The latest executor for the estates of the late Jack and Audrey Feldkamp made his first court appearance before Judge Chmiel this morning.
Mr. and Mrs. Feldkamp died on June 7, 2011. Their deaths shocked neighbors and the community, and the additional shock felt throughout McHenry County occurred on the very next day when Sheriff Nygren held a press conference at 1:00PM and issued an investigation-ending announcement about what had happened the previous evening in the Feldkamp home in the Marengo area of McHenry County.
You might be interested in reading news articles that appeared in June in the Daily Chronicle in DeKalb County, Ill. Visit www.daily-chronicle.com and search for Feldkamp. Due to the archive policy of Shaw Publications (also publisher of the Northwest Herald), you won't be able to reach the full articles without paying.
There seems to have been a fair number of reports generated, but whether there was any real investigation cannot be made out from the 265-page file.
Scott Feldkamp was the executor appointed under the Wills of Mr. and Mrs. Feldkamp. He was removed by Judge Chmiel and replaced by his sister, Jackie Feldkamp. Then Judge Chmiel removed her and appointed Attorney Howard Rigsby. When Attorney Rigsby withdrew in a matter of weeks, Judge Chmiel appointed Attorney Carl Gilmore as executor on September 6.
In court this morning Attorney Gilmore said he hadn't had time to accomplish much, but he was in contact with the Illinois Department of Professional Regulation about the operation of Harmony Real Estate. A real estate office requires a managing broker, and Gilmore is not one. Gilmore said he had found a letter from the IDPR giving the initial executor 60 days to operate the business, but he hadn't found further correspondence.
As a result of recent activity involving Harmony Real Estate, the IDPR is investigating more deeply and wants to know where the Escrow books and money are. The Escrow accounts are supposed to be kept at the office and in the control of the managing broker. If the escrow books are no longer in the State of Illinois, they must be returned immediately. Funds that belong in the escrow account must be accounted for.
Judge Chmiel expects Attorney Gilmore to come up with a list of assets of the Estates as of the date of death of Jack and of Audrey Feldkamp; that's June 7, 2011. He will be interested in the value of each asset and whether that value still exists. Obviously, any liquid assets (stocks, bonds, investments) will have a value that can be calculated as of June 7. Is that money still in the Estate accounts?
Credit card account balances were probably zero on June 7, as the Feldkamps had the reputation of paying them off every month. Are there cards that have balances now?
Are there any cash accounts that have debit or ATM cards? Electronic records will show where withdrawals have been made, when, and in what amounts. Will there be adequate supporting documentation to prove the valid estate reason for such usage and where the money went, if cash was withdrawn?
The executor will be back in court on Wednesday, October 3, hoping with a complete inventory of the estates as of June 7, 2011, and current values and locations.
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1 comment:
JeepGirl said, "As usual it’s “Follow the money”. Who was responsible for maintaining, distributing and accounting for the estate assets? Who had unlimited access to all the Feldkamp’s accounts? Who had control of the home and the real estate business as well as opportunity to remove money from escrow accounts? Who did, in fact, plunder everything from the two Estates? (Everybody raise your hands! We know, we know!) Where is the initial Executor skulking about these days?"
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