Bill Text: IL SB1596 | 2015-2016 | 99th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: 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.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-0)

Status: (Passed) 2015-12-17 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 99-0495 [SB1596 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2015-SB1596-Introduced.html

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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
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AN ACT concerning local government.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Counties Code is amended by adding Section
3-5048 as follows:
(55 ILCS 5/3-5048 new)
Sec. 3-5048. Deposit of wills.
(a) As used in this Section:
"Depositor" means an attorney licensed or formerly
licensed to practice in the State of Illinois, the attorney's
representative, the guardian for the attorney, the personal
representative of the attorney's decedent's estate, or the
testator.
"Testator" means a person who executed a will, other than
as a witness or official to whom acknowledgment of signing was
given.
"Will" refers to an original:
(1) will;
(2) codicil;
(3) will and one or more codicils;
(4) trust; or
(5) trust and one or more trust amendments.
(b) A county recorder may implement a county will

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depository pursuant to this Section. If a county recorder
implements a will depository, they shall create a form
affidavit, to be signed by the testator and notarized, which:
(1) states the testator's full first, middle, and last
name;
(2) states the testator's date of birth and last four
digits of the testator's Social Security number;
(3) states the testator's current address;
(4) states that the document being presented to the
county recorder is the testator's will;
(5) lists up to 10 individuals to whom the county
recorder is authorized to deliver the will;
(6) has a section reserved for county recorder office
staff where the employee accepting the document will write
the name of the testator, name of the depositor, date of
deposit, confirmation that photo identification was
inspected, and a space to indicate the employee name or
identification number; and
(7) has a blank section in the upper right corner of
the front side to affix a unique document number, date and
time of deposit, and amount of recording fee.
(c) If a county has created a will depository, a depositor
may deposit a will with the county recorder if they present a
notarized affidavit under subsection (b). If a depositor is not
the testator, the county recorder may require proof of
authority to deposit the will. Wills will only be accepted for

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deposit if they are the originally signed will.
(d) The county recorder shall collect a fee of $25 for each
deposit of a will of up to 10 pages and may charge an
additional $1 for each page above 10 pages. The county recorder
shall not collect a separate fee for additional documents
concurrently deposited in relation to a single testator or for
a single joint will prepared for a husband and wife.
(e) Upon receipt of a will under this Section, the county
recorder shall:
(1) provide the depositor with a receipt for the
affidavit and will, which receipt shall contain the
information designated on the envelope in accordance with
paragraph (3) of this subsection;
(2) electronically affix a unique document number,
date and time of deposit, and amount of recording fee in
the upper right corner of the affidavit;
(3) scan in and electronically store a copy of the
affidavit and will;
(4) place the affidavit and will or wills deposited
concurrently in relation to a single testator in one
envelope and seal the envelope securely in the presence of
the depositor or depositor's agent;
(5) designate on the envelope:
(A) the date of deposit;
(B) the name, address, and telephone number of the
depositor;

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(C) the name and last known address of the testator
as provided by the depositor;
(D) at the depositor's option, any and all of the
following information:
(i) alternate names by which the testator may
have been known;
(ii) the testator's birth date, and
(iii) the last 4 digits of the testator's
Social Security number; and
(E) with respect to each document enclosed:
(i) a short description of the document,
including, if shown, its date of execution; and
(ii) the number of pages in the document; and
(6) index the will alphabetically by the name of the
testator, by the alternate names set forth by which the
testator may have been known, and by the electronically
affixed document number;
(7) maintain the envelope in a secure and fireproof
location accessible only to authorized county recorder
staff; and
(8) upon request, provide to the testator a
non-certified copy of the affidavit with the
electronically affixed document number and will with a
maximum fee of $1 per page.
(f) An envelope, affidavit, and will deposited under this
Section are not public records. The indexes created under item

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(4) of subsection (e) are public records.
(g) During the testator's lifetime, the county recorder
shall:
(1) keep the envelope containing the affidavit and will
sealed; and
(2) deliver the envelope to:
(i) the testator;
(ii) a person authorized, in writing signed by the
testator and notarized, to receive the envelope; or
(iii) a person, entity, court, or government
agency authorized to receive the envelope pursuant to
an order entered by a court of competent jurisdiction.
(h) If the county recorder has custody of the will after
the death of the testator and is notified of the death of the
testator by means of a certified copy of the testator's death
certificate or by a certified copy of an order of court
determining the testator to be deceased, upon receipt of
payment of a retrieval fee in the amount of $10, the county
recorder shall promptly deliver the sealed envelope to the
clerk of the circuit court of the county in which the probate
of the testator's will may occur as determined under Section
5-1 of the Probate Act of 1975.
(i) Upon inquiry by a person identified in paragraph (2) of
subsection (g), or upon inquiry of any person presenting a
certified copy of the testator's death certificate or a
certified copy of an order of a court determining the testator

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to be deceased, the county recorder shall inform the person
whether the name of the relevant testator appears in the county
recorder's indexes of wills. For the purposes of this
subsection, the county recorder need not be certain that the
testator is the one being inquired about, but may release that
information if it is possible that the testator is that one.
(j) The county recorder may destroy an affidavit and will
deposited under this Section if:
(1) the county recorder has not received notice of the
death of the testator; and
(2) at least 100 years have passed since the date the
will was deposited.
(k) The county recorder may use fees generated under this
Section for the operational expenses of the will depository and
for advertising the will depository.