Probate and Administration of the Estates of Deceased Persons
Probate is the court process designed to help people pass their property to their family or other beneficiaries after they die. Not everyone has to go through probate. It can be avoided in various ways. Sometimes, probate is a good idea. The rules can be confusing. The best way to use or avoid probate is to set up an estate plan that addresses these questions.
When someone dies they usually own some property; this property may or may not be subject to probate; whether or not property passes through probate may depend on what kind of property it is (real estate, liquid assets, stock, personal property), how it was titled or owned during the person's life, and whether there are any beneficiaries. In Illinois, small estates (those with less than $100,000 in assets and no real-estate) can pass outside of probate with a Small Estate Affidavit.
If you are the executor of an estate, or one of the heirs or beneficiaries with questions, call for an appointment to discuss your situation. In the past, the attorney's fee in a probate estate was a percentage of the value of the estate; this is no longer the case; at my firm, probate cases are billed on an hourly basis.