We are not aware of any law that would prevent your organization from charging a dormant account fee on accounts held by minors or on escrow accounts.

Generally, Illinois law permits a bank to determine an appropriate dormancy fee in accordance with the bank’s prudent business judgment and safe and sound operating standards. 205 ILCS 5/5e(b). If an account has been inactive long enough to be deemed “abandoned” and remitted to the State Treasurer, the Uniform Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act [Repealed effective 1/1/18] allows banks to withhold any lawful charges from such accounts, including dormancy fees. 765 ILCS 1025/2(a) [Repealed effective 1/1/18]. (The related regulations provide more detail on what types of charges can be deducted from abandoned accounts. 74 Ill. Adm. Code 760.60.)

As to accounts held by minors, Section 45.1 of the Illinois Banking Act states the same rules and regulations that apply to an account held by an adult apply to an account held by a minor. 205 ILCS 5/45.1. Note that the Unclaimed Property Act does extend the abandonment time period for certain types of minor accounts established under the Probate Act. 765 ILCS 1025/2(f) [Repealed effective 1/1/18]. That section of the Probate Act enables a court to place a minor’s inheritance money into a custodial account at a financial institution. 755 ILCS 5/24-21. Such accounts “shall not be presumed abandoned earlier than 5 years after the minor attains legal age.” 765 ILCS 1025/2(f) [Repealed effective 1/1/18]. We do not believe that this rule applies to all minor accounts, but only to minor accounts holding inheritance money that are established under that section of the Probate Act.