Full Text of SB2527 95th General Assembly
SB2527 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2007 and 2008 SB2527
Introduced 2/15/2008, by Sen. Kwame Raoul SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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Amends the Secretary of State Act. Provides that an attorney (or an attorney's representative or guardian) who certifies that he or she has been unable to locate a testator after a diligent search may deposit the testator's will with the Secretary of State. Requires the Secretary of State to: index, store, and perform other duties with respect to deposited wills; deliver the will to the testator or a designee or to a person specified in a court order; deliver the will to a court upon being notified of the death of the testator; and respond to inquiries regarding the will under specified circumstances. Contains provisions regarding fees, destruction of wills, immunity, and other matters.
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A BILL FOR
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SB2527 |
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LRB095 16802 RCE 42839 b |
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| AN ACT concerning State government.
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| represented in the General Assembly:
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| Section 5. The Secretary of State Act is amended by adding | 5 |
| Section 5.15 as follows: | 6 |
| (15 ILCS 305/5.15 new) | 7 |
| Sec. 5.15. Deposit of wills. | 8 |
| (a) Definitions. 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, or the personal | 12 |
| representative of the attorney's decedent's estate. | 13 |
| "Testator" means a person who executed a will, other than | 14 |
| as a witness or official to whom acknowledgment of signing was | 15 |
| given. | 16 |
| "Will" refers to an original: | 17 |
| (1) will; | 18 |
| (2) codicil; | 19 |
| (3) will and one or more codicils; | 20 |
| (4) trust; or | 21 |
| (5) trust and one or more trust amendments. | 22 |
| (b) Deposit of wills. A depositor, as defined in subsection | 23 |
| (d), may deposit a will with the Secretary of State if the |
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LRB095 16802 RCE 42839 b |
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| depositor certifies in writing to the Secretary of State that | 2 |
| the depositor is unable to locate the testator after a diligent | 3 |
| search. This Section applies whether it is known or unknown | 4 |
| whether the testator is living.
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| (c) Assumptions. The Secretary of State may assume, without | 6 |
| inquiring into the facts, that the depositor has first made a | 7 |
| diligent search for the testator. | 8 |
| (d) Fee. The Secretary of State shall collect a fee of $25 | 9 |
| for each deposit of a will. The Secretary of State shall not | 10 |
| collect a separate fee for additional documents concurrently | 11 |
| deposited in relation to a single testator or for a single | 12 |
| joint will prepared for a husband and wife.
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| (e) Duty of Secretary of State upon receipt. Upon receipt | 14 |
| of a will under this Section, the Secretary of State shall: | 15 |
| (1) provide the depositor with a receipt for the will, | 16 |
| which receipt shall contain the information designated on | 17 |
| the envelope in accordance with paragraph (3) of this | 18 |
| subsection; | 19 |
| (2) place the will or wills deposited concurrently in | 20 |
| relation to a single testator in one envelope and seal the | 21 |
| envelope securely in the presence of the depositor or | 22 |
| depositor's agent; | 23 |
| (3) designate on the envelope: | 24 |
| (A) the date of deposit; | 25 |
| (B) the name, address, and telephone number of the | 26 |
| depositor; |
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LRB095 16802 RCE 42839 b |
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| (C) the name and last known address of the | 2 |
| testator; | 3 |
| (D) at the depositor's option, any and all of the | 4 |
| following information: | 5 |
| (i) alternate names by which the testator may | 6 |
| have been known; | 7 |
| (ii) the testator's birth date, and | 8 |
| (iii) the last 4 digits of the testator's | 9 |
| Social Security number; and | 10 |
| (E) with respect to each document enclosed: | 11 |
| (i) a short description of the document, | 12 |
| including, if shown, its date of execution; and | 13 |
| (ii) the number of pages in the document; and | 14 |
| (4) index the will alphabetically by the name of the | 15 |
| testator, and by the alternate names set forth by which the | 16 |
| testator may have been known. | 17 |
| (f) Status as a public record. An envelope and will | 18 |
| deposited under this Section are not public records. | 19 |
| (g) Duty of Secretary of State during testator's lifetime. | 20 |
| During the testator's lifetime, the Secretary of State shall: | 21 |
| (1) keep the envelope containing the will sealed; and | 22 |
| (2) deliver the envelope to: | 23 |
| (i) the testator; | 24 |
| (ii) a person authorized, in a writing signed by | 25 |
| the testator and notarized, to
receive the envelope; or | 26 |
| (iii) a person, entity, court, or government |
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| agency authorized to receive the
envelope pursuant to | 2 |
| an order entered by a court of competent
jurisdiction. | 3 |
| (h) Duty of Secretary of State upon notification of death | 4 |
| of testator. If the Secretary of State has custody of the will | 5 |
| after the death of the testator and is notified of the death of | 6 |
| the testator by means of a certified copy of the testator's | 7 |
| death certificate or by a certified copy of an order of court | 8 |
| determining the testator to be deceased, upon receipt of | 9 |
| payment of a retrieval fee in the amount of $10, the Secretary | 10 |
| of State shall deliver the sealed will envelope to the court | 11 |
| that has jurisdiction of the administration of the decedent's | 12 |
| estate within 30 days after receiving notification of the | 13 |
| testator's death. If there is any doubt as to whom a will | 14 |
| should be delivered, the Secretary of State, or any other | 15 |
| person, may apply to the circuit court having jurisdiction over | 16 |
| the testator's estate for directions as to whom the Secretary | 17 |
| of State should deliver the will. | 18 |
| (i) Duties of Secretary of State upon inquiry. Upon inquiry | 19 |
| by a person identified in paragraph (2) of subsection (g), or | 20 |
| upon inquiry of any person presenting a certified copy of the | 21 |
| testator's death certificate or a certified copy of an order of | 22 |
| a court determining the testator to be deceased, the Secretary | 23 |
| of State shall inform the person whether the name of the | 24 |
| relevant testator appears in the Secretary of State's index of | 25 |
| wills. For the purposes of this subsection, the Secretary of | 26 |
| State need not be certain that the testator is the one being |
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| inquired about, but may release that information if it is | 2 |
| possible that the testator is that one. | 3 |
| (j) Destruction of will. The Secretary of State may destroy | 4 |
| a will deposited under this Section if: | 5 |
| (1) the Secretary of State has not received notice of | 6 |
| the death of the testator; and | 7 |
| (2) at least 100 years have passed since the date the | 8 |
| will was deposited.
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