Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Illinois
My grandmother died and Illinois defaults to per stirpes so the possessions that were meant for my deceased uncle are suppose to go to his son. The thing is, we have never been able to contact his son since before his father died. How long does he have to claim this before it's just split between my father and aunt?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Whether the personal property is of significant value or not, you should inventory it and place a ball park value on each item. I know this is time consuming. If the total value of the estate is less than $100,000 your dad can administer the estate with a small estate affidavit. Your dad should hold one third of the estate, in cash or kind, for the missing heir. The easiest way is to open a Totten trust: a savings account in the name of your dad with the missing heir as the beneficiary. There are numerous resources available on the internet for locating people. You do have to make a good faith effort to find the missing heir. Good luck.
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