Rolling Meadows Probate Attorney

Rolling Meadows Probate Attorney

Even in the case of a family member who was meticulous about estate planning, it is not easy to manage the financial affairs of a recently deceased person with whom you had a close relationship. Grief and financial decisions are not a winning combination. Before heirs can receive their inheritance from a deceased person’s estate, the estate must go through a legal process called probate. The probate courts allow all parties in probate cases, including heirs, creditors, and personal representatives of estates, to represent themselves or to hire lawyers to represent them.  You should choose Andrea Heckman Law as your Rolling Meadows probate attorney.

Your Responsibilities During Probate

During probate, the court acknowledges the property owned by a recently deceased person and settles the estate so that the deceased person’s heirs can receive the property. In probate law, the deceased person is known as the decedent. If the decedent wrote a will, then the person who represents the estate in probate court and follows the instructions in the will is called the executor or executrix of the will. If the decedent did not write a will, then the person who follows the probate procedures and distributes the decedent’s property according to the laws set out by Illinois law for estates without a will is called the administrator of the estate. The term “personal representative of the estate” can refer either to the executor of a will or the administrator of an estate.

As personal representative of a deceased family member’s estate, you must present accurate statements to the court about all the assets the decedent owned and all the debts that he or she owed. You must settle the decedent’s debts and file the estate’s final tax return before the estate can settle. The personal representative must contact all known creditors and publish notices in the local newspaper announcing that the estate is open for probate so that creditors the personal representative did not know about can also claim debts from the estate. Sometimes the personal representative can settle the debts for less than their face value, leaving more money for the heirs to inherit from the estate.

Do You Need to Hire a Lawyer for Illinois Probate?

Some estates are simpler to settle than others. Whether you choose to hire a probate lawyer depends on how comfortable you feel dealing with large volumes of financial documents. It is a good idea to hire a probate attorney if you foresee complications arising with the estate. For example, you should hire a lawyer if you think that there will be a dispute about the will, for example, if your stepdaughter has been telling people that she thinks you manipulated your late husband into reducing her inheritance. It is also a good idea to hire a probate lawyer if you need to sell a real estate property or a business to divide the proceeds among the heirs.

Contact Andrea Heckman Law About Probate Cases

A probate lawyer can make the process of settling a deceased family member’s estate less stressful.  Contact Andrea Heckman Law in Rolling Meadows, Illinois, to discuss your questions about probate and estate administration.