Estate Planning, Probate & Elder Law Attorneys

» Creating a Green Office
Think in terms of financial payback when considering and implementing your eco-friendly office.

»  Life Insurance After AIG's Near-Death Experience
AIG subsidiary American General is likely to see slower sales of its policies but don't let fear keep you away.

» Estate Planning for the SelfEmployed A Helpful Guide

As a self-employed writer, I don't have a set retirement date. It would be tempting to keep putting off the unpleasant task of facing my own death and what happens after.

» Agents and Reasonable Compensation

The August 2008 edition of the Illinois Bar Journal features a discussion about reasonable compensation under a power of attorney -- here is the table of contents (I think you need to be a member to read the article). My previous post about the issue (here) is mentioned in the article.

» Jurisdiction in Probate

I remember very little about my law school jurisdiction class (other than the fact that my professor, who looked like a Teutonic version of Queen lead singer Freddy Mercury, wore the world's tightest jeans).

But jurisdictional questions do arise in the probate context. Often these issues have to be resolved by the court sua sponte (on its own, without motion from either party), since a party may not even have standing to present an argument. In re. Estate of Hoch v. Hoch (a 4th district Appellate Court case, available as a PDF here) is such a case, in which an Illinois court dismissed an Illinois probate (vacating its own order admitting the decedent's Will to probate) because a probate had already been initiated in Louisiana.