Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Illinois

Its probably a bad idea as long as she is hospitalized, particularly if some family member might decide to challenge a Will created under these circumstances. Its best just to let nature run its course and deal with intestate succession should she pass. If she dies her Estate will first go to her husband, if she has one, and to her children. If no spouse then to her children entirely. If no children and no surviving parents, then to her surviving siblings.

A Will that is entered into under these circumstances would most likely not be considered valid by the courts and would be open to significant attack by anyone who considered himself/herself an interested party.

If she is lucid, then an attorney handling this very carefully should be able to get a will drafted and properly executed, documenting how and why everything was done. That would, however, take additional time with an attorney going out of their way to make it occur.

If the general distribution of the estate under intestacy laws is acceptable, then perhaps more issues will come of trying to prepare a will than not. The first level in intestate distribution in Illinois is half to the spouse, half to be divided among the children. If no spouse, then all to the children. If no children, then all to the spouse.

Other issues should be considered, such as what would be included in the estate, whether the interests of minors need to be protected, . . . If most of your sister-in-law's property is jointly held or already payable to a beneficiary, then very little may be impacted by a will as far as distribution of assets. If there are minor children, then naming a guardian may be important to your sister, even if their father would be expected to have the children should she pass. Her say may make a difference after her passing if the need for guardianship should ever arise. If there are minor children and assets to be held, having the assets held and managed by someone until certain ages may be important to her.

To cover all the important issues raised by your question is not possible. You really need to find an attorney to meet with your sister-in-law in private at a time when she is lucid to discuss her choices.

I think the real issue is that without the ability to speak or write, how would we ("we" meaning the outside world) know what your sister's intentions are? It looks like the idea of a will is your idea of what is important, and not your sister's. And then there's the issue of why didn't she have a will before she got ill if a will is important to her. I don't think it's necessarily impossible to have a will drawn up for your sister, but the real question is what difference will it make and to whom whether she has a will or not? Most lawyers, including myself, wouldn't want to touch this situation with the proverbial ten foot pole.