Benjamin W. Wong's Answers

Tenant trying to stay with my my house.....

If you are in Cook County, the Sheriff tries to serve all defendants in a forcible entry and detainer action in a timely manner. You can contact the Cook County Sheriff's office to get a status on the service of process. If the Sheriff tells you that there was "No service, no contact", then you might consider serving them by legal publication/posting. While you will not be entitled to get the past due rent, you would be allowed to get back possession of your property. As for the housing...

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Do we need a lawyer to sell house of deceased parents. We live in Illinois

Your answer depends on whether your parents added you to the deed prior to their passing. If they did add your name, then there is a good chance you can avoid the probate process since you are the surviving owner of their house. As part of the sales process, you would supply the title company, among other things, with your parents' death certificates. The title company can get access to the recorded deed that added you as a grantee. You would then be able to sell the house without going to...

How will my husband's estate be divided upon his death?

I echo what the other attorneys have stated in regard to the intestate laws in Illinois. You and your husband should definitely seek out competent legal counsel to provide an estate planning review of your current situation. The primary objective is to ensure that you and your husband's wishes and intentions are carried out by properly drafted estate planning documents. The last thing you want is for the intestate laws to dictate how the property is transferred, which may not be in...

Is a copy of a will good enough?

If the original will cannot be located, there is a presumption that the testator destroyed or revoked his or her will. However, if you can prove that the will was not revoked by your sister, then the court could accept proof of the will’s contents by a photocopy or carbon copy, or by the testimony of a person who knew of the will's contents. For example, you could have evidence that an interested third party had access to the will and destroyed it, i.e., someone who had an unfavorable...

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Is there a set time-line for filing a will in the State of Illinois?

It sounds like no probate estate was opened up or small estate affidavit was prepared (depending on the size of your father's estate). I am assuming that your step-mother was in possession of the will. If that is the case, then she did have a duty to file the will immediately upon your father's death with the clerk of the court of the proper county. Since your step-mother has since passed away, you will need to find out if you can locate your father's will, assuming it was in the...

When estate has been closed do I still have to pay collectors?

When you were told to disburse the remaining funds in your sister's estate, you were probably required to file a final report with the probate court stating, among other things, that either (i) the claims have been paid in full; or (ii) the estate was not sufficient to pay all of the claims in full. The courts generally require written receipts from everyone receiving money and written approvals from unpaid creditors. If you provided notice to all known creditors then their statute of...

My mother passed owning/owing nothing. Survived by husband. Any requirements in NH to file will with probate court?

You may not need an attorney to assist you if New Hampshire has similar procedures to Illinois in dealing with small estates. In Illinois, when an estate contains less than $100,000 in total assets, with no land, it’s considered a “small estate,” and can be settled using Illinois small estate procedures. A small estate affidavit summarizing the person’s estate, and how it should be distributed, is filled out and notarized. The affidavit can then be used to complete the distribution of...

Is a deed transfering land from one member to another legal if the notary public signs and dates the deed the next day?

Having a notary public sign and date the deed the next day does not necessarily invalidate the deed. You would have to prove that the notary committed an unauthorized, unlawful, abusive, negligent, reckless or injurious performance of a duty. If you could prove that your brother "paid off" the notary to notarize your mother's forged signature, then this would be grounds for invalidating the deed.