It was very nice for your brother and his wife to leave you the money they did. It is even nicer that they filed and paid the tax for you. Yes, the taxes need to be paid. I cannot emphasize that enough. I would advise you to know who the trustee of the trust is so you can speak to that person.... View More

In order to be enforceable, Illinois, and all other states, require that agreements for the purchase and sale of real estate be in writing. However, this is not insurmountable. First, did you pay your father for the property and can the transfer of funds be documented? More importantly, were... View More

Sir, I'm so sorry for your loss. I hope you're all hanging in there.

While you can be the affiant of the Small Estate Affidavit, the only heir of the estate is your granddaughter. Because the amount of money she'll likely receive is over $10,000.00, there will need to be a... View More

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answered on Jan 31, 2022

One option for solving this problem is your sister could sign a power of attorney designating someone else to collect the account for her. An estate planning attorney can help her with this.

There is no such thing as changing the house to your name. You need to look at the deed and determine how it was titled. if in you Mom's name alone, then you will need to open an estate in order to transfer the asset. If the house was titled as joint tenants, then the property will pass, by... View More

If your great uncle stipulated in his will or in his trust that your parents could live in the house at a set rent price, then depending on how those instructions were worded - it is possible that your mom has a case. If this was an "understanding" not in writing, the case becomes much... View More

A Ward has the opportunity to seek to restore himself or herself at any time. This request can be made to the Judge directly or to the Guardian ad Litem (if one was appointed). Though it's not required, it would aide the Judge in making a determination that your circumstances have changed so... View More

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answered on Dec 8, 2021

There isn't a real good way for you to get a look at it, because neither the principal nor the agent are obligated to share it with you. But if you have good grounds to suspect that elder abuse (financial or emotional or other) is taking place, then report it to your local Adult Protective... View More

I'm so sorry to hear about your mother; I hope you're hanging in there.

Yes, it's appropriate for most costs in "finalizing" your mother's affairs be deducted from an estate before any heir receives their share. All bills of an estate must be paid, and... View More

Executors have the power to fulfill the wishes of the grantor of the will. They have the power to pay all debts owed by the estate of the deceased, to collect money owed to the deceased on behalf of the estate, to pay all taxes, and to distribute all remaining assets after debts have been paid, to... View More

Illinois has a partition statute to handle situations concerning jointly held real property. The statute is found at 735 ILCS 5/17-101, et seq. If you read section 105 you will see that the court has the power to determine if the property can be divided among the parties without prejudice to any of... View More

If your husband died with a will, you should review the provisions of the will. If he died without a will, then the Probate Act provides at 755 ILCS 5/2-1, that "Sec. 2-1. Rules of descent and distribution. The intestate real and personal estate of a resident decedent and the intestate real... View More

I would NOT list your fraternity as a beneficiary to your 401K, but rather make other arrangements in your estate plan. As to if you can name a specific chapter in your fraternity - that could depend on the fraternity, so I cannot give you a good answer on that, you would need to speak to them.... View More

I am so sorry that this happened to you. Your question went out to attorneys that file patents for inventions. There is not a category for paRents which is what you may have been trying to hit. You may want to add Family Law to the category set.

You may want to contact Legal Aid near... View More

Sorry for your loss, Amber. If you are sure that there is a will, and if you are sure that your cousin is the executor, you should ask the executor. These things do take time to work themselves out, so depending on "recently", it may still have a lot of time before it is all said and... View More

Being named in a will does not necessarily mean that you will inherit from the will. I doubt that the attorney who drafted the will is going to answer your questions. If the decedent's estate plan included a trust, it is very unlikely that the probate attorney will be of much help unless... View More

Good Morning!

Your mother should contact a few estate planning attorneys to find one she is comfortable working with on her estate plan. The attorney can discuss options based on the initial consultation about how she might best set up her estate plan.

Without knowing the specific facts it is hard to tell what is going on here. For example, if your dad had transferred the real estate to her during his lifetime, then she is within her rights to sell the property as she is the rightful owner. You could check with the Recorder of Deeds in the... View More

There is not a question, only a situation. And it really isn't estate planning.

You cannot give him the property as long as he takes over the mortgage. How do you plan on giving him the property, and when? Is this transfer to be done in your will? Will you deed the property over... View More

Hi there,

Congratulations for considering an estate plan! It's so important to do this as soon as you're able, but we know most people don't (which makes their estates ultimately much messier and more expensive when they become disabled or die). I'm assuming you're... View More