QUESTION
Should I have been contacted anything about the will to notify me that I am no longer an heir?
Asked on Mar 07th, 2015 on Estate Planning - Illinois
More details to this question:
My mother passed away 16 months ago. My name appears on her will along with my sibling’s names. Long story short, my siblings had my mother take me off of her will. My name still appears on the will but there is a separate addendum that excludes me although I don't know what it says exactly.
2 ANSWERS
You are always an heir and entitled to notice of the opening of any estate. You may no longer be a devisee - that is your mother may have changer her will by amendment - called a codicil - and deleted you as a taker under the will. Illinois law provides that a will and codicil are supposed to be filed with the Clerk of the Court of the Country where the person died within 39 days of the death. If that was done, those documents are public record. You can go to the court house and look at them. Whether the change in the will was done properly would take pages to discuss. Look at the Ernie Banks case.
Answered on Mar 10th, 2015 at 1:47 AM
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A Will must be filed with the count clerk. It is a matter of public record. An addendum to a Will must be executed in the same manner as the Will, with non-interested witnesses that can attest to the competency of the maker.
Answered on Mar 10th, 2015 at 1:46 AM