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:My mother passed without a will. My sister and I live in the house and pay the taxes, insurance, upkeep, water, Etc. This is a house with two separate apartment plus basement. My brother pays rent at another address but comes by everyday all
day and claims that's his apartment pays nothing. What can be done to get him out legally?

SEPT. 13, 2001

DEAR MIC:

Is your father still living or not? If so, he gets 1/3 of the house.

If there is no surviving spouse, then Illinois law (according to a reference book I consulted) states that all children get equal shares of the estate.

How recently did your mother die? Did she own the house (was it paid for in full) or was there still a mortgage on it?

Did you want to charge him rent for space he is not using or did you want to rent it out to someone else?

If no one has filed any probate action on your mother's estate, someone should do so in order that it can be determined who is the legal owner of the house and whether the name on the deed needs to be changed to the new owners, and it is possible that your brother might be eligible for partial ownership in the home. The probate process will have to decide who is the legal owner of the home, and then decisions about what to do can be made from that point on.

SINCERELY,

[email protected]

I am an Illinois probate attorney. You need to first determine what the legal title for the property is. If it is titled in your mom's sole name, it will pass as part of her probate estate. The probate estate passes under her will, if she had one, or if not then according to Illinois law. Technically, anyone living on the property prior to distribution should be paying rent to the estate. If the property is in your mom's sole name, a probate estate must be intiated to sell or transfer the property...and to evict uninvited tenants. Feel free to give me a call to discuss. Contact info at out website at http://www.illinoisestateplan.com