Land trust supersedes will regarding inheritance

Q. My uncle died late last year and his will stated that any real estate he owned would go to me and my wife. He owned a small house in Wauconda that's probably worth around $200,000. It was fully paid off. My wife and I were not aware of this until my aunt called us and gave us the news. We were ecstatic as we have been struggling and this money would allow us to pay off our bills and get back on our feet.

A couple days ago an attorney called us to tell us that we would not be getting the house. He said the house was in a land trust and someone else was the beneficiary. I tried to ask him questions about this but he suggested I contact an attorney.

What is going on? If the will left the property to us, why wouldn't we get it. It was obviously what my uncle wanted. My uncle's kids (my cousins) and I never really got along very well and I am wondering if they are behind this.

A. It would appear that at some point during your uncle's ownership of the property, he conveyed the property into a land trust. This conveys title or ownership of the property to a land trustee, often a bank or title company. In most cases, the party conveying the property into the trust designates him or herself the primary beneficiary of the trust. The beneficiary retains the power to use, convey, or manage the land as he or she sees fit.

In most cases, the beneficiary will designate a successor beneficiary in the event of the beneficiary's death. This allows the successor beneficiary, upon the death of the primary beneficiary, to assume quick and easy control of the property without the need for probate.

So, although the will granted you all the real estate owned by uncle, unfortunately, he did not own the house, the land trust did. This property was not part of his estate. This is often referred to as "passing outside the estate." The property will pass as designated in the land trust agreement.

This is all presuming, of course, that a successor beneficiary was named. This is not always the case. Demand to see a copy of the trust agreement. If no successor beneficiary was named, the property will become part of the estate and you're back paying off your bills.

Q. I have been renting out my condominium for about three years. Last week, I received notice from the association that rentals are not allowed and that my tenant must vacate the property within 30 days. I have owned this unit for about 10 years and never heard that rentals were not allowed. My tenant has a written lease through August. What do I do now?

A. First, make sure the association has a valid and binding rental restriction. This would probably require you retaining an attorney to review its declaration and any amendments thereto. In the event you determine the rental restriction valid, I would suggest setting up a meeting with one or more of the board members and explain your situation. Hopefully, they would be understanding and allow your tenant to remain for the balance of the lease term, especially given the fact that this situation has existed for as long as it has without comment by the association.

• Send your questions to attorney Tom Resnick, 345 N. Quentin Road, Palatine, IL 60067, by email to tdr100@hotmail.com or call (847) 359-8983.