Bill Text: IL SB1596 | 2015-2016 | 99th General Assembly | Engrossed

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Bill Title: Amends the Counties Code. Provides that a county recorder may implement a county will depository and if so created shall provide a form affidavit for a depositor of a will to file with the deposited will. States the requirements of the form affidavit. Provides for the county recorders duties as it relates to acceptance of wills, storage of wills, release of wills, and destruction of wills. Provides for different fees the county recorder may charge.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-0)

Status: (Passed) 2015-12-17 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 99-0495 [SB1596 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2015-SB1596-Engrossed.html

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AN ACT concerning local government.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Counties Code is amended by adding Section
3-5048 as follows:
(55 ILCS 5/3-5048 new)
Sec. 3-5048. Will repository.
(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.
"Depositor affidavit" means an affidavit signed by a
non-testator in which the depositor affirms he or she is
authorized to submit a registration form and will for scanning
on behalf of 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;

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(3) will and one or more codicils;
(4) trust;
(5) trust and one or more trust amendments; or
(6) any other attachments, addendums, or other related
documents to items (1) through (5).
(b) If a county recorder's office maintains a computer
system with the capability of scanning and securely storing
electronic image files and corresponding index information,
the county recorder may implement a county will repository
pursuant to this Section to privately store electronic copies
of wills. If a county recorder implements a will repository,
they shall create a registration form to be signed by the
testator which:
(1) states the testator's full first, middle, and last
name and all previous names by which the testator may have
been known;
(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) affirms that the document being presented to the
county recorder is the testator's will;
(5) lists the full names of up to 10 individuals to
whom the county recorder is authorized to deliver the will
upon the death of the testator and a space to indicate if
there are additional names attached. The county recorder
shall prepare a form addendum for attachment to the

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registration form for the testator to list additional full
names in addition to the 10 individuals listed on the
registration form. The addendum shall contain a disclaimer
that only individuals listed on the registration form or
addendum are eligible to retrieve a copy of the will
without a court order;
(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;
(7) has a blank 3 inch by 5 inch 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; and
(8) has the option to include the location of the
original signed copy of the will.
(c) If a county has created a will repository, a depositor
may present a will for scanning into the will repository if he
or she presents a signed and completed registration form as
described in subsection (b). If a depositor is not the
testator, the county recorder may require proof of authority to
register the will for scanning including requiring a depositor
affidavit to be completed. A will shall only be accepted for
scanning if it is the original signed will.

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(d) The county recorder shall collect a fee of $25 for each
scanning of a will of up to 10 pages and may charge an
additional $1 for each page above 10 pages. The registration
form and depositor affidavit, if any, shall not be counted when
determining the page count for determining fees. 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. Fees collected under this subsection shall be deposited
into the recorder's document storage fund as set up by the
county treasurer pursuant to Section 3-5018 of the Counties
Code.
(e) Upon receipt of a will under this Section, the county
recorder shall:
(1) provide the depositor with a receipt for the
registration form and will listing the date and time of
filing and the unique document number assigned to the
documents;
(2) scan in, electronically store, and electronically
affix a unique document number, date and time of deposit,
and amount of recording fee in the upper right corner of
the registration form;
(3) scan in and electronically store a copy of the
depositor affidavit and will including electronically
affixing the unique document number and date of recording
on each page of the will;

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(4) return the original signed registration form,
depositor affidavit, and will to the depositor after
scanning in and electronically storing the registration
form, depositor affidavit, and will pursuant to items (2)
and (3) of this subsection;
(5) index the will alphabetically by the name of the
testator, by the previous names by which the testator may
have been known, by the date of registration of the will,
by the names of persons on the registration form or
addendum who are eligible to retrieve a copy, and by the
unique document number; and
(6) upon request and payment of the recorder's
non-certified copy charge, provide to the testator a
non-certified copy of the registration form, depositor
affidavit, and will with the electronically affixed unique
document number with a maximum fee of $1 per page.
(f) A registration form, depositor affidavit, and will
scanned or executed under this Section are not public records.
The indexes created under item (5) of subsection (e) are not
public records.
(g) During the testator's lifetime, the county recorder
shall:
(1) keep the electronic images of the registration
form, depositor affidavit, and will in a secure database
not available to the public with access limited to recorder
office staff necessary for the operation of the repository;

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and
(2) deliver a certified copy upon request to:
(i) the testator;
(ii) a person authorized by the testator, in a
writing other than the registration form or addendum,
to receive a copy of the will; or
(iii) a person, entity, court, or government
agency authorized to receive a certified copy pursuant
to an order entered by a court of competent
jurisdiction.
(h) If the county recorder has custody of a scanned copy of
the will after the death of the testator and is notified of the
death of the testator by a person to whom the recorder is
authorized to deliver a copy of the will in the registration
form by presenting 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 the recorder's fee for certified copies, the county
recorder shall promptly deliver a certified copy to the person
or 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. Copies of the
registration form or depositor affidavit shall not be provided
to any retriever unless so ordered by a court.
(i) Upon inquiry by a person or entity identified in
paragraph (2) of subsection (g) or upon inquiry of any person

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presenting a certified copy of an order of a court requesting
documents scanned under this Section, the county recorder shall
inform the person whether the name of the relevant testator
appears in the county recorder's index of the will repository.
If an inquiry is made for a testator that is not found in the
database, or if the inquiry is made by someone not listed as
eligible to retrieve a copy, the recorder's office staff may
not confirm or deny the existence of documents held under this
Section.
(j) The county recorder may destroy the scanned copy of the
registration form, depositor affidavit, and will scanned 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 scanned into the repository.
(k) The county recorder may use fees generated under this
Section for the operational expenses of the will repository and
for advertising the will repository.
(l) If a testator desires to remove a will from the will
repository, or to replace a will, he or she must fill out a
removal affidavit proscribed by the recorder's office that
affirms his or her desire to remove the will and provide
satisfactory identification to confirm he or she is the
testator. If the request is to replace a will with a new will,
the scanned copy of the will must first be removed using a

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removal affidavit and the testator or depositor must submit a
new registration form and will following the repository
guidelines as described in this Section and pay the required
fees. There shall be no fee for removing a will scanned under
this Section.
(m) Recorder office staff may refuse, without liability, to
store a copy of a will if the will presented for scanning is
illegible, unable to be imaged, if margins are too small for
the unique document number or date to appear on each page, or
the will appears to not be an original signed document. Wills
to be scanned under this Section must be submitted in person
and may not be submitted by electronic means. Recorder office
staff may not be held liable, either in their personal or
official capacities, for any error or omission in the
performance of duties related to this Section except for
willful or wanton misconduct.
(n) Recorder office staff may request to inspect and copy
any identification documents deemed necessary to prove the
identity of anyone seeking to register or retrieve a copy of a
document under this Section and may refuse service until
satisfactory determination of identity is made.
(o) Registration forms, depositor affidavits, and wills
scanned under this Section are exempt from State and county
fees related to the Rental Housing Support Program Act.