Illinois Probate:
Intestacy - Dying Without a Will

Dying without a will is called intestacy and any person who does this is intestate. Illinois law provides for the division of property of anyone who dies intestate. Property is first distributed to a surviving spouse and children, if any. The goal of the statute is to keep the property within the family. Therefore, the statute lists a long line of relatives who may inherit. The statute does not take into account a particular relative's financial need, the closeness of your personal relationship with the relative, the use to which the relative may put the inheritance, or your non-kin friends and life-partners. Rather, the ordering of heirship is set solely on degrees of descent as found in the Illinois Statute. Furthermore, if no heirs are found, the property ultimately may escheat to the State.

Intestate estates may face a form of probate. Assuming that the decedent (person who died) leaves more than a minimal amount of property, the heirs at law may need the estate to go through a form of probate, generally referred to as administration, in order to legally receive or access assets. Probate can be costly and time consuming.

Handling an intestate estate can result in dodging a series of pitfalls for the unwary. At WPD, we are glad to assist clients to minimize the need for probate or administration services. At WPD, we seek to avoid probate by taking care of business prior to death through the legal tools available. Planning for death can reduce time for assets to be tied up and reduces the costs born by your loved ones to receive your assets. If it is too late to avoid probate, we use our knowledge and expertise to guide families through the process in a cost-effective and considerate manner.

Learn more about probate

Learn more about wills

Learn more about trusts

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