Security, Policy, Access to deceased relative's account
Documentation
To ensure the secure handling of University account data, please be prepared to provide the following documents to the Office of University Counsel:
- proof of death for the deceased (e.g. death certificate, obituary)
- confirmation of your own identity and relation to the deceased (e.g. driver's license, passport, other official ID)
- demonstration of legal authority to access (e.g. estate document such as will or trust, letter of appointment as estate representative, court order, consent to disclosure from the deceased)
- the Illinois email address or UIN of the deceased
- email and phone contact information for yourself
Employee Accounts
If the deceased was a University employee before their passing, their home department will need to be involved in the data export process:
- Contact the Help Desk by email at consult@illinois.edu or by phone at 217-244-7000. Indicate that you are asking for help with a deceased employee's account, and which of the above pieces of documentation you're able to provide.
Do not provide the documents themselves to the Help Desk. - The Help Desk will locate the deceased's departmental IT contact information and reach out internally. Department personnel will need to complete a Request For Access form, which Security describes in detail here: Security, Process, Request Digital Archive Copies or Access Change
- The Request For Access form is received by Technology Services' internal Security group, who will provide the department with a complete export of account data (in the form of an Outlook .pst file).
- The department personnel will examine the exported data, determining if any of it is related to proprietary University business that cannot be provided to an unaffiliated member of the public.
- Once the exported data has had proprietary University information removed, the department can distribute it to the requester as they see fit. They may take additional verification steps or involve the services of the Office of University Counsel.
- Technology Services Security will notify the Identity & Access Management unit, and the account will be deactivated.
These steps must be followed for any employee accounts, even those of retirees.
Student Accounts
If the deceased was a University student before their passing, the account will likely not have been used for proprietary University business, and as such there will not be a department or unit to involve. The Help Desk will fill this role instead:
- Contact the Help Desk by email at consult@illinois.edu or by phone at 217-244-7000. Indicate that you are asking for help with a deceased student's account, and which of the above pieces of documentation you're able to provide.
Do not provide the documents themselves to the Help Desk. - The Help Desk will contact the Office of University Counsel and describe the situation to them.
- University Counsel will reach out to you at the contact information you provide in order to receive and verify the documentation.
Once approved, the Help Desk will be given permission to proceed. - Since the Request For Access form does not apply, the Help Desk will contact the Security team internally to request a data export.
- Security will provide the requester with the exported data, in the form of an Outlook .pst file uploaded to Box. It will be kept there for at least 90 days, or until the requester confirms receipt.
- Security will notify the Identity & Access Management unit, and the account will be deactivated.
Automatic Email Replies
The University account's email address will remain on file, and Security can configure it to automatically reply to incoming messages. To request this for a staff account, the departmental personnel involved above should complete Security's Out of Office Request form here: https://go.illinois.edu/out-of-office-form
For student accounts, where there is no home department personnel completing the process, the Help Desk can also submit this form on behalf of a verified requester.
Automated replies will function for 30 days after the date the account is marked inactive.