Public Act 095-1003
 
SB2636 Enrolled LRB095 18910 AJO 45542 b

    AN ACT concerning property.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Uniform Disposition of Unclaimed Property
Act is amended by changing Section 20 as follows:
 
    (765 ILCS 1025/20)  (from Ch. 141, par. 120)
    Sec. 20. Determination of claims.
    (a) The State Treasurer shall consider any claim filed
under this Act and may, in his discretion, hold a hearing and
receive evidence concerning it. Such hearing shall be conducted
by the State Treasurer or by a hearing officer designated by
him. No hearings shall be held if the payment of the claim is
ordered by a court, if the claimant is under court
jurisdiction, or if the claim is paid under Article XXV of the
Probate Act of 1975. The State Treasurer or hearing officer
shall prepare a finding and a decision in writing on each
hearing, stating the substance of any evidence heard by him,
his findings of fact in respect thereto, and the reasons for
his decision. The State Treasurer shall review the findings and
decision of each hearing conducted by a hearing officer and
issue a final written decision. The final decision shall be a
public record. Any claim of an interest in property that is
filed pursuant to this Act shall be considered and a finding
and decision shall be issued by the Office of the State
Treasurer in a timely and expeditious manner.
    (b) If the claim is allowed, and after deducting an amount
not to exceed $20 to cover the cost of notice publication and
related clerical expenses, the State Treasurer shall make
payment forthwith.
    (c) In order to carry out the purpose of this Act, no
person or company shall be entitled to a fee for discovering
presumptively abandoned property until it has been in the
custody of the Unclaimed Property Division of the Office of the
State Treasurer for at least 24 months. Fees for discovering
property that has been in the custody of that division for more
than 24 months shall be limited to not more than 10% of the
amount collected.
    (d) A person or company attempting to collect a contingent
fee for discovering, on behalf of an owner, presumptively
abandoned property must be licensed as a private detective
pursuant to the Private Detective, Private Alarm, Private
Security, Fingerprint Vendor, and Locksmith Act of 2004.
    (e) This Section shall not apply to the fees of an attorney
at law duly appointed to practice in a state of the United
States who is employed by a claimant with regard to probate
matters on a contractual basis.
    (f) Any person or company offering to identify, discover,
or collect presumptively abandoned property or property which
may become presumptively abandoned on behalf of the putative
owner of such property in exchange for a fee, must provide the
owner with a written disclosure. The disclosure shall be set
forth in a clear and conspicuous manner and at a minimum shall
state the following:
        Each state maintains an office of unclaimed property.
    Generally, if for a number of years an owner of property
    has not communicated directly with the holder of the
    property, and has not otherwise indicated an interest in or
    claimed the property, the property will be delivered to a
    state administered unclaimed property program. Upon such
    delivery, the owner will be able to recover the property
    from the state administered program without charge by the
    state. The unclaimed asset referred to in this Agreement
    has not yet been reported or remitted to any state
    unclaimed property office. Since you reside (or resided) in
    Illinois, you may obtain information about the Illinois
    unclaimed property program by logging onto its website at
    www.treasurer.il.gov.
        A person or company may not charge a fee greater than
    25% of the property's value for the recovery of that
    property where the property is not yet reportable under
    this Act and the designated owner of that property, as
    reflected within the books and records of the holder, is
    living.
        A person or company may not charge a fee greater than
    33% of the property's value for the recovery of that
    property where the property is not yet reportable under
    this Act and the recovery of that property involves
    documentation of the owner's death or any elements of
    estate or trust administration.
(Source: P.A. 95-613, eff. 9-11-07.)