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Table of Contents
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List of Forms by Chapter - Chapter 1 — Probate Fundamentals and Terminology
- Chapter 2 — Which Assets Are Governed by Probate
- Chapter 3 — Meeting with the Petitioner
- Chapter 4 — Alternatives to Probate (and Assessing Whether or Not To Probate)
- Chapter 5 — Anatomical Gifts and Disposition of Remains
- Chapter 6 — Anatomy of a Will — Filing and Admitting a Will to Probate
- Chapter 7 — Electronic and Other Nontraditional Wills
- Chapter 8 — Identifying Heirs, Legatees, and Who Is Entitled To Inherit
- Chapter 9 — Minors and Disabled Persons as Heirs or Legatees
- Chapter 10 — Disclaimers
- Chapter 11 — Opening Probate
- I. [11.1] Introduction
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II. [11.2] Set Up the Case File - III. [11.6] Civil Procedure Applies in Probate
- IV. Where To Open Probate
- [11.7] The Place of Probate
- [11.8] In Which Illinois County Should Probate Be Opened?
- Probate in More than a Single State
- [11.9] Domiciliary vs. Ancillary Probate
- [11.10] Domiciliary Probate
- [11.11] Domicile in Illinois
- [11.12] Illinois Jurisdiction as Domiciliary
- [11.13] Non-Domiciliary State May Have Jurisdiction for Original Probate of Will
- [11.14] Probate of Real Estate Is Governed by Situs
- [11.15] When the Decedent Owns Real Estate in More than One State
- [11.16] Intestacy Laws May Vary by State
- V. Opening Probate Out of State
- VI. [11.19] Cook County Is More Nuanced
- VII. [11.20] How To Open Probate
- VIII. Filing Pleadings To Open Probate
- IX. Scheduling a Court Hearing
- X. [11.28] Must the Petitioner or Representative Appear at the Hearing?
- XI. Immediate Court Appointment by Petitioning for Letters of Administration To Collect
- XII. In-Person or Videoconference Hearings?
- XIII. [11.34] Circuit Court of Cook County
- [11.35] In-Person Hearings
- [11.36] Requesting a Remote Court Appearance
- [11.37] Hearing by Videoconference
- [11.38] Notice of Motion for Hearings by Videoconference
- [11.39] General Administrative Orders and Standing Orders
- [11.40] Court Portal
- [11.41] Obtaining Orders
- [11.42] Courtesy Copies
- [11.43] Cook County
- [11.44] Mailing or Emailing Courtesy Copies
- [11.45] Finding Judges’ Email Addresses
- [11.46] Drafting Courtesy Copies Emails
- XIV. [11.47] DuPage County (18th Judicial Circuit Court)
- XV. [11.53] Must the Petitioner’s Attorney File an Appearance?
- XVI. [11.54] Pleadings Required for Testate Proceedings
- XVII. [11.61] Unknown Heirs in Testate Estates
- [11.62] Before the Hearing
- [11.63] Cook County State’s Attorney (or the State’s Attorneys in Other Counties)
- [11.64] When the Deadline To Notify the State’s Attorney Is Missed
- Oath and Bond of Representative — Surety or No Surety
- [11.65] In General
- [11.66] In Cook County
- [11.67] Affidavit of Copy of Will
- [11.68] Order Admitting Will to Probate and Appointing Representative
- XVIII. [11.69] Statutory Notice After the Hearing — Testate Estates
- [11.70] Publishing
- [11.71] Content of Notice
- [11.72] Exceptions to Mailing and Publishing Notice
- [11.73] Waiver of Notice
- [11.74] Why Obtain a Waiver of Notice in Lieu of Giving Notice?
- [11.75] Must the Petitioner or Estate Representative Sign a Waiver of Notice?
- [11.76] Deadline To Sign the Waiver of Notice
- [11.77] Waiver of Notice Court Forms
- XIX. [11.78] Pleadings Required in Intestate Proceedings
- [11.79] Before Filing the Petition
- Persons Entitled to Preference To Serve as or Nominate an Estate Administrator
- [11.80] Hierarchy of Persons Who May Serve as or Nominate an Administrator
- [11.81] Persons Entitled to Preference in Serving as or Nominating an Administrator
- [11.82] Qualifications To Serve as or Nominate an Estate Administrator
- [11.83] Qualifications To Serve as Administrator in an Intestate Matter
- [11.84] When Multiple Persons Are Equally Entitled To Act as or Nominate an Administrator
- XX. [11.85] Petition for Letters of Administration — Intestate Estates
- XXI. [11.88] Oath and Bond of Representative — Surety
- XXII. [11.89] Notifying Persons Entitled to Preference — Intestate Estates (and Letters of Administration with the Will Annexed)
- [11.90] Must Notice Be Sent to an Individual Entitled to Preference Who Does Not Qualify?
- [11.91] Petition for Letters of Administration with the Will Annexed
- [11.92] When “Everyone Agrees” That the Petitioner Should Serve
- [11.93] Waiver of Notice (Also Known as Appearance and Consent)
- [11.94] No Deadline To Sign the Waiver of Notice
- [11.95] Preprinted Court Forms
- XXIII. [11.96] E-Filing the Petition for Letters of Administration — Intestate Estates
- XXIV. [11.97] Unknown Heirs in Intestate Estates
- XXV. [11.98] Order Appointing Representative of Decedent’s Estate — Intestate Estates
- XXVI. Pleadings in Both Testate and Intestate Proceedings
- XXVII. [11.101] Designation and Acceptance of a Personal Fiduciary for a Person with a Disability or a Minor
- XXVIII. [11.107] Affidavit of Heirship
- [11.108] Determining the Heirs of the Decedent in Probate
- [11.109] Proving Heirship
- Drafting the Affidavit of Heirship
- [11.110] Specific Circuit Court’s Pleadings
- [11.111] Narrative Format
- [11.112] Formula To Draft a Narrative Affidavit of Heirship in Cook County
- [11.113] Common Mistakes When Drafting a Narrative Affidavit of Heirship
- [11.114] Opening Statements in the Affidavit of Heirship
- [11.115] Discerning Heirship
- [11.116] When the Will Disinherits an Heir
- [11.117] Death of an Heir
- [11.118] Who Is an Heir vs. Who Has the Right To Inherit
- [11.119] The Branches of the Family Tree
- Unknown Heirs
- [11.120] No Known Heirs
- [11.121] Naming Unknown Heirs in an Affidavit of Heirship
- [11.122] Check the Local County Court Rules
- [11.123] Newly Discovered Heirs or Omitted Heirs
- [11.124] Former Spouse
- [11.125] Separated and/or in Divorce Proceedings, But Not Yet Divorced
- [11.126] Marital Status
- [11.127] When the Decedent’s Former Spouse Remarries
- [11.128] Descendants — Extending “Down” the Family Tree
- [11.129] Spouses of the Decedent’s Children
- [11.130] Order Declaring Heirship
- XXIX. Nonresident Representative
- [11.131] Designation of Resident Agent Pleading
- [11.132] Removal of Property
- [11.133] Leave of Court To Remove Estate Property from Illinois
- [11.134] Compliance with the Removal of Property Statute
- [11.135] Opening an Estate Bank Account or Liquidating a Decedent’s Bank Account
- [11.136] Amending the Petition
- [11.137] Amended Petition for Omitted Heir or Legatee
- [11.138] Formal Proof of Will
- XXX. [11.139] Surety Bonds
- [11.140] What Is a Probate Surety Bond?
- [11.141] How Much Is the Bond?
- [11.142] Whom a Bond Protects
- [11.143] Who Obtains the Bond
- [11.144] Two or More Estate Representatives
- [11.145] When a Bond Is Required
- [11.146] When the Will Waives Surety
- [11.147] Who May Provide the Bond
- Cook County
- [11.148] Circuit Court Rule
- [11.149] Civil vs. Personal Sureties
- [11.150] Obtaining a Bond from a Surety Company
- [11.151] Who Retains the Original Bond?
- [11.152] Additional Bonds/Increasing the Bond Amount
- [11.153] Renewing the Bond
- [11.154] Reducing the Amount of the Bond
- [11.154] Reducing the Amount of the Bond
- [11.155] Service of Inventory to the Surety
- [11.156] Canceling the Bond Once Probate Is Closed
- [11.157] Depositing Personal Property with a Corporation for Safekeeping
- XXXI. At the Court Hearing
- XXXII. Submitting and Obtaining Court Orders
- XXXIII. [11.163] After Probate Is Opened
- [11.164] Obtaining and Ordering Letters of Office
- [11.165] Drafting and Serving the Inventory
- [11.166] Purpose of the Inventory
- [11.167] Inventory Court Form
- [11.168] Inventory Need Not Be Filed with the Court
- [11.169] What To Include in the Inventory
- [11.170] Service of the Inventory by the Representative
- [11.171] Amending or Supplementing the Inventory
- [11.172] Local Court Rules
- [11.173] Inventory as Evidence
- XXXIV. [11.174] Dos and Don’ts
- Chapter 12 — Notifying Interested Parties
- Chapter 13 — Will Contests and Formal Proof of Will
- Chapter 14 — Renunciation of Will and Lost Wills
- Chapter 15 — Advising the Representative — Fiduciary Powers, Duties, and Tasks
- Chapter 16 — Decedent’s Estate Expenses and Creditors’ Claims
- Chapter 17 — Marshaling Assets
- Chapter 18 — Recovery of Property and Citations To Discover
- Chapter 19 — Tax Returns and Liability
- Chapter 20 — Death, Resignation, Removal, or Revocation of Letters of Office and Termination of Independent Administration
- Chapter 21 — Accounting, Receipts, and Distributions; Representative’s Compensation and Preparing To Close Probate
- Chapter 22 — Distribution of Wrongful-Death and Survival Settlements in Probate Court
- Chapter 23 — Reopening Probate
- Chapter 24 — Ethical Considerations in Probate Cases
- Chapter 25 — Appendix
Authors
Practical Probate 2025 Edition
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