Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Illinois

His Wife.

The law provides that the estate, with no will, should be divided one-half to the spouse, one-half to the children. So, you likely have some rights that can be asserted, but I question where that may leave you.

Concerning the car, if it is subject to payments, then one question is whether there is any equity in it. Is it an asset or a liability?

If the house was in your father's name or held in a way that does not provide for the survivor to take, then it is another possible asset. Again, with property values having declined and a mortgage on it, is there really anything there?

The existence of other assets should be considered. Were there bank accounts solely in your father's name? What was the status of his personal property (that can be tricky/touchy)? Did he have investments, insurance, retirement plans, ...? Did he name beneficiaries?

If there is little to be gained, you may be doing more harm than good in raising your interests. If there is something there, you still need to work through the practicalities. How are the loans going to get paid? Is there a way for one heir to buy out the other, perhaps through the way the assets are divided?

To move this in the right direction in the proper way, you need to have an attorney get as many facts from you as possible to decide whether further contact should be made with the family. Clearly, your father felt that his wife's grandchildren were close to him and that should enter into the approach you consider.

I am not saying you should drop this. The wife may not understand the situation and there may be an inheritance due, but I am suggesting there is the possibility that there is little or nothing and that once you make that determination you should take other factors into consideration.

Who gets the car? If no payments are made, the loan company where the car is financed will repossess. The creditor gets the car unless its paid for. To the extent there's equity in the car the distribution would be 50-50 widow and children. However, before any distributions can be made the bills have to be paid, including the cost of administering the estate. You need to carefully calculate how far you want to go with an issue like this and ask yourself what monetary and family values are at issue.