Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Illinois

Executor cashed bonds and kept money?

My mother passed away in Sept 2006.My eldest sister (who is executor of Mom's will) was given Power of Attorney before Mom's death in order to take care of her finances and avoid Probate I think. Mom did have a will, which stated her 4 daughters would divide everything equally.We believe my sister/executor has taken Mom's bonds and maybe stocks and cashed them for herself through Mom's bank account/trust which had both their names on it. Is there any way we can force her to disclose the bank account/trust information to see if she cashed the bonds or closed the account?


Asked on 10/10/06, 4:45 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Jeffrey R. Gottlieb Law Offices of Jeffrey R. Gottlieb, LLC

Re: Executor cashed bonds and kept money?

Unless she has gone to court and petitioned to be appointed executor, she is not the executor and has no executor powers. The only way to force information and to create a forum to resolve disputes is to open a probate estate. If she won't do it, then you can petition the court. In this case, it may have been that the accounts you refer to were titled in both of their names as joint tenants with rights of survivorship. This generally means that the property passes to her directly and not under the terms of the will. However, this can sometimes be challenged when the facts indicate that the joint name was added only for convenience and not intended as a gift after death. Again, this challenge is done in the context of a probate estate.

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Answered on 10/10/06, 5:01 pm


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