SB2948eng 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SB2948 Engrossed LRB097 14726 AJO 59725 b

AN ACT concerning civil law.

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

Section 5. The Safety Deposit Box Opening Act is amended by changing Section 1 and by adding Section 5 as follows:

(755 ILCS 15/1) (from Ch. 17, par. 1501)

Sec. 1. Upon being furnished with satisfactory proof of death of a sole lessee or the last surviving co-lessee of a safe deposit box, the lessor shall open the box and examine the contents in the presence of a person who presents himself and furnishes an affidavit which states that (a) he is interested in the filing of the lessee's will or in the arrangements for his burial, (b) he believes the box may contain the will or burial documents of the lessee and (c) he is an interested person within the meaning of this Act. The lessor shall not open the box in accordance with this Act if the lessor has received a copy of letters of office of the representative of the deceased lessee's estate or other applicable court order. The lessor need not open the box if (a) the box has previously been opened in accordance with this Act, (b) the lessor has received notice of a written or oral objection from any person or has reason to believe that there would be an objection, or (c) the lessee's key or combination is not available.

For purposes of this Section Act, the term "interested person" means any person who immediately prior to the death of the lessee had the right of access to the box as a deputy, any person named as executor in a copy furnished by him of a purported will of the lessee, or the spouse, an adult descendant, parent, brother or sister of the lessee. If the affidavit states that none of the persons described above is available to be present at the opening of the box, the term "interested person" also means any other person who the lessor in its sole discretion determines may have a legitimate interest in the filing of the lessee's will or in the arrangements for his burial.

For purposes of this Section, the The lessor shall remove any document which appears to be a will or codicil and deliver it to the clerk of the circuit court for the county in which the lessee resided immediately prior to his or her death, if known to the lessor, otherwise to the clerk of the circuit court for the county in which the safe deposit box is located. Delivery of a will or codicil called for herein may be made by registered mail sent to the clerk of the said court. The lessor may remove any burial documents and deliver them to the interested person. No other contents may be removed pursuant to this Section Act.

The lessor is not required to look into the truth of any statement in the affidavit required to be furnished under section one of this Section Act. The lessor's determination of the fact situations to be met under this Section act shall be conclusive and final. The lessor shall be fully protected in relying conclusively on it.

(Source: P.A. 83-642.)

(755 ILCS 15/5 new)

Sec. 5. Public administrator; opening safety deposit box.

(a) In cases involving a public administrator in this State, in which the public administrator has yet to determine in his official capacity whether administration of the lessee's estate is warranted under this Act the public administrator shall execute and furnish to the lessor an affidavit stating: (1) The public administrator, in his official capacity, is conducting a preliminary investigation and inventory of the decedent lessee's estate; (2) The public administrator, as of the date of the affidavit, has not yet been able to obtain sufficient assets and estate information to warrant the representation and administration of the decedent lessee's estate; and (3) The public administrator reasonably believes that the decedent lessee's safety deposit box may contain such assets and estate information which may provide sufficient grounds for the administration of the estate. Upon receipt of the public administrator's affidavit, the lessor shall open the lessee's box and shall permit the public administrator, in the presence of the lessor, to examine and catalogue the contents of the box. During the course of the examination, the public administrator will not be able to remove any contents from the box, without first presenting to the lessor a copy of letters of office issued to him in representation of the lessee's estate.

(b) In cases involving a public administrator in this State, in which the public administrator has been issued letters of office, the public administrator shall provide a copy of such letters of office to the lessor and the lessor shall, upon receipt of such copy from the public administrator, open the lessee's box for examination of its contents by the public administrator. The public administrator shall be permitted to remove any such items in the box he properly deems to be an asset of value of the estate which need to be secured and held by the public administrator in his official duties as the administrator of the lessee's estate. For purposes of this Section, the lessor shall open the box for such public administrator who presents an affidavit in accordance with the provisions of this Section regardless of whether the decedent lessee's key or combination is available.

(c) A lessor who provides access to a safety deposit box pursuant to this Section shall not be liable to any person as a result of the lessor's actions in compliance with this Section.