Taxation & Estate Planning

Cook County Probate -- New Order re. "Expedited" Service

By Joel A. Schoenmeyer

I've complained before about the huge backup in the Cook County Probate Court for deceased estates. This isn't the fault of the judges, who are working as quickly as they can; rather, it's a problem that has arisen because we have only four judges handling all of the deceased estates (new and old) in Cook County.

Luckily, Judge Budzinski has issued a general order aimed at helping to speed up the probate process. Recently, attorneys would have to wait four weeks or even more between filing their initial petition and getting a court date to open the estate. However, the general order (a copy of which is attached here) allows an attorney to schedule a hearing with Judge Cesario to open the estate if the attorney would otherwise not be able to get a court date within two weeks.

Full post as published by Death and Taxes Blog on May 04, 2009 (boomark / email).