a) Subject to the owner interest provisions of Section 15-210 of the Act, a deceased owner cannot indicate interest in his or her property. [765 ILCS 1026/15-201]

1. 1) Apparent owner interest shall include the activity of beneficiaries and estate executors or other persons who have a legal or equitable right to ownership or custody of the property when the apparent owner as listed in the records of the holder is deceased.
2. 2) Thus, while a deceased apparent owner can no longer indicate interest in their own property, the new owner or his/her agent(s) may indicate interest in the property and, thus, prevent abandonment.

e) Sections 15-202 and 15-208 of the Act both provide that when a holder, in the ordinary course of its business, receives notice or an indication of the death of an apparent owner, the holder shall attempt not later than 90 days after receipt of the notice or indication to confirm whether the apparent owner is deceased.

1. 1) These provisions are not intended to require a holder to independently confirm the death of the apparent owner when the holder reasonably believes that the apparent owner is deceased.
2. 2) Instead, these provisions establish a 90-day deadline for a holder to conduct any independent investigation or search to confirm the death of the apparent owner.
3. 3) EXAMPLE: If a holder learns that an apparent owner is listed on the Social Security Administration's Death Master File (DMF) and the holder is satisfied that the presumption of death from such a match is correct, then the holder does not need to independently confirm the death of the apparent owner.