Everyone in Illinois has a reason to do some estate planning. Even if you own very little property, planning ahead can save your family from a lot of headaches in the future. When a person dies with no estate plan, their assets must go through the probate process,...
Irrevocable life insurance trusts sound scary and a little confusing at first. The reality is that this type of trust is a useful tool that can help beneficiaries avoid estate taxes. This estate planning tool isn’t for everybody, though. Specifically, irrevocable life...
Everyone in Illinois should have an estate plan, even if they don't own much. However, for high net worth people, it's very important to look at the ways wealth will be passed on when they're gone. For people with resources, it's important to protect them from...
As you age, there are several things that you need to consider. Apart from retirement, you should also consider estate planning. Retirement savings will offer you a dream life at old age, and estate planning will provide you with strategies on dividing your assets to...
Ideally, any adult living in Illinois will have an estate plan in place. The exact structure of your plan will depend on your age, if you have minor children and the type of assets that you have. It may also depend on whether you or your children have special needs to...
Creating an estate plan that reduces family conflict When people in Illinois die without an estate plan, the state determines what happens to their assets. This can lead to family conflict. Therefore, adult individuals may want to consider creating a will. Several...
People in Illinois who are creating an estate plan might wonder whether it would be better to use a will or a trust. A last will and testament takes effect when a person dies and names an executor to distribute property to beneficiaries and administer the estate. A...
There are many different types of estate plan documents that individuals in Illinois and elsewhere may want to consider using. A revocable living trust allows a person to retain control of assets while holding them outside of an estate. Holding assets outside of a...
Illinois residents and others may elect to create a pour-over will to ensure that their assets are transferred as intended when they die. It is especially helpful for those who have acquired assets after creating a trust and have failed to title them in the trust's...
By creating a power of attorney document, an individual gives another person the power to make decisions on his or her behalf. The types of decisions that an agent is allowed to make are specified in the document itself. It isn't uncommon for people in Illinois and...
