On Sept. 13, 2018, the First District Appellate Court of Illinois held that a "Mutual Last Will and Testament" executed by a decedent and her husband was not a joint and mutual will, as the frequent use of "we" and "our" was not sufficient to infer that the testators' intent was to create an irrevocable will.
The Probate Act of 1975 has been amended to require clear and convincing evidence of a testator's testamentary capacity in order to execute a will or codicil.
A new section of the Illinois Probate Act presumptively voids testamentary gifts to unrelated caregivers. It's a powerful weapon against financial abuse, but beware the unintended consequences.
The Illinois General Assembly has added language to the Probate Act of 1975 regarding the use of expert witnesses and payment for such services during the adjudication of disability and for appointment of a guardian.
The Illinois Supreme Court found the doctrine irrelevant to the facts of In re Estate of Boyar, leaving the question of whether it applies to trusts as well as wills for another day.
Fees requested by an executor and attorney for administering an estate were not reasonable under the Probate Act, according to an Illinois Appellate Court.
On August 10, 2010, the Appellate Court of Illinois, Fourth District, determined that a third-party beneficiary is entitled to enforce a contract embedded in a mutual will before the death of the surviving spouse.
On April 29, 2010, the Appellate Court of Illinois, Fourth District, upheld a decision of the Circuit Court of Macon County finding that the "slayer statute" prevents an individual deemed insane for criminal purposes, but nevertheless cognizant of murdering a person, from receiving any property, benefit or other interest he may have received by a death he caused.
Custodial claims enable family members who cared for a now-deceased relative to be compensated for their years of unpaid or underpaid caregiving. Here's how it works.
