Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Illinois
Administration of a small estate
I filed a small estate affidavit when my father died (intestate and in debt) a few years ago; would the fact that I filed that affidavit and proceeded to sell his possessions and settle his debts be considered the same as being an administrator of an estate? (I was not formally appointed administrator; you might say I inherited the job!)I plan to register copyright for music he wrote and prefer the copyright claimant to be ''Estate of.....'' rather than his heirs. I understand that to use ''Estate of.....'' requires that there be an administrator of the estate; therefore, my question.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Administration of a small estate
There are a few different issues here. The first is that you are registering an asset under an Estate that had debts. Have all the debts been satisfied? If not, how were they taken care of? If the Estate now starts to have assets, it is possible that the creditors could force an Estate to be opened.
Also, the fact that a probate estate was not opened leaves the statutory period for filing claims against the estate open for a much longer period than if the estate had been probated.
Check with an attorney who can review the particular circumstances with you. There may be other options available to you.
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