Illinois Lawyer Referrals and Legal Guidance

Illinois protects the rights of the deceased to remain silent in court cases brought on their behalf.  The “Dead Man’s Act” was created by Illinois lawmakers so that people who have an interest in a lawsuit where one party is deceased, cannot testify about what the deceased supposedly said.

This seems to make good, logical sense.  After all, a dead person cannot rebut the things someone says.  If you allow a person who could benefit from the case to claim that the deceased said certain things before death, then you’ve got a worse scenario than “he said, she said.”

But if you look at some applications of the Dead Man’s Act, it can have some harsh results.  For example:  You’re driving, and another driver slams into you from the rear.  You go to his car to talk to him, and he shrieks that his foot hit the gas instead of the brake.  Soon after, he dies, and no one else but you heard his admission.  Unfortunately for you, no one else will ever hear that admission, because a court will not allow you to testify about it in a lawsuit.  You might lose your case, because the dead person’s statement is the only evidence you have about what happened.

The Dead Man’s Act can also come up when a relative is contesting what was left to him or her in the deceased person’s will.  Let’s say your grandfather left you a great deal of money, and he told you at the time, that he did it because he always trusted you, and didn’t trust your cousin to leave him any money.   When your cousin later challenges the will and claims that you tricked your grandfather into making that decision, you cannot testify to the conversation you had with him.

To try to avoid the harsh effects of the law, it’s helpful to try to find other witnesses who might have seen something or have information about the facts of your case.  If you think you could have a case involving someone who is deceased or who might not live very long, then you should find these potential witnesses.  You can hire an attorney and take the depositions of the witnesses.  Then you will have preserved their statements, and can use them at trial because they are under oath.

Though the effects of the law may seem tough, the purpose for it is sound.  You don’t want someone with bad intentions to make up admissions by someone who is now dead and can’t dispute the false statements.  Greedy people could use the supposed words of a dead person to benefit themselves financially in many different legal scenarios.   The law protects all of us, though it may sometimes disadvantage some of us.