An executor is responsible for carrying out the instructions left in the will of a deceased person (the “decedent”). These instructions include determining the decedent’s assets, providing for payment of the decedent’s debts, and distributing inheritance to people named or referenced in the decedent’s will (the “beneficiaries”).
What does an executor do when a beneficiary cannot be found? The Illinois State Treasurer’s Office can accept a distribution of inheritance on behalf of a missing beneficiary after certain requirements are met.
First, the executor must open a probate court case for the decedent’s estate, and then publish notice of the probate case’s existence in the local paper. Additionally, the executor must attempt to locate the missing beneficiary by looking through records of the decedent, talking to relatives and friends, and conducting an heirship search.
If the beneficiary still cannot be found, the executor may explain the attempts made to locate the missing beneficiary in a petition to the probate court. The petition may request permission for the executor to distribute the missing beneficiary’s inheritance to the Illinois State Treasurer’s Office.
If the judge presiding over the probate case determines sufficient efforts were made to locate the beneficiary, the court will issue an order authorizing distribution of the missing beneficiary’s inheritance to the Illinois State Treasurer’s Office.
To properly distribute inheritance to the Illinois State Treasurer’s Office on behalf of a missing beneficiary, the executor must file a report describing the inheritance to the Illinois State Treasurer’s Office, remit payment of the inheritance to the Illinois State Treasurer’s Office (electronically or by paper check), and obtain a signed receipt of the payment from a representative of the Illinois State Treasurer.
The executor will then file the signed receipt with the probate court, showing the Illinois State Treasurer’s Office accepted a distribution of inheritance on behalf of the missing beneficiary.
Because this process demands navigation of both the Illinois probate statute and requirements of the Illinois State Treasurer, an executor who is faced with this dilemma may wish to consult an attorney with experience in distributing inheritance to the Illinois State Treasurer’s Office on behalf of a missing beneficiary.
