Asset Descent and Distribution in Illinois

Saturday, July 18th, 2009

Every state has its own descent and distribution law which applies if somebody passes away without a will (intestate).  Generally in Illinois, half of the estate would pass to the surviving spouse and then the other half would be equally divided to the descendants (like children, etc).

For assets with named beneficiaries already or those titled jointly will not be part of the estate of a decedent spouse; therefore, these would pass directly to the beneficiary or joint tenant.

However, if there are assets titled only to one spouse, it could create a problem.  For instance, your home (or any asset) was titled to your name only due to credit issues, or maybe you already owned the asset even before marriage, then the surviving spouse would only get half of your home and the other half would be inherited by the children.

If this is the case, the surviving spouse needs to get permission from the children before selling the house and would give half of the proceeds to the children after the sale.  Typically, this is not what spouses would intend to do; however, if one of them dies without a will, then their intention will not be admissible in court.    

Tags: beneficiaries, beneficiary, descendants, Illinois, intestate, law, will
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Legal Terms in a Will

Saturday, June 20th, 2009

You’ve probably watched this scene in a movie - a family sits in an office while an attorney reads a last will and testament from their wealthy grandfather.  And then it reads “Being of sound body and mind, I, Reginald V. Gotrocks, hereby bequeath all my fortune and possessions to one person who’s been there for me rain or shine, day in or day out…..my mailman Jim.”

The next thing that would happen is that the family may vow to contest the crazy will of the old man.  Unfortunately, if the will has been properly drafted, it’s one of the iron-clad documents in law.

The truth is that everyone of legal age should have a will.  If not, the court will never know how you intend to dispose your possessions - be it land, money, computer, or your pet cat.

It’s also important to know the legal terms in a will:

• Testator - person who owns the will
• Executor - person who’ll carry it out
• Beneficiary - recipient of the  assets
• Probate - court that will prove the will’s validity
• Bequest - gift of personal property coming from testator to beneficiary
• Codicil - written amendment to the will
• Intestate - a person have died without a will (opposite of “testate”)
• Trust - entity holding assets until later, which also allows the beneficiary to bypass probate.
• .

Tags: attorney, beneficiary, bequest, codicil, court, executor, intestate, probate, testator, trust, will, will and testament
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