Estate Planning, Probate & Elder Law Attorneys

» More borrowing spells trouble for retirees

» Pearis leaving after 35 years as Town of Maine attorney

Stuart Pearis announced this weekthat he will leave his position March 31 as Town of Maine attorney after 35 years. via Press & Sun-Bulletin

» The Dirty Secret about Creditors and Claims in Probate

People are often upset to hear that a deceased person's debts must be paid as part of the probate process. But the dirty little secret is this: because of the laws, and the incompetence of creditors and their attorneys, you can often avoid many debts.

Let me give an example: I'm administering an estate. The decedent had a pretty big credit card balance (over $15,000) at the time of her death. There were probably 9 or 10 other debts that she owed at the time of her death (mostly unpaid utility bills).

Upon opening the probate estate, I sent notice directly to all known creditors. I also published general notice to creditors in the local newspaper. These notices are required under Illinois law, which also bars claims that are not filed within a certain period of time (usually six months after notice is published in the newspaper).

The notice period for this estate expired on February 23rd. Can you guess how many creditors filed claims prior to the expiration? Not a one, which means all of these claims are barred.

Special "praise" should be reserved for the law firm representing one of the creditors (the credit card company). My experience with them:

-I send them notice of my client's death.
-I am contacted by one of their representatives (not an attorney) about settling the debt.
-I ask the representative to fax me information about the debt (monthly statements), so that I can ascertain whether the debt is legitimate.
-I don't receive the information; when I call and tell the representative this, he becomes belligerent.
-The representative finally mails me some information about the debt, although not the information I requested. He also sends me copies of the fax cover sheets for the faxes he supposedly sent to me. Unfortunately, these sheets show that the representative was using the wrong fax number.
-This is the last I hear from the representative.

So now the claims period has expired, which means the credit card company won't be getting paid. And they have their attorneys to thank.

» The Case Against Small Caps
Here's an easier way to make money.

» If I Ran the Cook County Probate Court

Cook County has a pretty major backup in the probate area -- four judges now handle all decedent's estates cases. That's a lot, considering that they handle new cases as well as ones that are dragging on from prior years. As a result, the timeframe for opening an estate has expanded. If I file a petition right now, I may not be able to get a court date for another 4 (or 5 or 6) weeks. Not to mention the fact that, when you go into court, you typically have to wait for an hour or more to have your case called.

If I ran the Cook County Probate Court, my solution to the above problem would be computer filing of "non-contested" estates. I'd estimate that at least 80% of all probate cases in Cook County are open and shut -- no one is contesting the Will, and everyone just wants the probate process to move along as quickly and easily as possible. In cases like that, I would allow the attorney to file all court papers to open the estate via e-mail (as PDFs). The attorney would have to indicate that the PDFs are true and correct copies of the original papers (which are in the attorney's possession).

Perhaps one additional judge could be hired to handle computer filing (review and issue orders). His or her salary could be paid by a $100 "convenience fee" charged for computer filing. It seems to me that everyone wins:

1. Non-contested estates get processed more quickly and more cheaply (you'd rather pay a $100 convenience fee than pay an attorney to sit around in court for hours at a time at $200 or more per hour).

2. The other judges are freed up to handle the contested estates, which are also processed more quickly and more cheaply.

[added 3/18/08: Another idea, based on my observation of court this morning -- a LOT of court activity involves attorneys asking for routine continuances, which are of course routinely granted. Again, if the parties agree and a judge agrees, why do the attorneys need to sit around in court -- wasting their time and their clients' money -- waiting to be heard? Can't the additional judge mentioned above handle these situations too?]