Illinois Examples of Intestate Successsion
Here are a few examples of how the rules of intestate succession operate in Illinois:
If, for example, you have no surviving spouse, both parents survive you, and three siblings survive you (and you have no other sibling that failed to survive you) then under the Illinois law of intestate succession your probate estate would be distributed one fifth to each of your parents and siblings. If, to take another example, you had no surviving spouse, one surviving parent, two surviving siblings, and one sibling who died but who had two children who survived your death, then the division would be two fifths to your one surviving parent, one fifth to each of your two surviving siblings, and one fifth divided equally between the two children of your deceased sibling.
If you have a surviving spouse but no descendants, then the entire probate estate goes to your spouse. If you have descendants but no surviving spouse, then the entire probate estate goes to your descendants. If you have both a surviving spouse and descendants, then the probate estate is distributed half to your spouse and half to your descendants.