Small Estate Affidavit and Small Estates

In Illinois, a small estate affidavit is used when a deceased person's family has less than $100,000 in personal assets such as a bank account, checking account, or certificate of deposit. A small estate affidavit makes a deceased person's estate easy to manage.

Please note that if you or your loved one owns real estate, the small estate affidavit is most likely irrelevant. If the small estate affidavit is not relevant, than one must undergo a probate court process.

Probate court is the court in Illinois, which is responsible for determining who are the rightful owners of the decedent's assets. Unfortunately, many people assume that a will is a good way to avoid probate court in Cook County, Illinois. A will is almost worthless and a court process is still required. A better alternative is a Revocable Living Trust or otherwise, known as a "Living Trust". A Living Trust is a wills and trusts strategy that is designed to appoint a trustee and designate beneficiaries. A Living Trust is a private document unlike a will, which is public information. Furthermore, a Living Trust avoids the long-court process that is required by probate court. With a Living Trust, the estate administration process should take less than 30 thirty days. The key thing with a Living Trust is to draft a Trustee's deed for your personal and investment properties. This is important because it is vital to fund your estate plan and therefore, avoid the necessity and costs of probate court. If you die without a will or Living Trust in Illinois, this process is called "intestate succession". Intestate succession means that the State of Illinois law assumes that your surviving spouse (if any) and your children are the desired beneficiaries of your estate.

Sean Robertson is an estates and trusts and probate attorney in Cook County, Illinois. Sean Robertson is based in downtown Chicago and can be reached at 312-498-6080 or Sean@RobertsonLawGroup.com.

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