The Curse of the Unplanned Estate

Of all the scary stories that can arise in estate planning, few scenarios are more genuinely terrifying than the chaos that unfolds when someone dies without a Will and other key estate planning documents in place. The consequences are real, costly, and can haunt your loved ones for years.

The State’s Plan for Your Estate

Here’s an uncomfortable truth: If you don’t have an estate plan, the state of Illinois has one for you. Illinois intestacy laws will determine who inherits your assets, and the results may not align with your wishes.

Consider this scenario: You are married with minor children and assume your spouse would inherit everything should you die. Under Illinois law, however, your spouse receives only half of your estate. The other half goes to your children. Because minors cannot legally own significant assets, the court would appoint a guardian to manage your children’s inheritance, creating an expensive, supervised account that continues until each child reaches age eighteen — precisely when many young adults are least equipped to handle a sudden windfall.

The complications multiply if you die unmarried and without children. Your parents share your assets equally with your siblings. Perhaps you have a long-term partner who shares your life and home, or a favorite niece you’ve supported through college. Without a Will, they would not receive anything. Illinois law doesn’t recognize relationships based on love, shared history, or moral obligation — only blood and marriage.

The Probate Nightmare

Even if you have a Will, dying without a revocable trust subjects your estate to probate — a public, court-supervised process that can feel like a bureaucratic haunted house with no clear exit. In Illinois, the probate process can take fourteen months or longer, during which your assets remain frozen in legal limbo.

And the financial cost can be substantial. Between court fees, legal expenses, executor compensation, and appraisal costs, probate commonly consumes three to seven percent of your estate’s value. For a $5 million estate, these costs represent $150,000 to $350,000 in pure friction costs — money that evaporates rather than passing to your designated beneficiaries.

But the true curse of probate extends beyond dollars. Your grieving family must navigate a complex legal process during their most vulnerable moments. They’ll need to petition the court, publish notices to creditors, file inventories, and, in the case of supervised administration, seek permission for routine financial decisions. The investment property generating rental income? Your executor might not be able to collect rent or make repairs without court approval. The business you spent decades building? It may languish as competitors seize opportunities your frozen estate cannot pursue.

Perhaps most troubling, probate transforms your private financial affairs into a public record. Anyone can access documents filed in court to discover what you own and to whom you gave it. For high-net-worth families who value discretion, this exposure can invite unwanted attention from opportunists, estranged relatives, and those harboring grievances, real or imagined.

The Medical Decision-Making Void

Estate planning isn’t only concerned with distributing assets after death — it can also ensure your wishes are honored if you become incapacitated. Without a properly executed power of attorney for health care, you may be putting your family in a difficult spot.

Who decides whether to pursue aggressive treatment or focus on comfort care? Who can access your medical records or speak with physicians? Without clear legal authority, hospitals may refuse to honor even your spouse’s wishes, insisting on court-appointed guardianship. This process is expensive, time-consuming, and emotionally devastating, as your loved ones must ask a judge for permission to make decisions you could have authorized with a single document.

Even more haunting is the possibility of family conflict. When siblings or adult children disagree about your care, the absence of clear directives can fracture families permanently. Disagreement over life support or treatment options creates wounds that never fully heal.

Breaking the Curse

Don’t let your lack of planning turn into a horror-movie plot. Act on a comprehensive estate plan tailored to your unique circumstances. This plan will include a well-crafted Will, revocable trust, and powers of attorney for both health care and property, all of which will spare your family from bureaucratic nightmares and provide clarity during a crisis.

This Halloween, don’t let the curse of the unplanned estate haunt your legacy.

Facing questions about your estate plan? Contact Lia Smietanski or another member of LP’s Trusts & Estates Group.