Estate Planning

Many parents assume their children will want to inherit their possessions, from valuable family heirlooms to everyday household items. However, leaving everything to your children may create more stress than you realize. The truth is that your children probably do not...

Creating an estate plan is an important step toward protecting your loved ones. However, even the most carefully prepared plan won't do much good if nobody can find the documents when they're needed. Missing documents can create unnecessary confusion, delays and...

Choosing the right person to execute your estate has the potential to make things much simpler for your loved ones and beneficiaries. The wrong executor could cause delays or far more serious problems. Here are some things to look for when deciding who to choose. The...

For families caring for a loved one with a disability, estate planning often involves more than just deciding who will inherit what. If that person receives government benefits, an inheritance could potentially affect their eligibility for those benefits. A special...

When you’re planning for a disabled loved one’s future, even a well-intentioned gift can create problems and affect their eligibility for means-tested government benefits like Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Medicaid. An Illinois ABLE account offers a way to...

An irrevocable trust can be a powerful estate planning tool. However, it’s not the right choice for everyone. Unlike a revocable living trust, an irrevocable trust generally can’t be changed or revoked simply because the trust’s creator (grantor) later changed their...

Putting together an estate plan is an important step towards caring for your loved ones. In addition to designating the distribution of assets, the conversations that come with putting together your plan can also lead to a better understanding of your financial...

A diagnosis of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease or another condition affecting a person’s mental abilities does not necessarily mean that an Illinois resident can no longer make a will. What matters is whether the person still has the mental capacity required to...

What happens to your estate after you pass away? The outcome of your estate can be determined by your will. However, you may not want to draft a will. This can lead to issues for your loved ones. Dying without a will is called dying intestate. Here is what you should...

Estate planning is about more than deciding who receives your assets. If you live in Illinois, it should also include careful planning to reduce unnecessary estate taxes and preserve more of your wealth for your family. Because Illinois has its own estate tax rules,...