Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Illinois

If there is a valid Will, and your stepmother has it in her possession, she is obligated to file it with your County's Clerk. If she knowingly refuses to file a valid Will, or destroys such a Will, she has committed a felony. Try to get a copy of the Will from your father's old lawyer, then I suggest that you hire a lawyer to represent you.

Keep in mind, your father could have made a later Will that revoked all previous Wills. In that event, your father's Estate would be governed by that later Will, unless that later Will was proved to be invalid. Again, that later Will, as a valid Will, must be filed with your County's Clerk. Feel free to contact me and I'll tell you how you can get a filed Will from the appropriate County.

If your father revoked all Wills, and did not draft another, you are still entitled to a share of your father's probatable Estate. However, you would not be entitled to assets passing by joint tenancy, beneficary designation or other legal method, unless wrongdoing occured.

Please call me and we'll discuss this further. There would be no charge for the call.

I agree with Attorney Raminiak's response and would add the following: If no will can be found then he died "intestate." An intestate estate goes to the heirs. You are one of his heirs and would be entitled to a portion of his probate estate.

Second, there is no such thing as a will that is "too old." If it was his last will then it is the governing document. The passage of time does not invalidate it.

Feel free to visit my website at www.legacylaws.com and read the estate administration section.