Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Illinois

Don't forget it. IL probate laws provide for summary administration in

such situations. Contact legal aid or find a lawyer who will give free

consultation.

If you still have the account, try depositing the checks without endorsement (if they take state checks without endorsement). Otherwise, depending on other facts and circumstances, you can probably address this through a Small Estate Affidavit. You can try on your own, the form is in the statute and you can probably find it through a search engine, but the better course may be to pay an attorney a few hundred dollars to prepare it and advise you as it may be tedious with the state and there may be ways to avoid going back to the state. Much of it can likely be handled by phone and E-mail. Have you addressed all final bills of your mother?

The one thing we know is that you can't negotiate a check payable to a deceased person. If the attempt to deposit the check doesn't work, the Illinois Department of Revenue ("IDOR") has a tax form that may address your situation. Look on the IDOR website for Form 1310 (it's an individual income tax form), read the instructions and see if this addresses your needs. Assuming payment or reimbursement for funeral expenses was made and that there are no outstanding bills of the estate, you and your brother would share the proceeds of the check.