In Illinois, after someone passes away we can use a Small Estate Affidavit to transfer property from the deceased person’s estate to their heirs or beneficiaries without going through the formal probate process in every instance. For many years, estates valued at $100,000 or less, and that do not include real estate that is only in the deceased person’s name, have been more quickly and easily administered without having the expense of opening a formal Probate Case in court.
Attorneys have often grumbled that the $100,000 limitation for use of this Small Estate Affidavit is outdated. Often, by the time the family adds up the value of a car, checking and savings account, and other assets, the amount exceeds $100,000 in value and they find themselves having to deal with the expense and time involved in moving through the probate court process.
Illinois Governor Pritzker will soon have a new bill on his desk that will change the upper limit for the Small Estate Affidavit up to $150,000. In fact, as important as the increased amount, is that the law will change so that we will now no longer include the value of the decedent’s motor vehicles in the calculation of the threshold Small Estate Affidavit amount.
For those currently involved in trust planning and those clients who previously prepared their living trusts and are involved in funding their trusts, if the Bill (SB 83) becomes law there will no longer be a need to consider transferring valuable motor vehicles to the trust.
We will keep an eye on the Governor’s activities, since the Bill would become law immediately after it is signed. The use of the new Small Estate Affidavit threshold will not be retroactive. If your loved one has passed away prior to enactment of the new Law the legislature has provided that the older threshold is still applied.
If you have questions about the use of a Small Estate Affidavit, or questions about other aspects of Estate Planning or the Probate Court process, reach out to Marc Sherman or Maureen Meersman. Contact information is here: https://mshermanlaw.com/contact/
