Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Illinois

Valid will?

My father died 5/05. He was extremely ill from bone marrow cancer. I know he had a will written years ago ( I never saw it but he talked about it ofter) however, his final will was dated 4.05, three weeks before he died. The will dated 4.05 excludes me completely, leaving everything but a small amount of cash in two trusts; one to my sister and one to my father's partner. Is there a way to retrieve an earlier will to show that I was a receipient of my father's estate? My father and I were on excellent speaking terms and there is no reason to believe he would intentially exclude me. Thank you for your time.


Asked on 6/03/05, 3:15 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Re: Valid will?

In order to determine the validity of the will, you will need to open a probate estate. As an heir of the deceased, you have standing to do so.

You need to discuss the specifics of your situation with an attorney who can sit down and review all of the documents, and the facts related to your father's mental health around the time he drafted the will.

If you can show that your father was under some kind of undue influence or was not mentally competent (or was medicated) when he drafted the will, you may be able to share in the distribution. Perhaps your sister can shed some light on what happened when he was updating the will.

Good luck to you.

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Answered on 6/03/05, 4:10 pm


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