If the deceased did leave a will, then you will follow the will…unless you don’t want to.
The surviving husband or wife has the option to “renounce the will.” This means that if a surviving spouse does not like the way the will allocates the deceased’s property the surviving spouse can choose to receive an alternate portion pursuant to the statute.
“If a will is renounced by the testator’s surviving spouse, whether or not the will contains any provision for the benefit of the surviving spouse, the surviving spouse is entitled to the following share of the testator’s estate after payment of all just claims: 1/3 of the entire estate if the testator leaves a descendant or 1/2 of the entire estate if the testator leaves no descendant.” 755 ILCS 5/2-8(a)
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https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=70e52ac4-fa24...