Probate In Chicago (and elsewhere): A Legal Root Canal
June 26, 2009 · Filed Under Estate Planning and Probate
Just what you want to do after a loved one dies…pay money to an attorney to get a probate court deeply entrenched in your most personal family business. The best part: the probate proceeding will likely last at least a year if not longer. That’s right.
Probate is the law’s way of making sure that a dead person’s (“decedent”) estate is settled fairly and according to his or her intent as evidenced by a will. Probate starts with filing a series of documents which tell the court:
- Who died (the decedent)
- Whether the decedent died with or without a will
- The estimated value and composition of the estate of the decedent
- Who the decedent’s heirs were at death (includes surviving spouse and children); and
- Who is going to be the executor (or, if no will, the administrator)
So long as everything looks to be in order, the probate estate is opened and someone is named executor or administrator. The executor/administrator then has the power to deal with the decedent’s property, distribute assets, deal with creditors and eventually close the estate.
I’ll write more about specific aspects of probate, but probate is (1) expensive and (2) totally avoidable. Oh…and it also is time consuming and causes loved ones to literally be knee-deep and reminded of death for a year or so. Not so good. Here are some horror stories about inadequate estate planning for your reading leisure: http://www.smrslaw.com/articles/2007-02-art1.htm
Related posts:
- Dying Without a Will in Chicago (and elsewhere): Not Good
- Asset Protection if you hit your head…like Conan O’Brien
- Chicago Tax Guy: Demystifying Wealth Taxes
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