Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HB0745
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Full Text of HB0745  99th General Assembly

HB0745ham003 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Rep. Emanuel Chris Welch

Filed: 4/20/2015

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 745

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 745 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 5. The Counties Code is amended by adding Section
53-5048 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
10licensed to practice in the State of Illinois, the attorney's
11representative, the guardian for the attorney, the personal
12representative of the attorney's decedent's estate, or the
13testator.
14    "Depositor affidavit" means an affidavit signed by a
15non-testator in which the depositor affirms he or she is
16authorized to submit a registration form and will for scanning

 

 

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1on behalf of the testator.
2    "Testator" means a person who executed a will, other than
3as a witness or official to whom acknowledgment of signing was
4given.
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
14system with the capability of scanning and securely storing
15electronic image files and corresponding index information,
16the county recorder may implement a county will repository
17pursuant to this Section to privately store electronic copies
18of wills. If a county recorder implements a will repository,
19they shall create a registration form to be signed by the
20testator 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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1may present a will for scanning into the will repository if he
2or she presents a signed and completed registration form as
3described in subsection (b). If a depositor is not the
4testator, the county recorder may require proof of authority to
5register the will for scanning including requiring a depositor
6affidavit to be completed. A will shall only be accepted for
7scanning if it is the original signed will.
8    (d) The county recorder shall collect a fee of $25 for each
9scanning of a will of up to 10 pages and may charge an
10additional $1 for each page above 10 pages. The registration
11form and depositor affidavit, if any, shall not be counted when
12determining the page count for determining fees. The county
13recorder shall not collect a separate fee for additional
14documents concurrently deposited in relation to a single
15testator or for a single joint will prepared for a husband and
16wife. Fees collected under this subsection shall be deposited
17into the recorder's document storage fund as set up by the
18county treasurer pursuant to Section 3-5018 of the Counties
19Code.
20    (e) Upon receipt of a will under this Section, the county
21recorder 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
25scanned or executed under this Section are not public records.
26The indexes created under item (5) of subsection (e) are not

 

 

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1public records.
2    (g) During the testator's lifetime, the county recorder
3shall:
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
17        jurisdiction.
18    (h) If the county recorder has custody of a scanned copy of
19the will after the death of the testator and is notified of the
20death of the testator by a person to whom the recorder is
21authorized to deliver a copy of the will in the registration
22form by presenting a certified copy of the testator's death
23certificate or by a certified copy of an order of court
24determining the testator to be deceased, upon receipt of
25payment of the recorder's fee for certified copies, the county
26recorder shall promptly deliver a certified copy to the person

 

 

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1or clerk of the circuit court of the county in which the
2probate of the testator's will may occur as determined under
3Section 5-1 of the Probate Act of 1975. Copies of the
4registration form or depositor affidavit shall not be provided
5to any retriever unless so ordered by a court.
6    (i) Upon inquiry by a person or entity identified in
7paragraph (2) of subsection (g) or upon inquiry of any person
8presenting a certified copy of an order of a court requesting
9documents scanned under this Section, the county recorder shall
10inform the person whether the name of the relevant testator
11appears in the county recorder's index of the will repository.
12If an inquiry is made for a testator that is not found in the
13database, or if the inquiry is made by someone not listed as
14eligible to retrieve a copy, the recorder's office staff may
15not confirm or deny the existence of documents held under this
16Section.
17    (j) The county recorder may destroy the scanned copy of the
18registration form, depositor affidavit, and will scanned under
19this 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.
24    (k) The county recorder may use fees generated under this
25Section for the operational expenses of the will repository and
26for advertising the will repository.

 

 

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1    (l) If a testator desires to remove a will from the will
2repository, or to replace a will, he or she must fill out a
3removal affidavit proscribed by the recorder's office that
4affirms his or her desire to remove the will and provide
5satisfactory identification to confirm he or she is the
6testator. If the request is to replace a will with a new will,
7the scanned copy of the will must first be removed using a
8removal affidavit and the testator or depositor must submit a
9new registration form and will following the repository
10guidelines as described in this Section and pay the required
11fees. There shall be no fee for removing a will scanned under
12this Section.
13    (m) Recorder office staff may refuse, without liability, to
14store a copy of a will if the will presented for scanning is
15illegible, unable to be imaged, if margins are too small for
16the unique document number or date to appear on each page, or
17the will appears to not be an original signed document. Wills
18to be scanned under this Section must be submitted in person
19and may not be submitted by electronic means. Recorder office
20staff may not be held liable, either in their personal or
21official capacities, for any error or omission in the
22performance of duties related to this Section except for
23willful or wanton misconduct.
24    (n) Recorder office staff may request to inspect and copy
25any identification documents deemed necessary to prove the
26identity of anyone seeking to register or retrieve a copy of a

 

 

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1document under this Section and may refuse service until
2satisfactory determination of identity is made.
3    (o) Registration forms, depositor affidavits, and wills
4scanned under this Section are exempt from State and county
5fees related to the Rental Housing Support Program Act.
6    (p) Documents obtained by the county recorder under this
7Section are not public records and are exempt from disclosure
8under the Freedom of Information Act.".