Posted on January 30, 2023 in Estate Planning

African-Americans need real estate asset protection planning in Oswego and Kendall counties to secure, transfer wealth, and empower future generations.

Introduction

African-Americans are one of the most critical racial minorities today in the United States. The life, wealth, prestige, and success that the American society enjoys today were built on the shoulders of slavery, a burden borne singlehandedly by the forebears of the African-American racial minority. So, it is grossly unfair that even in the 21st century, African Americans continue to be shortchanged and lag in accessing/maximizing the resources for wealth building. While much of the blame can be placed on the socioeconomic and political doorsteps of a highly racist system in the past, a cultural lack of estate planning initiatives among African-Americans is a significant barrier hindering socioeconomic empowerment across successive generations.

But I Don’t Have an Estate: The Meaning of Estate Planning

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 Posted on January 26, 2023 in Asset Protection & Wealth Preservation

Asset protection in Oswego is only possible if business owners engage the right Oswego estate planning attorney to protect their estate and assets.

A Case for Asset Protection and Estate Planning

Every human being tend to have an estate. Your estate includes everything you own: be it your businesses, investments, your home or other form of real estate, furniture, a car, personal belongings, life insurance, savings, and checking accounts; just name it. We all have an estate, no matter how small or large, old or new. And one thing is certain—you can't take it with you when death calls.

That is where asset protection and estate planning come in.

What is Asset Protection and Estate planning?

Asset protection and estate planning are proactive steps people take to protect their estate and control how the possessions constituting their estate would be shared among their loved ones (or designated organizations) after their death or when they become incapacitated, as the case might be.

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 Posted on January 24, 2023 in Asset Protection & Wealth Preservation

The prenuptial agreement is frequently known as a "prenup" because provides two individuals to enter into marriage a predictable agreement. A prenup is a legal contract, which includes provisions concerning property division, spousal maintenance, and other financial agreements in case of a divorce. The prenup is intended to protect asset protection in case of a divorce or separation, which will minimize the financial pain and drama typically caused by divorces.

In Illinois, prenuptial agreements are often considered for middle-aged to older couples or otherwise known as "gray divorce" couples. Prenuptial agreements provide clarity and define each person's roles and responsibilities in case of a divorce. The prenuptial agreement outlines each person's assets, liabilities, and division in case of a divorce. The prenuptial agreement also should define what is non-marital and marital property and define how retirement security, real estate, real estate investments, and other financial assets will be divided in case of a divorce.

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 Posted on January 23, 2023 in Trust Administration

Yorkville Living Trust Lawyer: What is Needed to Sell Property in a Trust?

The process of selling property held in a living trust is the same as selling real estate in your personal name, with a few exceptions. The trustee of the living trust is selling property versus the living trust. A living trust is also referred to as a "revocable living trust" because it may be amended or revoked during the settlor or trustor’s lifetime. A settlor or trustor is a person or couple (or entity) that created a living trust. The trustor or settlor appoints a Trustee (or Co-Trustee) to administer and supervise the administration of the trust. While a person is alive and able to make their own decisions, the trustee or co-trustee is normally the person or couple that created the living trust. Upon the death or incapacity of the trustee, then a successor trustee will be named and appointed to spearhead the administration of the living trust.

Certificate of Trust

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 Posted on January 20, 2023 in Estate Planning

This article will discuss what happens if your spouse dies and the real estate title was solely in their name. In Illinois, couples often reside together in real estate where one spouse's name was not on the legal title. Mortgages are secured every day when one spouse's name was placed on a legal title because they had good credit and a high enough income to qualify for a mortgage.

There are multiple reasons why someone may obtain a mortgage without their spouse being on legal title. The first reason is the person qualifying for a mortgage was the sole (or main) financial contributor in the household. Mothers often stay home and sacrifice their career options to take care of young children. Mothers (and fathers) also tend to work part-time or have flexible work arrangements, so they can cater to their children's extracurricular activities and school schedules. The cost of childcare also is a major consideration for parents. However, these family sacrifices can result in legal challenges, which are costly and harm families. People also may have inferior credit, mortgage foreclosures, or bankruptcy histories, all of which make it difficult to obtain mortgages as well.

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 Posted on January 19, 2023 in Estate Planning

Yorkville and Kendall County Pre-Marital and Post-Marital Agreement Lawyers

One usually hears about prenuptial agreements in magazines or pop culture news when celebrities plan to get married. This may lead people to think that you need a lot to protect (like the millions of dollars or valuables that celebrities accrue) to think about prenuptial agreements. This is not the case. In fact, prenuptial agreements can be a helpful tool, as both soon-to-be spouses are amicable and agreeable, to create a fallback plan in case the marriage does not go as planned. Illinois has adopted the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act (750 ILCS 10/1), and some key points to the creation and enforcement of a prenuptial agreement are as follows.

What can someone put in the agreement?

Prenuptial agreements are contracts that bring up issues prior to the marriage that the parties agree to. These issues can be in regards to almost anything; from characterizing property as either marital property (defined as (1) any tangible property acquired during the marriage by any party or (2) any nonmarital property that has been commingled with marital property to the point where there is no difference between the two) or nonmarital property (defined as any tangible property (1) acquired prior to the marriage by any party, (2) acquired by gift, legacy, or decent, or (3) acquired after a judgment of legal separation), determining how property is treated during the marriage, determining who gets what property, setting a maintenance amount limit, etc. In fact, couples can attempt to make a provision about almost any matter.

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 Posted on January 18, 2023 in Estate Planning

Estate planning is critical for families, particularly owners of small to medium-sized businesses owners and their families. High-net-worth and high-income families have complex estate planning needs. This article will discuss the core estate planning and asset protection strategies for successful businesspeople. Effective estate planning and asset protection will build a solid legal foundation to protect against incapacity and death. More importantly, building a solid asset protection plan will place roadblocks to shield a person's and family’s business and personal assets from liability concerns that threaten one’s wealth.

ESTATE PLANNING TIPS FOR CLOSELY HELD BUSINESS OWNERS AND THEIR FAMILIES

The first step in advanced planning in representing business owners and their families is conducting a risk assessment. A risk assessment is a review of a person’s assets and the legal risks that could jeopardize a business owner’s financial security and retirement goals. As Yorkville Living Trust attorneys, we interview the client and their families and identify their concerns such as things that keep them up at night. A business asset protection planning attorney can help clients conduct a comprehensive and thorough investigation and risk assessment to identify potential threats to their assets, such as lawsuits, creditor concerns, or economic downturns.

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 Posted on January 17, 2023 in Estate Planning

Kendall County Premarital Agreement Attorney

The term “Grey Divorce” is also known as “late-life divorce” or “silver divorce” because a person has decided to get divorced over the age of fifty. Grey divorces have increased and have increasingly become common with the divorce rate of couples increasing in population. The issue of premarital planning and post-nuptial planning is increasingly in popularity because spouses have experienced the divorce process and desire to provide a predictable process in the event of a divorce.

Prenuptial agreements are also known as “prenups” and post-nups, which are legal agreements entered into couples either before or post-marriage designed to protect one’s prior financial assets and create a smooth process in case of a divorce. Pre-nuptial agreements should cover the following topics:

• Defines what is non-marital and marital assets including whether appreciation in value of an asset will be considered an “marital asset” or a “non-marital asset”

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 Posted on January 16, 2023 in Estate Planning

Yorkville Women’s Estate Planning Lawyer

Estate Planning takes into consideration your assets, debts, and wishes for distribution of those assets upon your death. If you die intestate (without a Will or Trust), your estate will have to go through Probate and will follow the intestacy statutes for distribution, which may not be in line with how you want your assets to be distributed when you pass. Having a proper estate plan will eliminate these potential issues and can even avoid Probate if created and funded the proper way. Simply put, estate planning is an essential step for everyone. However, women are at an increased need for a well-constructed estate plan for many reasons. Our Oswego Women’s Estate Planning Lawyer can provide information and assistance in the areas of wills and trusts, estates and trusts, and probate and guardianship law in and surrounding Kendall County.

Women Live Longer, But Make Less

Women tend to live longer than men on average. In estate planning, it is common for the husband or wife to leave their assets to the surviving spouse to inherit. Since women typically live longer than their male counterpart, it is likely that the woman would be the surviving spouse in the marriage and would then have more assets to be distributed upon her death. Additionally, if the husband dies before the wife, she will have to consider alternative beneficiaries to inherit her assets. This is a major decision to make, and without an estate plan, the woman’s estate would have to follow intestacy statutes over what her wishes might have been had she created an estate plan while she was alive.

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 Posted on January 13, 2023 in Estate Planning

Estate planning is critical for families, particularly owners of small to medium-sized businesses owners and their families. High-net-worth and high-income families have complex estate planning needs. This article will discuss the core estate planning and asset protection strategies for successful businesspeople. Effective estate planning and asset protection will build a solid legal foundation to protect against incapacity and death. More importantly, building a solid asset protection plan will place roadblocks to shield a person's and family’s business and personal assets from liability concerns that threaten one’s wealth.

ESTATE PLANNING TIPS FOR CLOSELY HELD BUSINESS OWNERS AND THEIR FAMILIES

The first step in advanced planning in representing business owners and their families is conducting a risk assessment. A risk assessment is a review of a person’s assets and the legal risks that could jeopardize a business owner’s financial security and retirement goals. As Yorkville Living Trust attorneys, we interview the client and their families and identify their concerns such as things that keep them up at night. A business asset protection planning attorney can help clients conduct a comprehensive and thorough investigation and risk assessment to identify potential threats to their assets, such as lawsuits, creditor concerns, or economic downturns.

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