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.)