Litigation can take longer than the average person not accustomed to the court system can imagine. Cases going on 5 years are fairly common....

No, there are strict requirements for disposing of property at death and one is not allowed to do so orally.

It's likely that you will need to evict her, which isn't easy, especially in Chicago. Hire an eviction attorney and they will go through your...

Formal probably will almost certainly be necessary, consult a probate lawyer.

You should hire a probate attorney (most probate attorneys also do trust administration). You might end up in court clearing up the mess.

You didn't ask a question, but I assume you want to know if you have a legal claim. You might, but it would probably be too small to justify hiring...

Yes, age can be a major factor in evaluating a wrongful death suit. However, the survival portion of the suit (generally pain and suffering) is not...

I am unaware of any appellate cases that have addressed this issue. One could argue that a landlord is being reasonable by only allowing subleases...

If the POA is active and gives sufficient power (POAs can give different powers), the person that is the agent under the POA would have authority...

You can probably use the small estate affidavit, it depends on what else is in the estate.