Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Illinois

Re: No will - who inherits money in CD's

It depends on why your grandparents placed their niece (your aunt?) on the accounts. If it was your grandparents' intent to give half the money to their niece when they placed her on the account, and for their niece to have all the money at their death, then it is their niece's money now. Similarly, if the money in the account came from both your grandparent's and the niece, then the entire account is probably now owned by the niece. If, on the other hand, your grandparents only placed the niece on the account simply as a convenience so the niece could write checks if your grandparents were unable to do so, then the money belongs to the heirs, you and your sister. As I am sure you can understand, proving what your grandparent's intended, especially now that they are dead, is a tricky matter. In any event, the bank will allow the niece access to the money, since her name is on the account, so if you want to make a claim to those funds, you will have to go to probate court.

Re: No will - who inherits money in CD's

The CD's probably belong to the niece, though your statement isn't quite clear. If her name is on the CD and everyone else is dead then its hers. As to the other assets it would appear that you would inherit them. If the total value of those assets [excluding the CD's discussed above] is less thatn $50,000 then probate can be avoided. Otherwise probate may be the only other alternative. The house may be able to be sold without probate however the situation would need to be discussed with a title insurance company first before that decision could be made.