This is known as an Integration Clause. It is common in business agreements. It means that the signed agreement governs the agreements of the parties for the subject matter addressed in the contract. If prior contracts address different matters, then they may still be independently viable or... View More

You must be careful not to mix or confuse your care for an aging parent with your rights to property under a will or trust. Carefully review your parent's last wishes, as reflected in the signed estate documents, and abide by the final wishes of your father under his codicil or other governing... View More

Yes. As an heir, you are entitled to petition the court to open the estate and be appointed as the administrator. Any of your siblings and your father's estranged wife are entitled to file such a petition. Under the Illinois statute, your father's wife and his children split the proceeds... View More

The answer to your question is not dependent upon a comparison of the equity to the judgment. Rather, you need to identify what part of your equity is exempt. In Illinois, a homeowner has a $15,000 exemption for the equity in their home. Double that for a married couple. If the equity exceeds the... View More

The original will is required to be filed with the Court in the County where the decedent lived. You can look at the will after it is filed and read the provisions. Assuming assets in excess of $100,000 or an estate with real estate (no real estate passes through probate if it was in joint title),... View More

The affidavit of heirship is important when opening an estate. Some counties have pdf forms other require original typed word documents. You essentially need to identify the spouse and children. If there is no surviving spouse or child, then make sure there is no survivor of a predeceased child. If... View More

In Illinois there is no penalty for breaching a contract. In fact, Illinois law expressly allows a party to breach a contract. However, once a party breaches, it is obligated to make the other side whole. Meaning that the benefit of the contract must still be given to the non-breaching party.... View More

I agree with Mr. Hutchinson. The only thing I would add, is if your spouse eventually does prepare and execute a will, that you (as his spouse) has a right to renounce the will and take one-half of the estate. This statutory spousal right is to provide a spousal share to a surviving spouse when the... View More

Anyone in possession of a will is required to file it with the county clerk following the death of the testator. You should be able to go to the county courthouse where your Grandmother lived and see and/or copy the document. Hope this helps.

Title is held by the trustee. While the trusts are created for the benefit of the beneficiaries, legal title and responsibility for the property or assets belongs to the trustee.

Illinois requires court administration of real property if the decedent dies with realty in his name.

You have not given sufficient facts to answer your questions. Illinois provides awards to surviving children. You need to review the statute and determine if the two surviving children are entitled to awards. If they do, then the awards are paid ahead of judgments or creditors. Without knowing the... View More

The short answer is yes. Look at the Illinois Dram Shop Act for more details, but a landlord of an establishment that serves alcohol may be jointly and severally liable for losses arising from the serving of alcohol.

If the borrower passed away, then the estate should be paying you. Why are you paying to the borrower or to the borrower's estate? Your question seems confused.

If a written promissory note, signed by the parties, is not paid when due, then the holder of the note may make demand or commence suit. In your case, if the borrower is not offering some other or new solution, it sounds like it is time to commence suit.

Assuming you are talking about Illinois probate law, if there is not will then the distribution is by statute and the governing statute is pretty straightforward and clear. It does not talk about the relative dependency of any heir. Good luck.

In Illinois, a court does not obtain jurisdiction over you until you are served with the summons and complaint. If several attempts were made to serve you and they were unsuccessful - presumably so since you were out of town, then the plaintiff may be in a position to ask the court for permission... View More

As I understand your fact pattern, it does not sound like you actually authorized anyone to bring a claim on your behalf for any part of the house. If this is correct, then you don't need to do anything. No one can file a claim on your behalf without your express permission. If there is an... View More

You should look at the Illinois Secretary of State information relating to the transfer of jointly owned title from a decedent's estate. This link should help. https://www.ilsos.gov/publications/pdf_publications/vsd275.pdf

Yes. When I was a young lawyer, our managing partner would repeat on a regular basis that if you are in a case, you go to all court hearings. If you don't want to go to a court hearing, then get out of the case. Some things are simple, attending all court hearings while a case is open is one... View More