator in one 
21 envelope and seal the envelope securely in the presence of 
22 the depositor or depositor's agent;
23  (5) designate on the envelope:
24   (A) the date of deposit;
25   (B) the name, address, and telephone number of the 
26 depositor;
 
 
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1   (C) the name and last known address of the testator 
2 as provided by the depositor;
3   (D) at the depositor's option, any and all of the 
4 following information:
5    (i) alternate names by which the testator may 
6 have been known;
7    (ii) the testator's birth date, and
8    (iii) the last 4 digits of the testator's 
9 Social Security number; and
10   (E) with respect to each document enclosed:
11    (i) a short description of the document, 
12 including, if shown, its date of execution; and
13    (ii) the number of pages in the document; and
14  (6) index the will alphabetically by the name of the 
15 testator, by the alternate names set forth by which the 
16 testator may have been known, and by the electronically 
17 affixed document number;
18  (7) maintain the envelope in a secure and fireproof 
19 location accessible only to authorized county recorder 
20 staff; and
21  (8) upon request, provide to the testator a 
22 non-certified copy of the affidavit with the 
23 electronically affixed document number and will with a 
24 maximum fee of $1 per page.
25 (f) An envelope, affidavit, and will deposited under this 
26Section are not public records. The indexes created under item 
 
 
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1(4) of subsection (e) are public records.
2 (g) During the testator's lifetime, the county recorder 
3shall:
4  (1) keep the envelope containing the affidavit and will 
5 sealed; and
6  (2) deliver the envelope to:
7   (i) the testator;
8   (ii) a person authorized, in writing signed by the 
9 testator and notarized, to
receive the envelope; or
10   (iii) a person, entity, court, or government 
11 agency authorized to receive the
envelope pursuant to 
12 an order entered by a court of competent
jurisdiction.
13 (h) If the county recorder has custody of the will after 
14the death of the testator and is notified of the death of the 
15testator by means of a certified copy of the testator's death 
16certificate or by a certified copy of an order of court 
17determining the testator to be deceased, upon receipt of 
18payment of a retrieval fee in the amount of $10, the county 
19recorder shall promptly deliver the sealed envelope to the 
20clerk of the circuit court of the county in which the probate 
21of the testator's will may occur as determined under Section 
225-1 of the Probate Act of 1975.
23 (i) Upon inquiry by a person identified in paragraph (2) of 
24subsection (g), or upon inquiry of any person presenting a 
25certified copy of the testator's death certificate or a 
26certified copy of an order of a court determining the testator 
 
 
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1to be deceased, the county recorder shall inform the person 
2whether the name of the relevant testator appears in the county 
3recorder's indexes of wills. For the purposes of this 
4subsection, the county recorder need not be certain that the 
5testator is the one being inquired about, but may release that 
6information if it is possible that the testator is that one.
7 (j) The county recorder may destroy an affidavit and will 
8deposited under this Section if:
9  (1) the county recorder has not received notice of the 
10 death of the testator; and
11  (2) at least 100 years have passed since the date the 
12 will was deposited.

13 (k) The county recorder may use fees generated under this 
14Section for the operational expenses of the will depository and 
15for advertising the will depository.