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,...
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