Taxation & Estate Planning

Reopening (or just opening) a Probate Estate

By Joel A. Schoenmeyer

The estate of Kathleen Savio, Drew Peterson's third wife, was re-opened last year. Estates are typically re-opened when new assets are found -- in this case, the new asset is a potential wrongful death judgment against Mr. Peterson. I've dealt with re-opened estates in other contexts, though. In one estate I handled early in my career, a deceased person's safe deposit box (containing stock certificates and rare coins) was discovered well after his probate estate was closed. The estate needs to be re-opened because that's the only way that anyone will have legal authority to deal with the assets (pursue a wrongful death action, sell the stocks or coins, etc.).

A somewhat similar situation arises when assets of a long-deceased person (one whose estate was never probated) are located. I have this situation with an estate right now. The decedent died in 1991, but her family only recently learned that significant assets were being held in her name as unclaimed property (by the Illinois Treasurer). To claim those assets, we need to open a probate estate.

Full post as published by Death and Taxes Blog on April 23, 2009 (boomark / email).