Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Illinois

I am preparing my will, living will, healthcare POA, etc. My executor/agent and successor executor/agent reside in other states. How can I execute these documents without getting all 3 of us together in one place?


Asked on 7/31/12, 2:06 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys

Naheed Amdani Law Offices of Naheed A. Amdani, P.C.

In Illinois, your executor and successor executor are not required to sign your will, living will, or healthcare POA.

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Answered on 7/31/12, 2:16 pm
Henry Repay Law Offices of Henry Repay

You are not required to have the signatures of those people. The power of attorney forms may contain a space for sample signatures, but that is optional and I usually avoid using it for the very reason you cite (it is unlikely that everyone can be gathered to sign at once and doing it separately is more likely to create issues than solve anything).

That said, if you are doing this on your own, I highly discourage it. Of all the wills I have seen that were prepared by non-attorneys, including the ones touted by online sites or software manufacturers, not a single one was entirely correct. Several, would not have been admitted to probate. Those that would have been would have resulted in the distributions being different than the drafter would have intended. In one case, it worked out, but only because the section with errors was irrelevant.

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Answered on 7/31/12, 2:25 pm


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