Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Illinois
My father passed away 4 years ago. My sister is the executor. The estate was to be split 50/50. She was to get the house, give me the checking account, split the stocks and make payment arrangements for the balance (per the attorney). I got half the checking account. She has not made an attempt to get the stocks transferred (they are calling me now) and has given me $1000 over the four years. What do I need to do to get the rest of the estate that I am owed?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Hire an attorney to enforce your rights.
Your best course would be to get an attorney working for you. With an inheritance expected, you should be able to hire an attorney with a modest retainer. Otherwise, there should be regular court dates for monitoring the estate. At minimum, I would show up at the next date to express concerns to the judge. If the estate was opened under independent administration, you should also have been given a form to request that it be changed to supervised administration, which means the court would have more oversight. Again, the best course to protect your interests and get this resolved most efficiently would be to have an attorney intervene on your behalf.