Probate Notice: Part 3
After opening a probate estate, you also have to give notice to a group of people described as "interested persons." In a case where the decedent died intestate (without a valid Will), the interested persons are the decedent's heirs. In a case where the decedent had a valid Will, the interested persons are the decedent's heirs and the individuals named as beneficiaries in the Will (the decedent's legatees).
This notice isn't real tricky, except some attorneys forget about it because most of the requirements appear in the Illinois Supreme Court Rules rather than in the Illinois Probate Act.
Most Illinois probate estates are administered without a lot of court supervision, under something called independent administration. If the estate is being handled via independent administration, notice has to be sent to interested persons of their rights to contest this. See Illinois Supreme Court Rule 110.
If the decedent's Will has been admitted to probate or denied probate, notice has to be sent to interested persons of their right to contest this result. See Illinois Supreme Court Rule 108.
A copy of the petition that was filed to open the estate, and a copy of the order entered by the judge admitting the Will to probate (or denying probate) and appointing an executor or administrator, also have to be sent to each interested person. This requirement IS found in the Illinois Probate Act (Section 6-10 for testate estates, Section 9-5(b) for intestate estates).
Two final notes:
1. There are time requirements for giving the above notice. My regular practice is to send out the required notice on the day I open a probate estate, after I return from court.
2. As Section 6-10 above makes clear, additional notice needs to be published if you don't know the name and/or address of an heir (this is called an "unknown heirs" situation).
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