Illinois Estate Planning Legal Questions

A Power of Attorney for Property has no effect after the death of the Principal. Your uncle's authority as agent ends when the principal dies. If there is a Will it must be filed with the Clerk of the Court. Any interested person can open the probate estate and take action in the probate case to make sure the terms of the Will are followed and the assets of the estate distributed. You should see an attorney to assist with opening the estate as an heir and legatee under the Will.... Read More

Illinois does not have an anti-lapse statute. The Illinois Transfer on Death statute, with anti-lapse provisions, only relates to real estate. The brokerage company that holds the TOD account may have rules that cover this situation. It is likely that the account will be distributed to the contingent beneficiary named on the TOD account, if any, or the aunt's estate. If transferred to your aunt's estate then a probate will be required to effect distribution.... Read More

There is no estate to worry about. If the building is not worth more than the mortgage and the only assets in your mom's name are her possessions, hen call the bank and tll them the estate will not be opened and they can foreclose. Stop worrying about the tenant, unless you want to hire an attorney and spend probably over $2000 to try and collect the $3600 that is owed. Walk away.... Read More

When there is no Will the assets of the deceased that are subject to probate are divided and distributed according to the state statute on descent and distribution. If the spouse is not alive the assets are divided among the children. Assets like a retirement plan typically have a designated beneficiary. Such assets pass to the designated beneficiary as directed by the deceased owner and do not pass through probate. The assets that are mortgaged should be sold and the net proceeds after paying the debts of the deceased would be divided among the children. A probate could be opened by any interested party, probably one of the children but possibly a creditor. An estate representative would be appointed to deal with the probate assets. Forcing the brother to divide the retirement plan among the other heirs is unlikely. You should speak to an attorney about the possibility and process to make the attempt.... Read More

Donna needs to be able to track her legal name from her birth certificate to her new name after the name change. The name change proceeding requires the identification of the legal name and then the new name sought. The Judgment would have the original legal name and the new legal name. With the birth certificate and the judgment she can prove her identity for Social Security purposes. If the name change judgment did not identify the name on the birth certificate then it must be reopened and amended or a new name change petition filed and new judgment obtained. There is no reason for her to be denied her birth certificate even though she does not have the same name as is on the birth certificate. If born in Cook County, she can order her Birth Certificate from the County Clerk's office online if she knows her name given at birth, birthdate, mother's maiden name and father's name. Other counties in the state have similar order platforms.... Read More

In Illinois there are two ways to transfer title to real estate immediately upon death. Title to the real estate could be placed into joint tenancy with rights of survivorship by executing and recording a proper deed. Upon the death of one of the joint tenants the title to the property is held solely by the surviving joint tenant. If Joint Tenancy is used then during your lifetime your daughter would have an ownership interest in the property. An alternative is to execute and record a transfer on death instrument. Such an instrument must be a proper executed, witnessed and acknowledged deed; it must identify the transfer to a designated beneficiary that is to occur at the owner's death; and, it must be recorded with the county recorder of deeds before the owner's death. A transfer on death instrument is revocable by the owner. Of course, a Will or Trust could also be used to transfer ownership to a designated recipient but the transfers are not automatic on the death of the owner.... Read More

A typical trust agreement would allow the Trustee to borrow money using trust assets as collateral. The specific trust agreement would have to be examined to ensure such authority is granted. The funds borrowed would have to be used for a trust purpose. The trustee has fiduciary responsibilities to the trust, including the duty of loyalty which includes avoidance of self-dealing.... Read More

In Illinois a valid Will requires that the testator sign the Will of his own free volition, that he/she have the legal capacity to sign the Will and that he/she sign the Will in the presence of at least two witnesses. It the witnesses can testify that they watched the testator sign the Will and that they each saw the other witness the Will and that the testator was of sound mind acting freely then the Will is valid. Initialing pages is not required.... Read More

To remove your name from a time share property you must transfer your time share ownership interest to another person or entity. Contact the time share manager to find out if there is a market for the time share interests and how to access the market and list your time share interest for sale. There are also third party entity that make a market in the sale and transfer of time share interests.... Read More

All creditors of your father have a claim for payment that must be satisfied before any assets owned by your father can be transferred to an heir. You do not have any obligation to pay any creditors that your father owed money, such as the utilities. However, if you receive an asset from your father's estate, then the creditors can seek payment from you to the extent of the value of the asset distributed to you. Opening a probate estate and notifying known creditors of the estate will set a time limit for filing claims against your father's assets. All claims must be filed by a creditor within 6 months of publication or mailed notice of the opening of the estate.... Read More

A person can make a new will anytime provided he or she had legal capacity to understand the extent of his assets and the natural beneficiaries to his estate. The chemotherapy treatment, while debilitating, is not likely to have rendered your ex-husband incapacitated and unable to create a new will. Furthermore, upon the entry of a judgment of dissolution of marriage, any legacy or appointment granted you as the spouse would be revoked as if you had predeceased your ex-husband. This result is required by statute as it pertains to any will signed prior to the entry of the judgment of dissolution of marriage.... Read More

The executor has the duty to secure the property of the estate. As executor you should change the locks so you control access. If the property taken from the home is valuable and was not to be distributed to those that took the property then the executor could file a citation to recover estate assets. The executor has broad discovery powers and can subpoena financial records from financial institution the decedent dealt with.... Read More

Since your grandparents did not have a will their ownership interest would have transferred to their children upon the death of the last to die. Your mother would have had an ownership interest at the time she executed the deed quit claiming any interest she had in the property to her siblings. You indicated that your mother was represented by an attorney at the time of the transfer to her siblings. Did she receive any consideration in exchange for delivery of the deed? Was there any agreement between your mother and her siblings? You would not have inherited any ownership interest directly from your grandparents since your mother was alive when your grandparents died. Any ownership interest would come to you from your mother. If the quit claim deed was valid then your mother delivered her interest to her siblings.... Read More

The trustee generally has a duty of loyalty and must provide an accounting to the beneficiaries periodically. However, a trust can alter the default rules substantially, and there are some other exceptions. The terms of the trust can alter the powers and duties of the trustee to a certain extent. You may only be able to request an accounting subject to certain conditions, but you should be able to compel him to produce the documents.... Read More

The only way to contest the beneficial designation is to show that the owner did not have capacity to understand the extent of his assets, who are his or her natural beneficiaries, and how the disposition works into his or her estate plan. Proof of coercion or duress can also void a disposition.... Read More

A funeral home may be named as a beneficiary but that may not be the best arrangement. It would require a firm contractual agreement acknowledging the beneficiary identification and the death benefit as payment under a firm contract for a funeral arrangement. It may be best to continue the collateral assignment of insurance policy benefits to the funeral home.... Read More

If your name is not on the deed you are not considered an owner of the home. If your husband passes away while you are married you will receive an interest in the home through his estate unless he bequests his interest in the home to someone else in a Will. If Your husband could bequeath the home to you in his Will. If he has no Will and you are married when he passes and he has no descendants then the house would pass to you along with his entire estate. If you are married when he passes and he has descendants then one half of his estate would pass to you and the other half of his estate would be divided equally among his descendants. In this case the house may have to be sold to properly distribute his estate. The only way to make you an owner of the home would be to transfer an ownership interest to you by executing and recording a new deed. The best form of ownership of your marital residence depends on your situation. Many married couples own their home together either in Tenancy by the Entirety or in Joint Tenancy.... Read More