After a person dies, issues related to their estate will be handled through a legal process known as probate. If the person had a last will and testament, the executor of their estate will file their will in probate court, take a complete inventory of their assets, pay taxes and expenses on behalf of the estate, and distribute the estate’s assets to the person’s beneficiaries. However, in cases in which a person died without a will, their family members or other heirs may be unsure about how these matters will be addressed.
Intestate Succession
The probate process will usually be required whether a person had a will or not. In cases where the deceased person did not have a will, someone will need to be appointed as the representative of the estate. This may be a family member or another person who was close to the decedent, and they may ask to be appointed by the probate court that is handling the case. The estate representative will carry out the same duties as a person who was named as an executor in a will.
Without a will that provides instructions for the distribution of a person’s assets, an estate representative will need to follow the applicable laws, which are known as the laws of intestate succession. The laws in Illinois state that a person’s assets will be divided equally between their spouse and children. That is, the surviving spouse will receive half of the estate, and the other half will be equally divided among the person’s children. If any of their children have died, their share of the estate will go to their own children or descendants.
...