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WHERE THERE'S A WILL, THERE'S DELAY?

May 11, 2006

Joel Schoenmeyer has a post on the importance of turning in decedent wills to the probate court. He talks about the Illinois rules:

there's §6-1(a) of the Illinois Probate Act, which says that "[i]mmediately upon the death of the testator any person who has the testator's will in his possession shall file it with the clerk of the court of the proper county." While this section does say "immediately," it's really only invoked when a person in possession of a decedent's Will refuses to turn it over.(emphasis added)

That's a relief. When my father died in Lake County, Illinois, I was the executor. I was, you might say, less than prompt in filing the will, as the only things he owned that weren't jointly-held with my mother were a credit union account and his old pickup truck. When I finally got around to it, the clerk at the courthouse was rather stern with me until she realized I wasn't an attorney; she then became much more friendly and helped me get things settled quickly. But now I know I'd better not dawdle next time I have to do deal with a family estate.

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