Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Illinois
not honor will
my aunt passed away leaving a will which includes myself and some close friends of hers. My aunt passed away leaving a house. She has other assets in joint tenancy with myself but the house was in her name only. The will states the house is to be sold with net proceeds from the sale split between myself and these friends. The problem is the friends don't want the house to be sold. They want the house free and clear without paying anything. The mortgage is paid up. The friend is the executor of the will. He was so concerned with honoring the will and now that he sees everything is in joint tenancy with me except the house, he seems less interested in the outcome. He only wants the house now. I want the house to be sold as stated in the will. He is now talking about trying to get a quit claim. As I said, his sole purpose is for the house to be GIVEN to him. We have to honor the will, correct? I feel these friends coerced my aunt into a will in the first place not knowing all of her business was in joint tenancy with me. He also wrote for her life insurance policy and was told they would only talk to me as I was her beneficiary. Isn't that some type of fraud? He is the executor of the will and I am the surviving heir. Any answers?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: not honor will
You didn't mention if the will is in probate. The will MUST be filed in the circuit court within 60 days after death or the person in possession of it can be held criminally liable. If probate has not been opened, YOU can open probate and force the executor to file the will. You can also file a petition to have him removed as executor. The will says to sell the house and split the proceeds. That is what has to happen. Please call immediately for a free consultation.
Re: not honor will
Has the will been filed with the county and estate opened? If not then the executor is obligated by law to do that within 30 day of your aunts death. The language of the Will governs the way the property is handled. Therefore, the property is required to be sold and the funds split according to the Will. If this is not done then the the executor is in violation of the law.
As far as the life insurance it is the executors job to gather all the assets so he is allowed to contact the insurance company. However since you are the beneficiary then they can only speak with you--which is good for you.
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