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lawtalker q: are all wills/estate documents public after someone’s death in Illinois?

Posted by lcubed <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=lcubed' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on June 29, 2026, 14:26:38

Long story short: my wife’s grandma put my wife’s shady ass aunt (grandmas daughter) in charge of everything while she was alive but has since passed. Aunt won’t let my FIL (her brother) see any documents, bank statements, etc and is just splitting things with him as they get sold. Says whatever is in the bank accounts, etc doesn’t count towards the estate and she is entitled to all of it since she helped take care of her the past few years

Is he pretty much SOL? He doesn’t have money to hire an attorney to fight it, but basically we are pretty certain the aunt is just considering everything hers

did she have a nice memorial service/celebration of life?*

Posted by bbonb <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=bbonb' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on June 30, 2026, 9:33:44, in reply to "lawtalker q: are all wills/estate documents public after someone’s death in Illinois?"

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Yes, shady ass aunt had it in a private over water bungalow at the St Regis Bora Bora

Posted by ATL <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=ATL' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on June 30, 2026, 9:41:55, in reply to "did she have a nice memorial service/celebration of life?*"

why do you ask?

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“We are old and tired and just want to be taken care of.” - Republican voter, Dec. 2024.

My SIL pulled a similar deal. Ferreted off cash from her parents into her safety deposit box

Posted by Stu <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=Stu' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on June 30, 2026, 9:20:09, in reply to "lawtalker q: are all wills/estate documents public after someone’s death in Illinois?"

Lord only knows how much was in there.

Chicken Little poster child

"Ferreting" means uncovering. I'll assume you meant "gerbiling."

Posted by complainant <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=complainant' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on June 30, 2026, 14:12:59, in reply to "My SIL pulled a similar deal. Ferreted off cash from her parents into her safety deposit box"

Because they carry stuff away and hide it.

Oh, I dunno. I used to have a ferret. It would sneakily take things and hide them.*

Posted by Stu <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=Stu' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on June 30, 2026, 14:16:21, in reply to ""Ferreting" means uncovering. I'll assume you meant "gerbiling.""

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Because they carry stuff away and hide it.

Chicken Little poster child

Is she hot?*

Posted by Poldark <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=Poldark' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on June 30, 2026, 9:28:27, in reply to "My SIL pulled a similar deal. Ferreted off cash from her parents into her safety deposit box"

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Lord only knows how much was in there.

Social Misfit who wants to coach Illinois women's basketball.

"The corruption cry seems autofill but it’s really just coming from the Euros."

No. She's really into her rural Pentecostal church, and thinks she is Jesus'

Posted by Stu <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=Stu' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on June 30, 2026, 9:31:02, in reply to "Is she hot?*"

favorite person, and therefore is entitled to other people's money

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Lord only knows how much was in there.

Chicken Little poster child

OH, and she writes Melania Trump love letters*

Posted by Stu <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=Stu' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on June 30, 2026, 9:33:53, in reply to "No. She's really into her rural Pentecostal church, and thinks she is Jesus'"

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favorite person, and therefore is entitled to other people's money

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Lord only knows how much was in there.

Chicken Little poster child

Some things to consider ...

Posted by complainant <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=complainant' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on June 29, 2026, 15:15:38, in reply to "lawtalker q: are all wills/estate documents public after someone’s death in Illinois?"

Is this a small estate, or subject to probate?

If the latter, her brother is an heir but not necessarily a legatee. Heirs have rights, including the right of notice. Has he received Notice of Probate? Did she die intestate? If not, has he seen the will? He has that right, too.

Evil Aunt has access to the accounts for one of two reasons. Either she was a joint account holder or named beneficiary (1), or she was authorized by a court (2).

In the former situation, the account becomes her account, and is not part of the estate.

He has seen nothing. I’m willing to guess the aunt was named as joint account holder

Posted by lcubed <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=lcubed' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on June 29, 2026, 15:34:17, in reply to "Some things to consider ..."

Whatever would have helped her get/keep the most out of this, that’s what we think happened. Just curious to know if there’s a way to find any of this out

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Any retirement account with beneficiary? Those aren’t joint*

Posted by Potomac <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=Potomac' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on June 29, 2026, 15:46:10, in reply to "He has seen nothing. I’m willing to guess the aunt was named as joint account holder"

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Whatever would have helped her get/keep the most out of this, that’s what we think happened. Just curious to know if there’s a way to find any of this out

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When did she die? Did she own real property? What county?

Posted by complainant <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=complainant' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on June 29, 2026, 15:44:00, in reply to "He has seen nothing. I’m willing to guess the aunt was named as joint account holder"

Answers to these three questions will narrow our search.

I think she died in Nov or dec 2025 in Coles county. Yes she had real property*

Posted by lcubed <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=lcubed' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on June 30, 2026, 8:54:44, in reply to "When did she die? Did she own real property? What county?"

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Answers to these three questions will narrow our search.

Well, that's a fun little legal portal. I like the docket tab.

Posted by complainant <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=complainant' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on June 30, 2026, 14:09:52, in reply to "I think she died in Nov or dec 2025 in Coles county. Yes she had real property*"

That's a handy function that smaller counties can get away with.

Okay, so you've searched the cases for her name. You didn't find anything?

I assume she was domiciled in Coles County at the time of her death, and that the real property was located in Coles County?

It looks like Illinois upped the small estate limit recently. You'd want to know how the real property was disposed of. Did it transfer on death? That's possible.

It appears that you can search by address, here:

https://colesil.devnetwedge.com/

I found some additional cursory information on small estates in Illinois:

https://www.illinoislegalaid.org/legal-information/using-small-estate-affidavit

“Whatever is in the bank accounts doesn’t count towards the estate” is… not how this works!

Posted by Carl Spackler <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=Carl+Spackler' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on June 29, 2026, 15:01:39, in reply to "lawtalker q: are all wills/estate documents public after someone’s death in Illinois?"

If it went through probate then it should be in public records? If it went through a trust, you’re probably screwed I think.

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I’ve looked on judici but did not find anything so I wasn’t sure if I’m missing it

Posted by lcubed <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=lcubed' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on June 29, 2026, 15:31:02, in reply to "“Whatever is in the bank accounts doesn’t count towards the estate” is… not how this works!"

Or maybe however they handled it just isn’t available to the public?

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If it went through probate then it should be in public records? If it went through a trust, you’re probably screwed I think.

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Carl's post is inaccurate, though not bad for a groundskeeper.

Posted by complainant <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=complainant' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on June 29, 2026, 15:41:59, in reply to "I’ve looked on judici but did not find anything so I wasn’t sure if I’m missing it"

I would think that the majority of bank accounts, when held by a person who has an estate plan or testamentary documents, goes to direct beneficiaries rather than probate.

It just depends on how the account owner assigned responsibilities and beneficiaries.

You say grandma put Evil Aunt in charge of everything, but not whether formal, legal authorization existed.

A Power of Attorney expires on death, so even if she was formally authorized to wield power, that's not relevant to the estate.

I read the bank account line from him as “independently decided it wasn’t in the estate”

Posted by Carl Spackler <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=Carl+Spackler' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on June 30, 2026, 9:19:56, in reply to "Carl's post is inaccurate, though not bad for a groundskeeper."

Vs having any sort of joint ownership or clear beneficiary structure.

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That sounds like criminal theft*

Posted by gvibes <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=gvibes' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on June 29, 2026, 14:57:09, in reply to "lawtalker q: are all wills/estate documents public after someone’s death in Illinois?"

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