Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Illinois
Father's Estate
My father passed away in 1990. He was a resident of Illinois and passed away in Illinois. At the time of his passing, I was 17 years old. Prior to his passing, I had seen a copy of his will in the house. However after his passing, my mother informed me that he did not have a will and that all of his estate was transferred to her. From my understanding, the majority or all of his estate was acquired during their marriage. My mother, my brother and myself survived his death. I was informed by other family members that there was an executor of the estate (who resides in Wisconsin). When I asked the person named as the executor of the estate, he also told me that there was no will and that all of the estate was to be transferred to my mother.
I have already checked with the county in which he was a resident and died in and there is no record of any will or probate filed in that county. those records in 2006.
Is it possible that those records could have been filed in the county in which the named executor resided in? If there was no will, would there be a public record of the disbursement of the estate? If there are no public records to be found , what could be the possible explanations for that?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Father's Estate
Your mother and father probably had everything in joint tenancy, which is what almost all married couples do. Joint tenancy means that both were owners of the property in whole and in part. When your father died everything was automatically hers. Bank accounts can be owned the same way. Even a will can't overcome that. So there may not have been any property to distribute. At least not until your mother dies.
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