Bill Text: IL HB1050 | 2011-2012 | 97th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Secretary of State Act. Adds that a depositor, an attorney licensed or formerly licensed to practice in the State or his or her representative, may deposit a will with the Secretary of State by certified mail. Provides that a depositor is responsible for any postage or delivery costs associated with the deposit of a will by certified mail. Provides that a depositor must prepay any postage or delivery costs associated with the mailing of a receipt by the Secretary of State to verify the deposit of the will. Makes conforming changes.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)

Status: (Failed) 2013-01-08 - Session Sine Die [HB1050 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2011-HB1050-Introduced.html

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97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2011 and 2012 HB1050 Introduced , by Rep. Robert W. Pritchard SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
15 ILCS 305/5.15
Amends the Secretary of State Act. Adds that a depositor, an attorney licensed or formerly licensed to practice in the State or his or her representative, may deposit a will with the Secretary of State by certified mail. Provides that a depositor is responsible for any postage or delivery costs associated with the deposit of a will by certified mail. Provides that a depositor must prepay any postage or delivery costs associated with the mailing of a receipt by the Secretary of State to verify the deposit of the will. Makes conforming changes.
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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning State government.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Secretary of State Act is amended by
changing Section 5.15 as follows:
(15 ILCS 305/5.15)
Sec. 5.15. Deposit of wills.
(a) Definitions. As used in this Section:
"Date of deposit" means the date that a will is deposited
in person or the date that a will mailed by certified mail is
received by the Secretary of State.
"Depositor" means an attorney licensed or formerly
licensed to practice in the State of Illinois, the attorney's
representative, the guardian for the attorney, or the personal
representative of the attorney's decedent's estate.
"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

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(5) trust and one or more trust amendments.
(b) Deposit of wills. A depositor may deposit a will with
the Secretary of State in person or by certified mail, return
receipt requested, if the depositor certifies in writing to the
Secretary of State that the depositor is unable to locate the
testator after a diligent search. The certification shall be on
a form to be provided by the Secretary. No later than 90 days
after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th
General Assembly, the form must be made available on the
Secretary of State's official website. This Section applies
whether it is known or unknown whether the testator is living.
(c) Assumptions. The Secretary of State may assume, without
inquiring into the facts, that the depositor has first made a
diligent search for the testator.
(d) Fee. The Secretary of State shall collect a fee of $15
for each deposit of a will. The Secretary of State 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. If the deposit is
made by certified mail, then the $15 fee must be mailed with
the will.
(d-5) Postage and delivery costs. A depositor is
responsible for any postage or delivery costs associated with
the deposit of a will by certified mail and the mailing of a
receipt verifying the deposit of a will under paragraph (1) of
subsection (e). A depositor must prepay any postage or delivery

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costs associated with the receipt verifying the deposit of a
will.
(e) Duty of Secretary of State upon receipt. Upon receipt
of a will under this Section, the Secretary of State shall:
(1) provide the depositor with a receipt for the will
at the time of deposit, if the deposit is made in person,
or within 10 business days after the will is received by
the Secretary of State if the deposit is made by certified
mail and the depositor has prepaid any postage or delivery
fees as required under subsection (d), which receipt shall
contain the information designated on the envelope in
accordance with paragraph (3) of this subsection;
(2) place the will or wills deposited concurrently in
relation to a single testator in one envelope and seal the
envelope securely and, if the will is deposited in person
by the depositor or the depositor's agent, the envelope
must be sealed in the presence of the depositor or
depositor's agent;
(3) designate on the envelope:
(A) the date of deposit;
(B) the name, address, and telephone number of the
depositor;
(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:

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(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
(4) index the will alphabetically by the name of the
testator, and by the alternate names set forth by which the
testator may have been known.
(f) Status as a public record. An envelope and will
deposited under this Section are not public records. The index
created under item (4) of subsection (e) is a public record.
(g) Duty of Secretary of State during testator's lifetime.
During the testator's lifetime, the Secretary of State shall:
(1) keep the envelope containing the 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) Duty of Secretary of State upon notification of death

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of testator. If the Secretary of State 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 Secretary
of State shall promptly deliver the sealed will 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 (755 ILCS 5/5-1).
(i) Duties of Secretary of State upon inquiry. 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 to be deceased, the Secretary
of State shall inform the person whether the name of the
relevant testator appears in the Secretary of State's index of
wills. For the purposes of this subsection, the Secretary of
State 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) Destruction of will. The Secretary of State may destroy
a will deposited under this Section if:
(1) the Secretary of State has not received notice of
the death of the testator; and
(2) at least 100 years have passed since the date the

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will was deposited.
(k) All fees received by the Secretary of State under this
Section must be deposited into the Secretary of State Special
Services Fund.
(Source: P.A. 96-137, eff. 1-1-10.)