2023 Illinois Compiled Statutes › Chapter 755 - ESTATES › 755 ILCS 6/ - Electronic Wills and Remote Witnesses Act. › Article 15 - Remote Witnesses

(755 ILCS 6/Art. 15 heading)
Article 15.  Remote Witnesses
(Source: P.A. 102-167, eff. 7-26-21.)
(755 ILCS 6/15-5)
Sec. 15-5. Remote witness for document other than a will.
(a) A person may witness any document, other than a will, using audio-video communication between the individual signing the document and the witness. The signatures may be contained in a single document or the document may be signed in counterparts. The counterparts of a document may be electronic records, paper copies, or any combination thereof.
(b) During the audio-video communication:
(1) the witness shall determine the identity of the     signer;
(2) the signer of the document shall sign the     document; if the document is an electronic record, it shall be a tamper-evident electronic record; and
(3) the witness shall sign the document previously     signed or acknowledged by the signer, or if signed in counterparts, a separate witness's signature page of the document.
(c) If the witness is signing a document in counterparts, then the witness's signed signature page or a copy of the same shall be attached to the document within 10 business days of the signing and before the signer's death or incapacity. The document becomes effective when the witness's signed signature page or a copy of the same is attached to the document.
(Source: P.A. 102-167, eff. 7-26-21.)
(755 ILCS 6/15-10)
Sec. 15-10. Remote attestation for will.
(a) To be valid under this Act, a will attested to through audio-video communication shall designate this State as its place of execution, be signed by the testator or by some person at the testator's direction and in the testator's presence, and be attested to in the presence of the testator by 2 or more credible witnesses who are located in the United States at the time of the attestation.
(b) The will being attested to by audio-video communication may be an electronic will, a paper copy of an electronic will, or a paper document. An electronic will being attested to shall be a single document containing all the signature pages, attestation clauses, and affidavits forming a part of the will. A will that is a paper copy of an electronic will or a paper document may have separate signature pages, attestation clauses, or affidavits that are electronic records or paper documents. Separate signature pages, attestation clauses, or affidavits may be distributed to the witness before the audio-video communication.
(c) The testator shall sign the will or direct a person in the testator's presence to sign. A person signing at the testator's direction shall not be an attesting witness, a person receiving a beneficial legacy or interest under the will, or the spouse or child of a person receiving a beneficial legacy or interest under the will.
(d) During an audio-video communication:
(1) the witness shall determine the testator's     identity;
(2) the testator shall sign the will, direct another     person in the testator's presence to sign the will, or acknowledge the signature as the testator's act; and
(3) the witness shall attest to the will in the     testator's presence.
(e) If the will consists of separate signature pages, attestation clauses, or affidavits forming a part of the will, the testator or a person appointed by the testator shall attach the witness's signed signature page, attestation clause, or affidavit forming a part of the will or a copy of the same to the paper document containing the testator's signature or a paper copy of the electronic will within 10 business days of the attestation.
(Source: P.A. 102-167, eff. 7-26-21.)
(755 ILCS 6/15-15)
Sec. 15-15. Determining a signer's or testator's identity.  A witness shall determine a signer's or testator's identity by one or more of the following methods:
(1) personal knowledge;
(2) a government-issued identification;
(3) another form of identification that includes a     photograph of the holder; or
(4) identity proofing.
(Source: P.A. 102-167, eff. 7-26-21.)
(755 ILCS 6/15-20)
Sec. 15-20. Remote witnessing and notarization during the COVID-19 emergency declaration.
(a) The purpose of this Section is to give statutory approval to the notary and witness guidelines provided in Executive Order 2020-14.
(b) Notwithstanding any provision of law or rule, effective March 26, 2020 and ending 30 days after the expiration of the Governor's emergency declaration regarding COVID-19, a notarial act or an act of witnessing, including when a person must "appear before", act "in the presence of", or any variation thereof, may be performed through means of 2-way audio-video communication technology that allows for direct contemporaneous interaction by sight and sound between the individual signing the document, the witness, and the notary public.
(c) A notarial act satisfies the "appearing before" requirement under Section 6-102 of the Illinois Notary Public Act if the notary public performs a remote notarization via 2-way audio-video communication technology, if the notary public commissioned in this State is physically within the State while performing the notarial act and the transaction follows any guidance or rules provided by the Secretary of State in existence on the date of notarization.
(d) An act of witnessing and the technology used in the audio-video communication shall substantially comply with the following process:
(1) the 2-way audio-video communication shall be     recorded and preserved by the signatory or the signatory's designee for a period of at least 3 years;
(2) the signatory shall attest to being physically     located in the State during the 2-way audio-video communication;
(3) the witness shall attest to being physically     located in the State during the 2-way audio-video communication;
(4) the signatory shall affirmatively state on the     2-way audio-video communication what document the signatory is signing;
(5) each page of the document being witnessed shall     be shown to the witness on the 2-way audio-video communication technology in a means clearly legible to the witness;
(6) the act of signing shall be captured sufficiently     up close on the 2-way audio-video communication for the witness to observe;
(7) the signatory shall transmit by overnight mail,     fax, electronic, or other means a legible copy of the entire signed document directly to the witness no later than the day after the document is signed;
(8) the witness shall sign the transmitted copy of     the document as a witness and transmit the signed copy of the document back via overnight mail, fax, electronic, or other means to the signatory within 24 hours of receipt; and
(9) if necessary, the witness may sign the original     signed document as of the date of the original execution by the signatory if the witness receives the original signed document together with the electronically witnessed copy within 30 days from the date of the remote witnessing.
(e) The prohibition on electronic signatures on certain documents in subsection (c) of Section 120 of the Electronic Commerce Security Act remains in full effect.
(f) Notwithstanding any law or rule of this State to the contrary, absent an express prohibition in a document against signing in counterparts, all legal documents, including, but not limited to, deeds, last wills and testaments, trusts, durable powers of attorney for property, and powers of attorney for health care, may be signed in counterparts by the witnesses and the signatory. A notary public shall be presented with a fax or electronic copy of the document signature pages showing the witness signatures on the same date the document is signed by the signatory if the notary public is being asked to certify to the appearance of the witnesses to a document.
(g) Any technology issues that may occur do not impact the validity or effect of any instrument or document signed under this Section. As used in this Section, "technology issues" include, but are not limited to, problems with the Internet connection, user error related to the use of technology, the file containing a recorded act becoming corrupted, or other temporary malfunctions involving the technology used in an act of witnessing or a notarial act.
(Source: P.A. 102-167, eff. 7-26-21.)