Full Text of HB1050 97th General Assembly
HB1050 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012 HB1050 Introduced 01/31/11, by Rep. Robert W. Pritchard SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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Amends the Secretary of State Act. Adds that a depositor, an attorney licensed or formerly licensed to practice in the State or his or her representative, may deposit a will with the Secretary of State by certified mail. Provides that a depositor is responsible for any postage or delivery costs associated with the deposit of a will by certified mail. Provides that a depositor must prepay any postage or delivery costs associated with the mailing of a receipt by the Secretary of State to verify the deposit of the will. Makes conforming changes.
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| | | FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY | |
| | A BILL FOR |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning State government.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 5. The Secretary of State Act is amended by | 5 | | changing Section 5.15 as follows: | 6 | | (15 ILCS 305/5.15) | 7 | | Sec. 5.15. Deposit of wills. | 8 | | (a) Definitions. As used in this Section: | 9 | | "Date of deposit" means the date that a will is deposited | 10 | | in person or the date that a will mailed by certified mail is | 11 | | received by the Secretary of State. | 12 | | "Depositor" means an attorney licensed or formerly | 13 | | licensed to practice in the State of Illinois, the attorney's | 14 | | representative, the guardian for the attorney, or the personal | 15 | | representative of the attorney's decedent's estate. | 16 | | "Testator" means a person who executed a will, other than | 17 | | as a witness or official to whom acknowledgment of signing was | 18 | | given. | 19 | | "Will" refers to an original: | 20 | | (1) will; | 21 | | (2) codicil; | 22 | | (3) will and one or more codicils; | 23 | | (4) trust; or |
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| 1 | | (5) trust and one or more trust amendments. | 2 | | (b) Deposit of wills. A depositor may deposit a will with | 3 | | the Secretary of State in person or by certified mail, return | 4 | | receipt requested, if the depositor certifies in writing to the | 5 | | Secretary of State that the depositor is unable to locate the | 6 | | testator after a diligent search. The certification shall be on | 7 | | a form to be provided by the Secretary. No later than 90 days | 8 | | after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th | 9 | | General Assembly, the form must be made available on the | 10 | | Secretary of State's official website. This Section applies | 11 | | whether it is known or unknown whether the testator is living.
| 12 | | (c) Assumptions. The Secretary of State may assume, without | 13 | | inquiring into the facts, that the depositor has first made a | 14 | | diligent search for the testator. | 15 | | (d) Fee. The Secretary of State shall collect a fee of $15 | 16 | | for each deposit of a will. The Secretary of State shall not | 17 | | collect a separate fee for additional documents concurrently | 18 | | deposited in relation to a single testator or for a single | 19 | | joint will prepared for a husband and wife.
If the deposit is | 20 | | made by certified mail, then the $15 fee must be mailed with | 21 | | the will. | 22 | | (d-5) Postage and delivery costs. A depositor is | 23 | | responsible for any postage or delivery costs associated with | 24 | | the deposit of a will by certified mail and the mailing of a | 25 | | receipt verifying the deposit of a will under paragraph (1) of | 26 | | subsection (e). A depositor must prepay any postage or delivery |
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| 1 | | costs associated with the receipt verifying the deposit of a | 2 | | will. | 3 | | (e) Duty of Secretary of State upon receipt. Upon receipt | 4 | | of a will under this Section, the Secretary of State shall: | 5 | | (1) provide the depositor with a receipt for the will | 6 | | at the time of deposit, if the deposit is made in person, | 7 | | or within 10 business days after the will is received by | 8 | | the Secretary of State if the deposit is made by certified | 9 | | mail and the depositor has prepaid any postage or delivery | 10 | | fees as required under subsection (d) , which receipt shall | 11 | | contain the information designated on the envelope in | 12 | | accordance with paragraph (3) of this subsection; | 13 | | (2) place the will or wills deposited concurrently in | 14 | | relation to a single testator in one envelope and seal the | 15 | | envelope securely and, if the will is deposited in person | 16 | | by the depositor or the depositor's agent, the envelope | 17 | | must be sealed in the presence of the depositor or | 18 | | depositor's agent; | 19 | | (3) designate on the envelope: | 20 | | (A) the date of deposit; | 21 | | (B) the name, address, and telephone number of the | 22 | | depositor; | 23 | | (C) the name and last known address of the testator | 24 | | as provided by the depositor; | 25 | | (D) at the depositor's option, any and all of the | 26 | | following information: |
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| 1 | | (i) alternate names by which the testator may | 2 | | have been known; | 3 | | (ii) the testator's birth date, and | 4 | | (iii) the last 4 digits of the testator's | 5 | | Social Security number; and | 6 | | (E) with respect to each document enclosed: | 7 | | (i) a short description of the document, | 8 | | including, if shown, its date of execution; and | 9 | | (ii) the number of pages in the document; and | 10 | | (4) index the will alphabetically by the name of the | 11 | | testator, and by the alternate names set forth by which the | 12 | | testator may have been known. | 13 | | (f) Status as a public record. An envelope and will | 14 | | deposited under this Section are not public records. The index | 15 | | created under item (4) of subsection (e) is a public record. | 16 | | (g) Duty of Secretary of State during testator's lifetime. | 17 | | During the testator's lifetime, the Secretary of State shall: | 18 | | (1) keep the envelope containing the will sealed; and | 19 | | (2) deliver the envelope to: | 20 | | (i) the testator; | 21 | | (ii) a person authorized, in writing signed by the | 22 | | testator and notarized, to
receive the envelope; or | 23 | | (iii) a person, entity, court, or government | 24 | | agency authorized to receive the
envelope pursuant to | 25 | | an order entered by a court of competent
jurisdiction. | 26 | | (h) Duty of Secretary of State upon notification of death |
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| 1 | | of testator. If the Secretary of State has custody of the will | 2 | | after the death of the testator and is notified of the death of | 3 | | the testator by means of a certified copy of the testator's | 4 | | death certificate or by a certified copy of an order of court | 5 | | determining the testator to be deceased, upon receipt of | 6 | | payment of a retrieval fee in the amount of $10, the Secretary | 7 | | of State shall promptly deliver the sealed will envelope to the | 8 | | clerk of the circuit court of the county in which the probate | 9 | | of the testator's will may occur as determined under Section | 10 | | 5-1 of the Probate Act of 1975 (755 ILCS 5/5-1). | 11 | | (i) Duties of Secretary of State upon inquiry. Upon inquiry | 12 | | by a person identified in paragraph (2) of subsection (g), or | 13 | | upon inquiry of any person presenting a certified copy of the | 14 | | testator's death certificate or a certified copy of an order of | 15 | | a court determining the testator to be deceased, the Secretary | 16 | | of State shall inform the person whether the name of the | 17 | | relevant testator appears in the Secretary of State's index of | 18 | | wills. For the purposes of this subsection, the Secretary of | 19 | | State need not be certain that the testator is the one being | 20 | | inquired about, but may release that information if it is | 21 | | possible that the testator is that one. | 22 | | (j) Destruction of will. The Secretary of State may destroy | 23 | | a will deposited under this Section if: | 24 | | (1) the Secretary of State has not received notice of | 25 | | the death of the testator; and | 26 | | (2) at least 100 years have passed since the date the |
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| 1 | | will was deposited.
| 2 | | (k) All fees received by the Secretary of State under this | 3 | | Section must be deposited into the Secretary of State Special | 4 | | Services Fund.
| 5 | | (Source: P.A. 96-137, eff. 1-1-10.)
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