SB3269 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB104 18611 JRC 32054 b

104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
SB3269

Introduced 2/3/2026, by Sen. Bill Cunningham

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

705 ILCS 105/16.1 new

Amends the Clerks of the Courts Act. Authorizes a circuit court clerk of any county to develop and maintain a will depository. Provides a procedure for the clerk to accept for safekeeping a testamentary instrument including a will, codicil, trust, or trust and one or more trust amendments of a living testator. Provides that the depositor must deposit the will with the clerk in the county in which the testator resided when the will was executed. A depositor may be the testator or an attorney who is in possession of the will with written authorization by the testator. Provides that the clerk is not required to determine if the clerk's county is the correct county for the filing. Creates a procedure for the clerk to follow in accepting, keeping, and returning these documents. Allows the clerk to charge a fee of $25 for each will deposited, and the clerk may 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.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning courts.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Clerks of Courts Act is amended by adding Section 16.1 as follows:

(705 ILCS 105/16.1 new)

Sec. 16.1. Will depository;

(a) The clerk may establish and maintain a will depository for the voluntary safekeeping of original wills before the death of the testator.

(b) As used in this Section:

"Certified death certificate" means a record of death issued by a governmental vital records authority that is certified as a true copy and does not include an electronically transmitted certificate unless expressly authorized by the clerk.

"Clerk" means a circuit court clerk.

"Depository" or "will depository" means the secure, sealed repository for original wills established and maintained under this Section.

"Depositor" means the person delivering the will for deposit and includes:

(1) the testator; or

(2) an attorney who is in possession of the will with written authorization by the testator.

"Sealed envelope" means an envelope approved by the clerk that conceals the contents of the will and bears the clerk's identifying marks, date of deposit, and index number.

"Testator" means the person who executed the will being deposited and whose death will trigger release of the will.

"Will" means a testamentary instrument executed in compliance with Article IV of the Probate Act of 1975, including a will, codicil, trust, or trust and one or more trust amendments.

"Withdrawal" means the physical return of the deposited will to the testator or to a person authorized to receive the will under subsection (j).

(c) A depositor may deposit a will of a living person with the clerk in the county in which the testator resided when the will was executed. The clerk is not required to determine if the clerk's county is the correct county for the filing. The clerk may assume, without inquiring further, that the depositor of the will is correct about the testator's county of residence.

(d) The clerk may charge a fee of $25 for each will deposited. The clerk may also charge a $15 retrieval and transfer upon death fee. The clerk may 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. These fees may be included in the fee schedule established under this Section and may be revised as provided in this Section.

(e) Upon receipt of a will under this Section, the clerk may:

(1) provide the depositor with a receipt for the will that may 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;

(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) An envelope and will deposited under this Section are not public records.

(g) During the testator's lifetime, the clerk may:

(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) During the lifetime of the testator, the clerk may release the deposited will only to:

(1) the testator in person, upon proof of identity;

(2) a person authorized in a written instrument signed by the testator; or

(3) a court pursuant to order. No other person may inspect, copy, or obtain information concerning the contents of the will.

(i) Upon presentation of a certified death certificate, or by a certified copy of an order of court determining the testator to be deceased, the clerk may 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.

(j) Depositing a will with a clerk does not confer validity on a will or any greater or lesser legal weight, validity, consideration, or priority than any other will of the same testator or testators under the provisions of the Probate Act of 1975.

(k) The testator may withdraw the deposited will at any time upon written request and proof of identity. A will withdrawn under this subsection is no longer subject to this Section.

(l) If 100 years have elapsed from the date of deposit and the clerk has not received either a certified death certificate or a withdrawal request, the clerk may destroy the sealed will without further notice.

(m) The clerk is not liable for loss or destruction of a will deposited under this Section, except for willful misconduct.

(n) The clerk may adopt forms, affidavits, withdrawal procedures, and other rules necessary to administer this Section.