When someone passes away, they leave behind an estate that has to be settled before it can be closed out. In the event that an estate is worth over $100,000 or the assets were solely owned, the estate is required by law to go into probate. The process is overseen by the executor who is named in the will, but not every estate has a will. In the event someone passes away intestate (without will), the probate court appoints an executor to oversee the duties required by probate law in Buffalo Grove.
Going through probate is a straightforward process, but it can require a lot of effort on behalf of the executor. Probate law in Buffalo Grove has an executor do everything from publishing notices in the newspaper to making sure heirs get what is theirs. It can be a lot of work, and the court recognizes that this takes time. To that end, the executor doesn’t have to rush through the process in order to do it correctly and has to check in with the court from time to time to record progress.
When someone passes, their estate may have outstanding bills that need to be settled. Creditors are going to be unaware that someone has passed until they are notified, and the executor may have to send out death certificates to them. In the event a creditor makes a claim, the executor has to pay it out from the estate to settle the debt. Publishing a death notice in the newspaper is supposed to alert creditors to make a claim, and if no creditor steps forward, the estate can move forward to the inheritance phase.
After creditors are settled, the remaining assets can be distributed to the heirs. In the event there is a will, the heirs are clearly listed out and all the executor has to do is to notify them of their inheritance. When there are no listed heirs, the executor has to find the closest relatives and inform them of the passing of their relative.
The court oversees all of these processes to make sure that the executor is doing their job, and to make sure that the estate is settled and closed for good.
