Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Illinois

Re: how long is probate open for

The basic rule is that creditors must file their claim within six months of newspaper publication (a few eeks after opening the estate).

Creditors which are known or reasonably ascertainable have to be specifically notified (for example, if a credit card bill comes to the deceased's home).

The actual time it takes to administer an estate may run from seven months to years (example, trying to sell home or business or dispute claims).

An important point to know is that administering need not delay distribution once claims are taken care of. For example, I have an estate in which it took more than a year to sell an apartment. We are still trying to sell a house -- but I encouraged the executor to distribute *most* of the cash.

Re: how long is probate open for

An Estate is open for as long as it takes to administer to the assets of the estate, so it depends, the claims period for a creditor in Estates that choose to publish a claim period is 6 months after the publication.

Re: how long is probate open for

The time limitation for filing of creditor's claims can get complicataed. The basic rule is that claims are time-barred unless filed within 6 months after the first newspaper publication date, as long as the creditor was not known or reasonable ascertainable or the creditor was given notice of probate within 3 months of first publication (later than 3 months will extend period). There are certain exceptions to this rule, and the issue of "known or reasonable ascertainable" is obviously a heavily litigated issue. Also, the form of proper notice to creditors and filing of claim can become an issue.

As far as how long does an estate remain open, this varies widely. Because of the claims statute, it must remain open AT LEAST 6 months. But, this is a bare minimum. Many issues can delay closing an estate, including estate taxes, creditor issues, will construction, asset sale, missing heirs/beneficiaries, locating assets...and a host of other potential issues.

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