Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Illinois

You will need to hire a lawyer to represent you in court to demand an accounting of all funds and other items in the Estate. You need to remember, however, that if Mother left any assets in joint tenancy with another person that at the moment of death those assets passed out of the Estate and became the sole property of the other joint tenant. Doesn't matter if it was one dollar or a million dollars.

Before closing the Estate, an Administrator in a Probate Estate is required to provide the following to each heir of the Estate who is getting a percentage of the Estate: (1) an Inventory (which shows the state of all assets on date of death) and (2) an Account (which shows all credits and debits to all assets from date of death to date of distribution to heirs). Sometimes, upon request, that Administrator will also provide copies of all bank statements and other relevant documents for assets in the Estate (or even assets not in the Estate, which may include those CDs and the annuity), even though the Administrator is not specifically required to do so. If your Administrator refuses a request for bank statements, you may still be able to get access to them if you hire an attorney to assist you.