Illinois RUFADAA Law
Verified against the official 755 ILCS 70 text:
How the Illinois Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act lets personal representatives, agents, trustees, and guardians reach a user's online accounts.
Quick answer
Illinois governs fiduciary access to digital assets through the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (2015), 755 ILCS 70, Public Act 99-775, effective August 12, 2016. A personal representative proves authority with a certified copy of the letter of appointment or a court order, and obtains message content only with the user's consent. Guardians of a person with a disability reach the catalogue and non-content assets through Article XIa of the Probate Act of 1975. Under Section 4, an online-tool direction overrides a contrary will, trust, or power of attorney, and custodians must comply within 60 days (Section 16).
Illinois digital asset law at a glance
- Statute
- 755 ILCS 70, Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (2015)
- Enacted
- Public Act 99-775, effective August 12, 2016
- Applies to
- Wills, powers of attorney, guardianship proceedings, and trusts before, on, or after the effective date, for users who reside or resided in Illinois (Section 3)
- Fiduciaries covered
- Personal representatives, guardians, agents, and trustees (Section 2)
- Online-tool priority
- Section 4 (755 ILCS 70/4)
- Court
- A court of competent jurisdiction (Section 2)
- Custodian deadline
- 60 days after receiving the required information (Section 16)
- Proof of a personal representative's authority
- A certified copy of the letter of appointment or a court order (Sections 7, 8)
What makes Illinois’s law different
The 2015 revised act, in force since 2016
Illinois enacted the revised uniform act through Public Act 99-775, effective August 12, 2016. Its short title carries the year “(2015)”, the year the uniform text was approved, so Illinois sources often refer to the act by that date.
Guardianship follows the Probate Act's disability article
Section 14 is titled for a guardian of a person with a disability, and gives access only after an opportunity for a hearing under Article XIa of the Probate Act of 1975. Illinois defines a guardian as a person appointed by a court to manage the estate of a living individual, including a standby or temporary guardian. Despite the section's title mentioning contents, the guardian receives the catalogue and non-content assets, not message content, on a certified court order.
Letter of appointment or court order, with no affidavit option
Sections 7 and 8 accept a certified copy of the letter of appointment of the representative or a court order. Unlike California, Texas, New York, or Virginia, the Illinois text does not list a small-estate affidavit as an alternative proof of authority.
Trustees must produce the trust instrument itself
For message content held in a trust account, Section 12 asks a trustee that is not the original user for a certified copy of the trust instrument that includes consent to disclosure, plus a sworn certification that the trust exists and the trustee is acting. Unlike Nevada, Virginia, or Pennsylvania, the Illinois text does not offer a certification of trust as a substitute for the instrument.
What a Illinois personal representative must give the custodian
After a death, 755 ILCS 70 separates two requests: the content of the user’s emails and messages, and everything else, including a catalogue of who the user corresponded with and when. Each has its own document list.
To obtain message content (Section 7)
- A written request for disclosure, in physical or electronic form
- A certified copy of the death certificate
- A certified copy of the letter of appointment of the representative, or a court order
- Unless the user gave direction through an online tool, a copy of the will, trust, power of attorney, or other record showing the user consented to disclosure of content
- If the custodian asks: an account identifier, evidence linking the account to the user, or a court finding on the account, federal-law compliance, consent, and necessity for estate administration
To obtain the catalogue and other digital assets (Section 8)
- A written request, a certified death certificate, and a certified letter of appointment or court order
- If the custodian asks: an account identifier, evidence linking the account to the user, an affidavit that disclosure is reasonably necessary for estate administration, or a court finding
- No consent is needed for the catalogue unless the user prohibited disclosure or the court directs otherwise
Agents, trustees, and guardians in Illinois
Agent under a power of attorney (Sections 9–10)
Illinois defines an agent as an attorney-in-fact granted authority under a durable or nondurable power of attorney. Message content requires a power of attorney that expressly grants authority over the content of the principal's electronic communications, plus the agent's certification under penalty of perjury that it is in effect. The catalogue and other assets require specific authority over digital assets or general authority to act for the principal.
Trustee (Sections 11–13)
A trustee that is the original user receives the account's digital assets held in trust. A trustee that is not the original user provides a certified copy of the trust instrument (which, for message content, must include consent to disclosure) and certifies under penalty of perjury that the trust exists and the trustee is currently acting.
Guardian of a person with a disability (Section 14)
The catalogue and non-content assets only, after an opportunity for a hearing under Article XIa of the Probate Act of 1975, on a certified court order giving the guardian authority over the digital assets. A guardian with general authority over the person's property may seek suspension or termination of an account with a certified court order.
Can an online account setting override a Illinois will?
Yes, within limits. 755 ILCS 70/4 lets a user direct a custodian, through the custodian’s own online tool, to disclose or withhold some or all digital assets. If the tool lets the user change or delete that direction at any time, it overrides a contrary instruction in a will, trust, power of attorney, or other record. Where the user made no such direction, the estate documents control, and either kind of direction overrides a conflicting terms-of-service clause.
How 755 ILCS 70 is organized
| Section | Subject |
|---|---|
| §1 | Short title |
| §2 | Definitions |
| §3 | Applicability |
| §4 | User direction for disclosure of digital assets |
| §5 | Terms-of-service agreement |
| §6 | Procedure for disclosing digital assets |
| §7 | Content of electronic communications of deceased user |
| §8 | Other digital assets of deceased user |
| §9 | Content of electronic communications of principal |
| §10 | Other digital assets of principal |
| §11 | Digital assets held in trust when trustee is original user |
| §12 | Content held in trust when trustee is not original user |
| §13 | Other digital assets held in trust when trustee is not original user |
| §14 | Digital assets of a guardian of a person with a disability |
| §15 | Fiduciary duty and authority |
| §16 | Custodian compliance and immunity |
| §18 | Relation to E-SIGN Act |
| §19 | Severability |
Illinois RUFADAA questions
Public Act 99-775 enacted the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (2015) as 755 ILCS 70, effective August 12, 2016.
A written request, a certified death certificate, and a certified copy of the letter of appointment or a court order. For message content, also a record showing the user's consent unless the user used an online tool (Section 7).
Only if the user consented, through an online tool or in a will, trust, power of attorney, or other record, or a court directs disclosure. The catalogue of correspondents and dates is available without that consent (Section 8).
After an opportunity for a hearing under Article XIa of the Probate Act of 1975, the court may direct disclosure. The guardian then receives the catalogue and non-content assets on a certified court order (Section 14).
Sixty days after receiving the required information. If it does not comply, the fiduciary may apply to the court for an order, which must find that compliance does not violate 18 U.S.C. §2702 (Section 16).
Yes, under Section 4, if the tool lets the user modify or delete the direction at all times.
Concepts that apply in every state
Some ideas work the same way under every RUFADAA-style statute: what counts as a digital asset, why the content of private messages is treated differently from a catalogue, what a custodian may hand over, and what these laws do not do (they never guarantee passwords). They are explained once in the RUFADAA overview.
Primary source
755 ILCS 70, the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (2015)
Online-tool provision: 755 ILCS 70/4.
Where Vesperly fits
755 ILCS 70 decides who may ask a custodian for what. Vesperly handles the practical side: keeping your records encrypted, verifying your executor and the death certificate, and releasing what you chose once those conditions are met. It does not replace the statute, your estate plan, or legal advice.
Other state guides
Educational information only. Not legal advice. Laws, provider procedures, federal requirements, and individual circumstances can change the result in a specific matter. Consult qualified counsel for legal advice.