State Unemployment Benefits in Illinois: when someone dies

Under 56 Ill. Adm. Code 2830.200, benefits the claimant was entitled to before death are paid to the account the claimant designated for direct deposit, or to the debit card IDES assigned them. If neither payment route works, IDES issues a paper check payable to "The Estate or Heirs of" the claimant — never to a named individual. Benefit checks already issued and not cashed must be returned to the Director, or an affidavit filed stating they were lost, stolen, or destroyed.

An individual with first-hand knowledge of the matters asserted submits, to a local unemployment office in person or by certified mail: (1) a completed certification form, (2) an affidavit attesting to that first-hand knowledge, to the truth of the matters asserted, and to the individual's relationship to the claimant, and (3) a certified copy of the death certificate. Everything must be received within nine months after the date of death, after which the benefits revert to the State's unemployment trust fund (56 Ill. Adm. Code 2830.200). The forms are available at local unemployment offices or by calling Claimant Services at 800-244-5631.