Convenience Accounts in Illinois

Beginning on Janaury 1, 2010, a new law, the Illinois Banking Convenience Account for Depositors Act, went into effect. The law provides a new way to add another person to a bank account without making the account a gift or a pay on death with that other person. Illinois banking institutions may now offer "convenience accounts". The person establishing the account can designate another party who will have the right to deposit and withdraw from the account without the right to take over the account as a gift upon the death of the person establishing the account. This can be an effective tool for people who need help doing bills or doing bank transactions but who do not wish to have a co-owner or to remove the account from that person's other estate planning instructions. The law has a sunset provision, so it expires in 2015.