HB3485 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB100 07811 SMS 17878 b

100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2017 and 2018
HB3485

Introduced , by Rep. Daniel V. Beiser

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

225 ILCS 45/4a

Amends the Illinois Funeral or Burial Funds Act. Provides that, in the event a trust is used to fund a pre-need contract, the trustee of the trust shall issue a statement regarding the trust's performance to the beneficiary each month. Provides that the statement shall include the rate of interest, interest earned, net and liquid value, original principal investment, and any fees assessed by the banking or investment institution where the trust is held.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning regulation.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Illinois Funeral or Burial Funds Act is amended by changing Section 4a as follows:

(225 ILCS 45/4a)

Sec. 4a. Investment of funds.

(a) A trustee has a duty to invest and manage the trust assets pursuant to the Prudent Investor Rule under the Trusts and Trustees Act.

(b) The trust shall be a single-purpose trust fund. In the event of the seller's bankruptcy, insolvency or assignment for the benefit of creditors, or an adverse judgment, the trust funds shall not be available to any creditor as assets of the seller or to pay any expenses of any bankruptcy or similar proceeding, but shall be distributed to the purchasers or managed for their benefit by the trustee holding the funds. Except in an action by the Comptroller to revoke a license issued pursuant to this Act and for creation of a receivership as provided in this Act, the trust shall not be subject to judgment, execution, garnishment, attachment, or other seizure by process in bankruptcy or otherwise, nor to sale, pledge, mortgage, or other alienation, and shall not be assignable except as approved by the Comptroller. The changes made by Public Act 91-7 are intended to clarify existing law regarding the inability of licensees to pledge the trust.

(c) Because it is not known at the time of deposit or at the time that income is earned on the trust account to whom the principal and the accumulated earnings will be distributed for the purpose of determining the Illinois income tax due on these trust funds, the principal and any accrued earnings or losses related to each individual account shall be held in suspense until the final determination is made as to whom the account shall be paid. The beneficiary's estate shall not be responsible for any funeral and burial purchases listed in a pre-need contract if the pre-need contract is entered into on a guaranteed price basis.

If a pre-need contract is not a guaranteed price contract, then to the extent the proceeds of a non-guaranteed price pre-need contract cover the funeral and burial expenses for the beneficiary, no claim may be made against the estate of the beneficiary. A claim may be made against the beneficiary's estate if the charges for the funeral services and merchandise at the time of use exceed the amount of the amount in trust plus the percentage of the sale proceeds initially retained by the seller or the face value of the life insurance policy or tax-deferred annuity.

(d) The trustee of the trust shall issue a statement regarding the trust's performance to the beneficiary each month. The statement shall include the rate of interest, interest earned, net and liquid value, original principal investment, and any fees assessed by the banking or investment institution where the trust is held.

(Source: P.A. 96-879, eff. 2-2-10.)