Why would someone want to avoid Probate?

The main reasons are time and money. A full probate of an estate in Cook County often takes more than 18 months (or even longer!). It can require, even in simple cases, court costs greater than $500. Add to that the fees an attorney charges, and a probated estate can become expensive.

The third main reason some people wish to avoid probate is to avoid publicity. Once an estate goes through probate, anything introduced in this proceeding becomes a public record, and becomes available to anyone with the time and energy to go to the courthouse and ask for the probate file to browse through its documents. 

Is there a benefit to probate?

Probate has taken an unfair rap as a legal process to be avoided at all costs. But probate can be beneficial if there are cantankerous, litigious heirs, numerous creditors, or no will or a questionably-written will for the deceased.

A judge will determine how a person's property is to be divided, based on the decedent's will or the statutory formula if there is no will. At that time the heirs, creditors and other interested parties can question the judge's decision. The judge will explain his or her decision and make sure there are no misunderstandings or questions.

With probate, businesses and people having claims against the person who has died must file their claims within six months of the death notice published in the local newspaper. If they do not file their claims within that period, they cannot thereafter seek to collect from those who have inherited property of the deceased. If no probate is filed, creditors may have a longer time to collect any debts due them.

At the start of this year we shared a few new laws impacting Illinois residents we thought were good to know. Here are a few others you might find of interest.

HB 0049 - Prohibits the sale of devices that steal credit card information.

HB 2675 - Any public school sex-ed course offered to 6th-12th graders must cover both abstinence and contraception.

HB 2992 - Parents in a joint-custody relationship must first offer the other parent the option of temporarily caring for a child before seeking third-party child care.

SB 0722 - Allows people at wineries to seal and take home one bottle of opened wine.

SB 2245 - Grants veterans priority registration to state universities.