Public Act 096-0137
 
HB0151 Enrolled LRB096 03114 RCE 13130 b

    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 adding
Section 5.15 as follows:
 
    (15 ILCS 305/5.15 new)
    Sec. 5.15. Deposit of wills.
    (a) Definitions. 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, 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
        (5) trust and one or more trust amendments.
    (b) Deposit of wills. A depositor may deposit a will with
the Secretary of State 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. 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.
    (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,
    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 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:
                (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
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
    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.
 
    Section 10. The Probate Act of 1975 is amended by changing
Section 6-1 as follows:
 
    (755 ILCS 5/6-1)  (from Ch. 110 1/2, par. 6-1)
    Sec. 6-1. Duty to file will - altering, destroying or
secreting.)
    (a) Immediately upon the death of the testator any person
who has the testator's will in his possession shall file it
with the clerk of the court of the proper county and upon
failure or refusal to do so, the court on its motion or on the
petition of any interested person may issue an attachment and
compel the production of the will, subject to the provisions of
Section 5.15 of the Secretary of State Act.
    (b) If any person wilfully alters or destroys a will
without the direction of the testator or wilfully secretes it
for the period of 30 days after the death of the testator is
known to him, the person so offending, on conviction thereof,
shall be sentenced as in cases of theft of property classified
as a Class 3 felony by the law in effect at the date of the
offense. The 30-day period does not apply to the Secretary of
State when acting pursuant to Section 5.15 of the Secretary of
State Act.
(Source: P.A. 90-159, eff. 7-23-97.)