Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Illinois

Letters of office are what you get from a court appointing you executor. You may not need to go to court. In Illinois, a Small Estate Affidavit can be used as a substitute for a probate court proceeding if there is less than $100,000 and no real estate in the decedent's estate. A power of attorney does not have any authority after the death of the person who granted the authority to someone else under the power of attorney. There are several websites which have sample forms for the Small Estate Affidavit. You want to make sure you have the new version which includes changes in the law made effective in 2015. You probably don't need a lawyer for this. The bank, if you find someone service oriented, may help you. You will need to be prepared to present the Small Estate Affidavit along with a copy of the death certificate and a copy of the will.

I am sorry for your loss. First, concerning all the statuses you list: (1) Powers of attorney, except for very limited purposes, expire upon the grantor's passing. Powers of attorney are documents that generally give authority during the grantor's lifetime; (2) A trustee governs a trust, not an estate. To the extent that there is a trust, the account in question must not be held in the name of the trust, but in your aunt's name individually. It may also be that you are referring to a trust to be set up by the will, which would also mean the account in question would not have been held in trust at the time of your aunt's passing; (3) Being named as an executor in a will does not make you one. You must seek court appointment through a probate proceeding to be qualified as the executor and receive letters of office. That is what the bank is requesting. That is the general direction most everyone receives when dealing with a financial institution, but in certain cases there are options. Assuming Illinois law applies, if the personal estate is less than $100,000.00, you may use a small estate affidavit. You should, however, be careful doing so and it is best to work through it with an attorney, particularly if your aunt owed any bills, had any other potential liabilities or had a unique family situation (which may be the case since you are involved as a niece or nephew). The cost should be limited to a few hundred dollars and well worth the security of knowing that you will not be held responsible for her funds years down the road. If the balance in the account is so small that it is not cost effective to use an attorney, which also means the risk to you would be minimal, then you can find the Illinois form on several websites (probably ones posted by various of the circuit court clerks would be most reliable as far as being the current version).