A Crest Hill man killed his wife, a mother of three children from a prior marriage. Following the tragic event the family hired the law firm of Spesia & Taylor to assist the family in handling legal matters as a result of her death. Within days following the murder, attorneys John Spesia, and Jacob Gancarczyk contacted the victim’s pension plan, life insurance, and banks, successfully freezing assets that otherwise would have been distributed to her husband under these various plans.
Spesia & Taylor also filed an emergency motion successfully removing the husband as executor under the will. These efforts prevented the husband from using nearly half-a-million dollars in his wife’s assets to cover the costs of his criminal defense. Additionally, Spesia & Taylor filed a civil lawsuit under 755 ILCS 5/2-6 of the Probate Act seeking the court to declare that the husband killed his wife and should not be entitled to nearly a half-a-million dollars in assets under the statute. Ultimately the husband was found guilty of murder at a criminal trial. Because of the efforts of Spesia & Taylor the victim’s assets were distributed to the children and the estate ensuring the murderer would not receive a dime.
