Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Illinois
I am executor and trustee of my deceased cousin. She has everything in the trust . An attorney advised me that with a trust, probate is not necessary, however, when I went to the banks to transfer the funds into a trust account, I am being told that I need a Letter of Office. I don't understand what needs to be done to get this letter of office since everything was in trust but apparently the banks tell me that the accounts are not in the trust. How do I get the letter of office??
2 Answers from Attorneys
Depending on the value of the accounts and any other assets in her name and not in trust, you will need to either open a probate estate to obtain Letters of Office or have a small estate affidavit prepared to have the accounts distributed to her beneficiaries.
How her assets are distributed will depend on whether she had a Will (likely since she had a trust) and who the beneficiary(ies) were as stated in her Will (likely his trust).
If you are interested in discussing the specifics of probate in Illinois and your cousin's estate, feel free to contact me.
Manish C. Bhatia
773-991-8423
First you need to ascertain for certain whether the banks accounts were and are titled in the trust or not. A trust will only avoid probate if it is properly funded. If bank accounts are in fact not in trust, then you need to determine the aggregate value of those accounts or other assets not in trust. If those are under $100,000 then you should consider using a small estate affidavit in lieu of probate. If over $100,000 then probate is necessary. Letters of office is the document the executor receives after going to court to open a probate estate.
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