Lukas v. American National Bank & Trust Co.

508 N.E.2d 368, 155 Ill. App. 3d 512, 108 Ill. Dec. 207, 1987 Ill. App. LEXIS 2452
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedMay 4, 1987
Docket85-3051
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 508 N.E.2d 368 (Lukas v. American National Bank & Trust Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lukas v. American National Bank & Trust Co., 508 N.E.2d 368, 155 Ill. App. 3d 512, 108 Ill. Dec. 207, 1987 Ill. App. LEXIS 2452 (Ill. Ct. App. 1987).

Opinion

PRESIDING JUSTICE QUINLAN

delivered the opinion of the court:

Raymond Edward Lukas, a minor, by and through his mother and next friend, Colleen McHugh, filed a petition in the circuit court of Cook County seeking to amend the order of heirship for the estate of Raymond Lukas, Sr., deceased. Following a hearing, the trial court denied the petition finding that the petitioner had failed to prove by clear and convincing evidence that Raymond Edward Lukas was the son of the deceased. Petitioner appealed.

We affirm.

The issue presented by this appeal is whether the trial court’s finding that the petitioner failed to prove by clear and convincing evidence that Raymond Edward Lukas is the son of the deceased, Raymond Lukas, Sr., is against the manifest weight of the evidence.

The facts pertinent to this appeal are as follows. On February 11, 1983, the decedent, Raymond Lukas, Sr., died intestate as a result of injuries suffered at work. At the time of his death, the decedent was divorced from Mary Lukas, was the father of Raymond John Lukas, Jr., and had not remarried. On November 18, 1983, the probate court entered an order of heirship declaring Raymond John Lukas, Jr., to be the decedent’s sole heir. On December 22, 1983, the. court appointed American National Bank & Trust Company of Chicago administrator of the decedent’s estate. On the same day, the instant petition seeking to amend the order of heirship for the decedent’s estate was filed.

The petitioner, Colleen McHugh, alleged that at the time the probate court declared Raymond John Lukas, Jr., to be the decedent’s sole heir, another heir existed, viz, Raymond Edward Lukas. It was further alleged that Colleen McHugh had lived with the decedent from December 22, 1982, until his death, that Raymond Edward Lukas was conceived by the decedent and Colleen McHugh on or about January 24, 1983, and that Raymond Edward Lukas was born on October 24, 1983. Accordingly, the petitioner requested that the probate court amend the order of heirship to include Raymond Edward Lukas.

Apparently, the only asset in the decedent’s estate was a negligence claim under the Structural Work Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1983, ch. 48, pars. 60 through 69) which is currently being litigated in the circuit court of Cook County. The probate court granted the parties in that litigation permission to intervene in the proceeding here.

At the hearing on the petition to amend the order of heirship, Colleen McHugh testified that the decedent was her only sexual partner from November of 1982 until March of 1983. McHugh stated that she began dating the decedent in September of 1982 and moved in with him a few days after Christmas. However, McHugh did not inform her employer of her new address until January 13, 1983, and, even though her bank was across the street from her place of employment, she also did not order new checks until February 11, 1983, the date of the decedent’s death.

Before moving in with the decedent, McHugh testified that she and the decedent would engage in sexual relations two to four times per week. After she moved in, she said the frequency increased to two to five times daily. Further according to McHugh, that while the decedent would normally use a condom, he did not always do so. She stated that her last menstrual cycle prior to the petitioner’s birth began on January 7, 1983, and she calculated that her next period should have begun on February 4. McHugh said she believed that she informed the decedent on February 6, approximately five days before his death, that her period was late. McHugh stated that her gynecologist confirmed her pregnancy in March of 1983.

On the day of the decedent’s death, after she was notified of his death, McHugh testified she removed three to five pieces of her clothing from the decedent’s apartment in the presence of his ex-wife, Mary Lukas. McHugh claimed she did not remove all of her clothing at that time but waited two weeks before removing the rest of her belongings. McHugh also claimed that she used one entire closet and two dresser drawers to store her clothes at the decedent’s apartment while she lived with him. Immediately after the decedent’s death, McHugh stated that she stayed with the decedent’s sister, Jeri Lynn Valle, for two nights because she needed transportation to the decedent’s funeral. She admitted that she had asked Valle for some sanitary napkins during her stay. She explained this, however, by stating that she merely wanted them in case she needed them, but she said she never did need them.

McHugh also admitted in her testimony that she became sexually involved with the decedent’s brother, Edward Lukas, in March of 1984. Edward Lukas, who testified on behalf of the petitioner, corroborated her testimony concerning their relationship. He stated that he lived with McHugh from May of 1984 until October of 1984 and said that he had not been involved with McHugh since that time. Lukas acknowledged that he is Raymond Edward Lukas’ godfather and that he began to give McHugh money approximately one month before Raymond Edward Lukas was born and continued to give her $100 per week while they lived together.

Lukas also claimed in his testimony that he talked to the decedent by telephone two days before his death, that the decedent had told him that McHugh was pregnant and that he, the decedent, was going to do “the right thing.” However, Lukas said that the decedent never explained what he meant by “the right thing.” Additionally, while Edward Lukas asserted that he told his friends at work about the decedent’s statement to him, he admitted that he never told his sister or parents and that he never even told McHugh about what the decedent had told him until August or September of 1984.

The decedent’s mother, Geraldine Peer, who testified on behalf of the estate, corroborated Edward Lukas’ statement that he did not tell her about the decedent’s alleged statement until after the child was born. Peer also stated that the petitioner was flirting with and falling all over her son, Edward Lukas, on the day of the decedent’s funeral.

The decedent’s sister, Jeri Lynn Valle, also testified for the estate and stated that the decedent told her that both he and McHugh were dating other people. She also said that McHugh stayed with her for two nights prior to the decedent’s funeral and that she had placed a new box of sanitary napkins in McHugh’s room because McHugh told her that she was having her menstrual flow. The day after decedent’s funeral, Valle stated that she observed that the box was half empty. She also said that while she had assumed that the decedent and McHugh were having sex, she did not know that for sure. Furthermore, Valle admitted that she was aware that any worker’s compensation or social security payments to her brother’s son, Raymond John Lukas, Jr., would be reduced if Raymond Edward Lukas was also found to be the decedent’s son.

Additionally, the decedent’s ex-wife, Mary Lukas, testified for the estate and said that she and Joseph DeOrnellas went to the decedent’s apartment after his death, and, while they were at the apartment, McHugh had knocked at the door and they had let her in.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

In re Marriage of Ash
2021 IL App (1st) 200901 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2021)
John Crane Inc. v. AIU Insurance Co.
2020 IL App (1st) 180223 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2020)
Child Support Enforcement Agency v. Doe
53 P.3d 277 (Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals, 2002)
Pempek v. Silliker Laboratories, Inc.
Appellate Court of Illinois, 1999
Wojcik v. City of Chicago
Appellate Court of Illinois, 1998
Moore v. Anchor Organization for Health Maintenace
672 N.E.2d 826 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1996)
Department of Public Aid Ex Rel. Galbraith v. Jones
666 N.E.2d 12 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1996)
Jack Bradley, Inc. v. Department of Employment Security
585 N.E.2d 123 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1991)
In Re Estate of Olenick
562 N.E.2d 293 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1990)
Richardson Brothers v. Bd. of Review
555 N.E.2d 1126 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1990)
Allen v. Bowen
663 F. Supp. 471 (N.D. Illinois, 1987)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
508 N.E.2d 368, 155 Ill. App. 3d 512, 108 Ill. Dec. 207, 1987 Ill. App. LEXIS 2452, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lukas-v-american-national-bank-trust-co-illappct-1987.