paing back a debt

i am one of 9 children. when my father died in 1993, i was the only one of 9 who was not holding down a job. since my mother did not drive and had poor health, i was the one who was at her beck and call 7 days a week. 5 of us kids borrowed money from our father. he had no will stating these debts. upon his death, my mother had a will drawn up which said all monies and assets were to be divided equally between all 9 kids. knowing that i owed my debt, i wanted to get a job and give my mother my paychecks. the other 8 wanted me free to run my mother to doctor appt., to the store, do yardwork, etc. my mother complained that i was not repaying my debt, so i told her over and over that i would get a job and give her every check. she said she wanted my debt paid, but wasn't worried about repayment by the others. this was the only time i had borrowed from my father. finally my mother and the other kids agreed that we would deduct $400 a month from my debt for every month i took care of my mother. when my mother died, the debt was not paid full. now, my brothers and sisters want the full amount borrowed. one brother who owed 3 times what i did is to pay back the same amount i owe. 3 others are told they have to repay nothing. to keep peace in a family where brothers and sisters have never argued, i have repaid. if i hadn't, would they have been able to force payment?

Maybe, maybe not - depending on the eveidence whether it was forgiven by their words or actions. In addition, many states (including IL) have a caregiver law that gives family members that take care of disabled family members a claim against that person's estate if they took care of them for a certain period of time.