Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Illinois

Re: will problems

IF your grandfather in fact transferred the house to him and your mother in joint tenancy (which is what I assume you or he meant by "putting it in my mom's name"), then the deed, and not the will, controls who owns the house. With respect to any other property of your grandfather, even though the will leaves nothing to your mother or you, you have a right to challenge the will as an heir at law, and you may have a basis to claim undue influence and have the earlier will naming all of his descendants apply, or if that was revoked by destruction, have the law of intestate succession apply.

YOu absolutely need to consult a lawyer to determine your rights. Because your mother is not a blood relative of your grandfather, she is unlikely to have rights unless she is somehow named in the will, or as desribed above, if she is named in the deed to the house.

I apologize for some of the jargon in the above discussion. Much of the law that applies to your circumstances is well-settled, and the terms have been much litigated. If you consult an attorney, which is what I strongly recommend, you need to know some of the "buzz words" and what they mean to effectively communicate about your issues.

Our comments are based on treating your question as a hypothetical. Accordingly, our comments could be substantially and materially different were we advised of all of the relevant facts and circumstances. Our comments are by necessity general in nature, and should not be relied upon in taking or forgoing action in your circumstances without retaining an attorney. In order to fully explore your legal matter, you should meet with us or another attorney and bring to any such meeting all relevant documents and correspondence, and any other relevant facts.

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As you are aware, in Illinois there are various deadlines for filing a complaint, filing an answer to a complaint, or taking other action in order to preserve your legal rights, and avoid a complete loss of those rights. You should retain counsel immediately in order to be fully advised of your rights, and to be fully informed of the applicable time period within which those rights must be asserted. If you were to delay in doing so, it might result in your potential cause of action being forever barred.