Robbins Estate Lawyer, Illinois

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George J. Witous

Real Estate, Estate Planning, Estate, Family Law
Status:  In Good Standing           

Daniel William Witous

Real Estate, Estate, Divorce & Family Law, Business
Status:  In Good Standing           

Christine Burmila

Real Estate, Wills & Probate, Trusts, Estate
Status:  In Good Standing           Licensed:  40 Years

Joseph Cardinal

Commercial Real Estate, Estate, Family Law, Bankruptcy & Debt
Status:  In Good Standing           

Joseph John Cardinal

Commercial Real Estate, Estate, Family Law, Bankruptcy & Debt
Status:  In Good Standing           

Michael Anthony Buck

Traffic, Estate Planning, Workers' Compensation, Personal Injury
Status:  In Good Standing           Licensed:  49 Years

Edward J. Burt

Estate Planning, Divorce & Family Law, Bankruptcy, Personal Injury
Status:  In Good Standing           Licensed:  51 Years

Edward Burt

Estate Planning, Divorce & Family Law, Bankruptcy, Personal Injury
Status:  In Good Standing           Licensed:  51 Years

Paul Smolinski

Estate Planning, Estate, Guardianships & Conservatorships, Elder Law
Status:  In Good Standing           

Paul A Smolinski

Condominiums, Estate Administration, Estate Planning, Elder Law
Status:  In Good Standing           Licensed:  38 Years

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LEGAL TERMS

ALTERNATE BENEFICIARY

A person, organization or institution that receives property through a will, trust or insurance policy when the first named beneficiary is unable or refuses to ... (more...)
A person, organization or institution that receives property through a will, trust or insurance policy when the first named beneficiary is unable or refuses to take the property. For example, in his will Jake leaves his collection of sheet music to his daughter, Mia, and names the local symphony as alternate beneficiary. When Jake dies, Mia decides that the symphony can make better use of the sheet music than she can, so she refuses (disclaims) the gift, and the manuscripts pass directly to the symphony. In insurance law, the alternate beneficiary, usually the person who receives the insurance proceeds because the initial or primary beneficiary has died, is called the secondary or contingent beneficiary.

DOWER AND CURTESY

A surviving spouse's right to receive a set portion of the deceased spouse's estate -- usually one-third to one-half. Dower (not to be confused with a 'dowry') ... (more...)
A surviving spouse's right to receive a set portion of the deceased spouse's estate -- usually one-third to one-half. Dower (not to be confused with a 'dowry') refers to the portion to which a surviving wife is entitled, while curtesy refers to what a man may claim. Until recently, these amounts differed in a number of states. However, because discrimination on the basis of sex is now illegal in most cases, most states have abolished dower and curtesy and generally provide the same benefits regardless of sex -- and this amount is often known simply as the statutory share. Under certain circumstances, a living spouse may not be able to sell or convey property that is subject to the other spouse's dower and curtesy or statutory share rights.

SPECIFIC BEQUEST

A specific item of property that is left to a named beneficiary under a will. If the person who made the will no longer owns the property when he dies, the bequ... (more...)
A specific item of property that is left to a named beneficiary under a will. If the person who made the will no longer owns the property when he dies, the bequest fails. In other words, the beneficiary cannot substitute a similar item in the estate. Example: If John leaves his 1954 Mercedes to Patti, and when John dies the 1954 Mercedes is long gone, Patti doesn't receive John's current car or the cash equivalent of the Mercedes. See ademption.

GENERATION-SKIPPING TRANSFER TAX

A federal tax imposed on money placed in a generation-skipping trust. Currently, there is a $1 million exemption to the GSTT; that is, each person may leave $1 ... (more...)
A federal tax imposed on money placed in a generation-skipping trust. Currently, there is a $1 million exemption to the GSTT; that is, each person may leave $1 million in a generation-skipping trust free of this tax. The GSST is imposed when the middle-generation beneficiaries die and the property is transferred to the third-generation beneficiaries. Every dollar over $1 million is subject to the highest existing estate tax rate--currently 55%--at the time the GSTT tax is applied.

PREDECEASED SPOUSE

In the law of wills, a spouse who dies before the will maker while still married to him or her.

PROVING A WILL

Convincing a probate court that a document is truly the deceased person's will. Usually this is a simple formality that the executor or administrator easily sat... (more...)
Convincing a probate court that a document is truly the deceased person's will. Usually this is a simple formality that the executor or administrator easily satisfies by showing that the will was signed and dated by the deceased person in front of two or more witnesses. When the will is holographic -- that is, completely handwritten by the deceased and not witnessed, it is still valid in many states if the executor can produce relatives and friends to testify that the handwriting is that of the deceased.

TRUST CORPUS

Latin for 'the body' of the trust. This term refers to all the property transferred to a trust. For example, if a trust is established (funded) with $250,000, t... (more...)
Latin for 'the body' of the trust. This term refers to all the property transferred to a trust. For example, if a trust is established (funded) with $250,000, that money is the corpus. Sometimes the trust corpus is known as the 'res,' a Latin word meaning 'thing.'

BEQUEATH

A legal term sometimes used in wills that means 'leave' -- for example, 'I bequeath my garden tools to my brother-in-law, Buster Jenkins.'

INTESTATE

The condition of dying without a valid will. The probate court appoints an administrator to distribute the deceased person's property according to state law.

SAMPLE LEGAL CASES

In re Estate of Feinberg

This case involves a dispute among the surviving children and grandchildren of Max and Erla Feinberg regarding the validity of a trust provision. The circuit court of Cook County found the trust provision unenforceable on the basis that it is contrary to the public policy of the state ...

In re Estate of Feinberg

In re ESTATE OF Max FEINBERG, Deceased (Leila R. Taylor, as Independent Coexecutor of the Will of Max Feinberg, Deceased, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Michael B. Feinberg, Individually and as Coexecutor of the Will of Max Feinberg, Deceased; Fifth Third Bank, as Trustee under ...

In re Estate of Ellis

Grace Ellis executed a will in 1964 naming Shriners Hospitals for Children (Shriners) as beneficiary of her estate if she died without direct descendants. In 1999, she executed a new will naming James G. Bauman as sole beneficiary. Bauman was the pastor of the church of which ...