Rep. Emanuel Chris Welch
Filed: 4/14/2015
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1 | AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 745
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2 | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 745 by replacing | ||||||
3 | everything after the enacting clause with the following:
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4 | "Section 5. The Counties Code is amended by adding Section | ||||||
5 | 3-5048 as follows: | ||||||
6 | (55 ILCS 5/3-5048 new) | ||||||
7 | Sec. 3-5048. Will repository. | ||||||
8 | (a) As used in this Section: | ||||||
9 | "Depositor" means an attorney licensed or formerly | ||||||
10 | licensed to practice in the State of Illinois, the attorney's | ||||||
11 | representative, the guardian for the attorney, the personal | ||||||
12 | representative of the attorney's decedent's estate, or the | ||||||
13 | testator. | ||||||
14 | "Depositor affidavit" means an affidavit signed by a | ||||||
15 | non-testator in which the depositor affirms he or she is | ||||||
16 | authorized to submit a registration form and will for scanning |
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1 | on behalf of the testator. | ||||||
2 | "Testator" means a person who executed a will, other than | ||||||
3 | as a witness or official to whom acknowledgment of signing was | ||||||
4 | given. | ||||||
5 | "Will" refers to an original: | ||||||
6 | (1) will; | ||||||
7 | (2) codicil; | ||||||
8 | (3) will and one or more codicils; | ||||||
9 | (4) trust; | ||||||
10 | (5) trust and one or more trust amendments; or | ||||||
11 | (6) any other attachments, addendums, or other related | ||||||
12 | documents to items (1) through (5). | ||||||
13 | (b) If a county recorder's office maintains a computer | ||||||
14 | system with the capability of scanning and securely storing | ||||||
15 | electronic image files and corresponding index information, | ||||||
16 | the county recorder may implement a county will repository | ||||||
17 | pursuant to this Section to privately store electronic copies | ||||||
18 | of wills. If a county recorder implements a will repository, | ||||||
19 | they shall create a registration form to be signed by the | ||||||
20 | testator which: | ||||||
21 | (1) states the testator's full first, middle, and last | ||||||
22 | name and all previous names by which the testator may have | ||||||
23 | been known; | ||||||
24 | (2) states the testator's date of birth and last four | ||||||
25 | digits of the testator's Social Security number; | ||||||
26 | (3) states the testator's current address; |
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1 | (4) affirms that the document being presented to the | ||||||
2 | county recorder is the testator's will; | ||||||
3 | (5) lists the full names of up to 10 individuals to | ||||||
4 | whom the county recorder is authorized to deliver the will | ||||||
5 | upon the death of the testator and a space to indicate if | ||||||
6 | there are additional names attached. The county recorder | ||||||
7 | shall prepare a form addendum for attachment to the | ||||||
8 | registration form for the testator to list additional full | ||||||
9 | names in addition to the 10 individuals listed on the | ||||||
10 | registration form. The addendum shall contain a disclaimer | ||||||
11 | that only individuals listed on the registration form or | ||||||
12 | addendum are eligible to retrieve a copy of the will | ||||||
13 | without a court order; | ||||||
14 | (6) has a section reserved for county recorder office | ||||||
15 | staff where the employee accepting the document will write | ||||||
16 | the name of the testator, name of the depositor, date of | ||||||
17 | deposit, confirmation that photo identification was | ||||||
18 | inspected, and a space to indicate the employee name or | ||||||
19 | identification number; | ||||||
20 | (7) has a blank 3 inch by 5 inch section in the upper | ||||||
21 | right corner of the front side to affix a unique document | ||||||
22 | number, date and time of deposit, and amount of recording | ||||||
23 | fee; and | ||||||
24 | (8) has the option to include the location of the | ||||||
25 | original signed copy of the will. | ||||||
26 | (c) If a county has created a will repository, a depositor |
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1 | may present a will for scanning into the will repository if he | ||||||
2 | or she presents a signed and completed registration form as | ||||||
3 | described in subsection (b). If a depositor is not the | ||||||
4 | testator, the county recorder may require proof of authority to | ||||||
5 | register the will for scanning including requiring a depositor | ||||||
6 | affidavit to be completed. A will shall only be accepted for | ||||||
7 | scanning if it is the original signed will.
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8 | (d) The county recorder shall collect a fee of $25 for each | ||||||
9 | scanning of a will of up to 10 pages and may charge an | ||||||
10 | additional $1 for each page above 10 pages. The registration | ||||||
11 | form and depositor affidavit, if any, shall not be counted when | ||||||
12 | determining the page count for determining fees. The county | ||||||
13 | recorder shall not collect a separate fee for additional | ||||||
14 | documents concurrently deposited in relation to a single | ||||||
15 | testator or for a single joint will prepared for a husband and | ||||||
16 | wife. Fees collected under this subsection shall be deposited | ||||||
17 | into the recorder's document storage fund as set up by the | ||||||
18 | county treasurer pursuant to Section 3-5018 of the Counties | ||||||
19 | Code.
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20 | (e) Upon receipt of a will under this Section, the county | ||||||
21 | recorder shall: | ||||||
22 | (1) provide the depositor with a receipt for the | ||||||
23 | registration form and will listing the date and time of | ||||||
24 | filing and the unique document number assigned to the | ||||||
25 | documents; | ||||||
26 | (2) scan in, electronically store, and electronically |
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1 | affix a unique document number, date and time of deposit, | ||||||
2 | and amount of recording fee in the upper right corner of | ||||||
3 | the registration form; | ||||||
4 | (3) scan in and electronically store a copy of the | ||||||
5 | depositor affidavit and will including electronically | ||||||
6 | affixing the unique document number and date of recording | ||||||
7 | on each page of the will; | ||||||
8 | (4) return the original signed registration form, | ||||||
9 | depositor affidavit, and will to the depositor after | ||||||
10 | scanning in and electronically storing the registration | ||||||
11 | form, depositor affidavit, and will pursuant to items (2) | ||||||
12 | and (3) of this subsection; | ||||||
13 | (5) index the will alphabetically by the name of the | ||||||
14 | testator, by the previous names by which the testator may | ||||||
15 | have been known, by the date of registration of the will, | ||||||
16 | by the names of persons on the registration form or | ||||||
17 | addendum who are eligible to retrieve a copy, and by the | ||||||
18 | unique document number; and | ||||||
19 | (6) upon request and payment of the recorder's | ||||||
20 | non-certified copy charge, provide to the testator a | ||||||
21 | non-certified copy of the registration form, depositor | ||||||
22 | affidavit, and will with the electronically affixed unique | ||||||
23 | document number with a maximum fee of $1 per page. | ||||||
24 | (f) A registration form, depositor affidavit, and will | ||||||
25 | scanned or executed under this Section are not public records. | ||||||
26 | The indexes created under item (5) of subsection (e) are not |
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1 | public records. | ||||||
2 | (g) During the testator's lifetime, the county recorder | ||||||
3 | shall: | ||||||
4 | (1) keep the electronic images of the registration | ||||||
5 | form, depositor affidavit, and will in a secure database | ||||||
6 | not available to the public with access limited to recorder | ||||||
7 | office staff necessary for the operation of the repository; | ||||||
8 | and | ||||||
9 | (2) deliver a certified copy upon request to: | ||||||
10 | (i) the testator; | ||||||
11 | (ii) a person authorized by the testator, in a | ||||||
12 | writing other than the registration form or addendum, | ||||||
13 | to
receive a copy of the will; or | ||||||
14 | (iii) a person, entity, court, or government | ||||||
15 | agency authorized to receive a certified copy pursuant | ||||||
16 | to an order entered by a court of competent
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17 | jurisdiction. | ||||||
18 | (h) If the county recorder has custody of a scanned copy of | ||||||
19 | the will after the death of the testator and is notified of the | ||||||
20 | death of the testator by a person to whom the recorder is | ||||||
21 | authorized to deliver a copy of the will in the registration | ||||||
22 | form by presenting a certified copy of the testator's death | ||||||
23 | certificate or by a certified copy of an order of court | ||||||
24 | determining the testator to be deceased, upon receipt of | ||||||
25 | payment of the recorder's fee for certified copies, the county | ||||||
26 | recorder shall promptly deliver a certified copy to the person |
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1 | or clerk of the circuit court of the county in which the | ||||||
2 | probate of the testator's will may occur as determined under | ||||||
3 | Section 5-1 of the Probate Act of 1975. Copies of the | ||||||
4 | registration form or depositor affidavit shall not be provided | ||||||
5 | to any retriever unless so ordered by a court. | ||||||
6 | (i) Upon inquiry by a person or entity identified in | ||||||
7 | paragraph (2) of subsection (g) or upon inquiry of any person | ||||||
8 | presenting a certified copy of an order of a court requesting | ||||||
9 | documents scanned under this Section, the county recorder shall | ||||||
10 | inform the person whether the name of the relevant testator | ||||||
11 | appears in the county recorder's index of the will repository. | ||||||
12 | If an inquiry is made for a testator that is not found in the | ||||||
13 | database, or if the inquiry is made by someone not listed as | ||||||
14 | eligible to retrieve a copy, the recorder's office staff may | ||||||
15 | not confirm or deny the existence of documents held under this | ||||||
16 | Section. | ||||||
17 | (j) The county recorder may destroy the scanned copy of the | ||||||
18 | registration form, depositor affidavit, and will scanned under | ||||||
19 | this Section if: | ||||||
20 | (1) the county recorder has not received notice of the | ||||||
21 | death of the testator; and | ||||||
22 | (2) at least 100 years have passed since the date the | ||||||
23 | will was scanned into the repository.
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24 | (k) The county recorder may use fees generated under this | ||||||
25 | Section for the operational expenses of the will repository and | ||||||
26 | for advertising the will repository. |
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1 | (l) If a testator desires to remove a will from the will | ||||||
2 | repository, or to replace a will, he or she must fill out a | ||||||
3 | removal affidavit proscribed by the recorder's office that | ||||||
4 | affirms his or her desire to remove the will and provide | ||||||
5 | satisfactory identification to confirm he or she is the | ||||||
6 | testator. If the request is to replace a will with a new will, | ||||||
7 | the scanned copy of the will must first be removed using a | ||||||
8 | removal affidavit and the testator or depositor must submit a | ||||||
9 | new registration form and will following the repository | ||||||
10 | guidelines as described in this Section and pay the required | ||||||
11 | fees. There shall be no fee for removing a will scanned under | ||||||
12 | this Section. | ||||||
13 | (m) Recorder office staff may refuse, without liability, to | ||||||
14 | store a copy of a will if the will presented for scanning is | ||||||
15 | illegible, unable to be imaged, if margins are too small for | ||||||
16 | the unique document number or date to appear on each page, or | ||||||
17 | the will appears to not be an original signed document. Wills | ||||||
18 | to be scanned under this Section must be submitted in person | ||||||
19 | and may not be submitted by electronic means. Recorder office | ||||||
20 | staff may not be held liable, either in their personal or | ||||||
21 | official capacities, for any error or omission in the | ||||||
22 | performance of duties related to this Section except for | ||||||
23 | willful or wanton misconduct. | ||||||
24 | (n) Recorder office staff may request to inspect and copy | ||||||
25 | any identification documents deemed necessary to prove the | ||||||
26 | identity of anyone seeking to register or retrieve a copy of a |
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1 | document under this Section and may refuse service until | ||||||
2 | satisfactory determination of identity is made. | ||||||
3 | (o) Registration forms, depositor affidavits, and wills | ||||||
4 | scanned under this Section are exempt from State and county | ||||||
5 | fees related to the Rental Housing Support Program Act. ".
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