Author name: Brandon Akers

Before a child turns 18, the child’s parents may make decisions regarding the child’s health care and finances. However, once a child turns 18, parents no longer have this ability by default.   Instead, the child must execute a document called a “power of attorney for health care” for parents to stay involved in the child’s health care. Similarly, the child must execute a document called a “power of attorney for property” for parents to stay involved in the child’s finances.   When completing the power of attorney for health care, the child decides the order of his or her “health care agents”: the people who will make medical decisions for the child if he or she is unable to make his or her own medical decisions. This document can also dictate when an agent is authorized to see the child’s medical information and the type of care the child wishes to receive.   When completing the power of attorney for property, the child also decides the order of his or her “agents:” the people who can access the child’s financial information and assist the child in managing his or her finances. When a child selects his parent as agent, the parent may be added to the child’s bank accounts as a signatory, rather than a joint owner. The issue with a parent and child being joint owners on an account is that joint ownership opens the parent to potential liability for the child’s personal financial decisions, and vice versa. However, when a parent is added to the child’s bank accounts as an agent under a power of attorney for property, the child’s personal financial liabilities do not extend to the parent.   Therefore, power of attorney for health care and property documents are options that can allow parents to stay involved in their child’s physical and financial health.

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.