Know Your Rights: Wills

Illinois Wills is the first in the Know Your Rights series. Selected provisions from the state statutes pertaining to wills and probate are provided for residents to understand the basic rules.

Over fifty provisions are categorized into question format covering intestate succession, formalities to write a Will, pets, minors, real estate, administration, adoption, being disinherited, revoking a Will, invalidity, abuse, and more.

Statutes are supplemented with brief explanations when necessary for further insight. For example, the full inheritance statute has a summarized breakdown on who inherits your property based on family status.

The developer, Michael Elliot Byczek, is a licensed attorney in the State of Illinois. His online legal store, Land of Lincoln Attorney Services, is a virtual law office that offers multiple versions of a basic Will to download and print a PDF copy. Michael also developed simple iPhone Apps that email a copy of your Will to yourself to print and sign.

The statutes are current as of October 6, 2009 (Illinois General Assembly website).