Here's an interesting one: Linda Damm was killed by her daughter's boyfriend, Bryan Grove. Her daughter, Tess, was 15 when she evidently helped to "plan and facilitate" her mother's murder. The question is whether Colorado's so-called "slayer statute" applies to prevent Tess Damm (a minor) from inheriting from her mother's estate. This article details the situation. One lawyer calls the argument "interesting" -- the parties are currently going into mediation.
The Illinois statute (Section 2-6 of the Illinois Probate Act) reads in relevant part as follows:
Person causing death. A person who intentionally and unjustifiably causes the death of another shall not receive any property, benefit, or other interest by reason of the death, whether as heir, legatee, beneficiary, joint tenant, survivor, appointee or in any other capacity and whether the property, benefit, or other interest passes pursuant to any form of title registration, testamentary or nontestamentary instrument, intestacy, renunciation, or any other circumstance. The property, benefit, or other interest shall pass as if the person causing the death died before the decedent, provided that with respect to joint tenancy property the interest possessed prior to the death by the person causing the death shall not be diminished by the application of this Section. A determination under this Section may be made by any court of competent jurisdiction separate and apart from any criminal proceeding arising from the death, provided that no such civil proceeding shall proceed to trial nor shall the person be required to submit to discovery in such civil proceeding until such time as any criminal proceeding has been finally determined by the trial court or, in the event no criminal charge has been brought, prior to one year after the date of death. A person convicted of first degree murder or second degree murder of the decedent is conclusively presumed to have caused the death intentionally and unjustifiably for purposes of this Section.
As you can see, Illinois also talks about "person," just as Colorado does. Is someone under the age of 18 a "person" for purposes of the statute? I would think so, although the Probate Act doesn't define the term. Interestingly enough, there is a provision in the part of the Probate Act that applies to guardianship and disabled adults -- Section 11a-2 -- that talks about a "disabled person" as a "person 18 years old or older who...."
Senior citizens who become victims to e-mail scams often divulge personal information that should be kept confidential and fret over bogus notices threatening to freeze access to their bank accounts in order ...
Here's a double dose of crazy for your reading pleasure:
1. Probate and Switch, by Lou Ann Anderson. My favorite part: "Attorney misconduct is rarely punished so our country is full of attorneys who will bend or break rules. These 'bottom feeders' are the vanguard flag carriers emblematic of why the general public has such disdain for the legal profession."
2. Illiinois [sic] Guardianship Law Similar to Slavery-Law Should Be Stricken as Vague, Prohibiting too Much Speech and Too Discriminatory, by James Timothy Struck. Looking for the link between slavery, Nazi Germany, and guardianship? Here it is!!!
I spoke about frustrations with the termination of independent administration here. A few follow-up points:
1. In the statute, a distinction is made between Wills that direct independent administration, and those that don't. If the Will directs independent administration, then supervised administration will only be allowed "if the court finds there is good cause." Otherwise, the court will switch to supervised with no argument. But note that the Will must use the magic language directing indepedent administration; it's not enough for the Will to say that the executor has X powers, which may be exercised without court order.
2. Cook County has provided the following language for orders terminating independent administration:
On the petition of [petitioner] for termination of independent administration:
IT IS ORDERED THAT:
1. Independent administration of the decedent's estate is terminated.
2. [Executor/administrator's name] shall continue to act as [executor/administrator] in supervised administration, and letters of office issued subsequent to this date shall issue to the representative as supervised [executor/administrator].
3. The clerk of the court shall mail a copy of this order to the representative and the representative's attorney.
4. The representative shall mail notice of the termination of independent administration to all interested persons whose names and post office addresses are known to the representative, and file proof of mailing with the clerk of court. (Here is Cook County's form notice.)
5. The representative shall file an inventory within 60 days.
Among other benefits, estate planning is an undertaking to protect your assets, minimize tax consequences and provide for others upon your death.
