Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Illinois
Uncle died, no will, no wife, children
My uncle just passed away. He did not have a will. He was not married and his only child died 10 years ago. My grandfather and my mother (my uncle's only blood sibling) are still alive. My mother needs to know what to do. My grandfather's wife (the stepmom) is trying to take control of everything. My grandfather does nothing without her conscent and is so grief stricken he is allowing the stepmom to sneak around asking questions about my uncle's affairs. My mother is afraid that she will end up with nothing and her two step siblings ( who my uncle did not recongnize as his siblings)and my grandmother will end taking everything. What can we do? He does own dump trucks and gravel trucks. He had his own business. But he was so ill with Luekemia that he could hardly pay his bills and keep things going.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Uncle died, no will, no wife, children
First of all, if your uncle died intestate (without a will), his estate should be probated. This means that a court proceeding will be started to determine the heirship (from your posting, it seems that your grandfather and your mother would be the only heirs), the assets of the estate, the expenses of the estate, the final distribution, last but not least, who will act as the administrator (same meaning as the executor) of the estate.
I would advise your mother to obtain legal counsel since there appear to be some rather complex issues here.
Let me know if you would like to discuss this further.
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