HB0745ham001 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Rep. Emanuel Chris Welch

Filed: 4/9/2015

09900HB0745ham001 LRB099 04556 AWJ 33713 a

AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 745

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 745 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"Section 5. The Counties Code is amended by adding Section 3-5048 as follows:

(55 ILCS 5/3-5048 new)

Sec. 3-5048. Deposit of wills.

(a) 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, the personal representative of the attorney's decedent's estate, or the testator.

"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) A county recorder may implement a county will depository pursuant to this Section. If a county recorder implements a will depository, they shall create a form affidavit, to be signed by the testator and notarized, which:

(1) states the testator's full first, middle, and last name;

(2) states the testator's date of birth and last four digits of the testator's Social Security number;

(3) states the testator's current address;

(4) states that the document being presented to the county recorder is the testator's will;

(5) lists up to 10 individuals to whom the county recorder is authorized to deliver the will;

(6) has a section reserved for county recorder office staff where the employee accepting the document will write the name of the testator, name of the depositor, date of deposit, confirmation that photo identification was inspected, and a space to indicate the employee name or identification number; and

(7) has a blank section in the upper right corner of the front side to affix a unique document number, date and time of deposit, and amount of recording fee.

(c) If a county has created a will depository, a depositor may deposit a will with the county recorder if they present a notarized affidavit under subsection (b). If a depositor is not the testator, the county recorder may require proof of authority to deposit the will. Wills will only be accepted for deposit if they are the originally signed will.

(d) The county recorder shall collect a fee of $25 for each deposit of a will of up to 10 pages and may charge an additional $1 for each page above 10 pages. The county recorder 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) Upon receipt of a will under this Section, the county recorder shall:

(1) provide the depositor with a receipt for the affidavit and will, which receipt shall contain the information designated on the envelope in accordance with paragraph (3) of this subsection;

(2) electronically affix a unique document number, date and time of deposit, and amount of recording fee in the upper right corner of the affidavit;

(3) scan in and electronically store a copy of the affidavit and will;

(4) place the affidavit and 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;

(5) 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

(6) index the will alphabetically by the name of the testator, by the alternate names set forth by which the testator may have been known, and by the electronically affixed document number;

(7) maintain the envelope in a secure and fireproof location accessible only to authorized county recorder staff; and

(8) upon request, provide to the testator a non-certified copy of the affidavit with the electronically affixed document number and will with a maximum fee of $1 per page.

(f) An envelope, affidavit, and will deposited under this Section are not public records. The indexes created under item (4) of subsection (e) are public records.

(g) During the testator's lifetime, the county recorder shall:

(1) keep the envelope containing the affidavit and 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) If the county recorder 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 county recorder shall promptly deliver the sealed 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.

(i) 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 county recorder shall inform the person whether the name of the relevant testator appears in the county recorder's indexes of wills. For the purposes of this subsection, the county recorder 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) The county recorder may destroy an affidavit and will deposited under this Section if:

(1) the county recorder 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) The county recorder may use fees generated under this Section for the operational expenses of the will depository and for advertising the will depository.".