Posted on June 10, 2025 in Probate

If you are a homeowner in Montgomery, Illinois, you may have heard the following advice: "Just add your child to the deed, and the house will not go through probate!" For many families, the goal of doing this is to avoid the delays and expenses of probate court with what seems like a simple, low-cost solution.

However, while this strategy may appear straightforward, it can lead to unintended legal and financial consequences, making it far less cost-effective in the long run. To give your valuable assets airtight protection, talk to our Montgomery estate planning attorney.

What is the Goal Behind Adding a Child to the Deed?

Most parents who add a child to their deed do so to avoid the probate process after death. In Illinois, probate is a court-supervised process that can take six to 18 months, delay the transfer of property, and result in additional court costs and legal fees. Understandably, many families want to avoid it. However, adding a child to your deed is not the ideal solution.

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 Posted on June 03, 2025 in Estate Planning

Nearly everyone has heard the terms "will" and "trust," but not everyone knows what these two important estate planning documents can do for them. In this blog, we will discuss the real difference between wills and trusts. For further help evaluating whether a will, a trust, or both working together would be best for you and your family, contact our Plainfield, IL estate planning attorney.

What is a Will?

A Last Will and Testament (also just called a "will") serves two primary purposes. First, your will outlines who inherits your property when you pass away, ensuring your assets are distributed according to your wishes. Second, your will allows you to name a guardian for your minor children. A guardian is an individual or couple you trust to care for your children and manage their inheritance if you pass away. These two functions form the foundation of what a will is designed to accomplish.

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 Posted on May 22, 2025 in Estate Planning

As a physician, nurse, or other medical professional, you have worked hard to build a life that reflects your dedication and success. Between years of schooling, long hours, and a demanding profession, you have accumulated assets such as real estate, retirement accounts, and ownership in practice.

However, with success comes risk. Malpractice claims, business disputes, and other liabilities can threaten your financial future. That is why an effective estate plan, tailored to your profession and lifestyle, is not optional — it is essential. Our Plainfield, IL estate planning lawyer works closely with surgeons, chiropractors, physicians, and other healthcare professionals to protect their hard-earned estates.

Why Medical Professionals Need Advanced Estate Planning

Medical professionals face unique legal and financial risks that make comprehensive estate planning a necessity. Medical malpractice and professional liability lawsuits can expose personal assets. Business or partnership disputes that involve ownership of a medical practice or shared real estate can threaten asset ownership decades in the making. Incapacity, whether due to illness or injury, can make it impossible to continue earning or to make a solid estate plan once disaster strikes.

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 Posted on April 09, 2025 in Incapacity Planning

A guardianship matter is a legal matter where a court appoints a person called a "guardian" to make decisions for someone who lacks the capacity to make their own decisions. In this article, we are discussing what happens when a guardian is appointed for a disabled adult. Incapacity generally means a person lacks the ability to make informed decisions about their finances, health, and daily decisions. If you are dealing with these types of issues, speak with a qualified Illinois estate planning lawyer to learn more about your options.

What Are Incapacity Issues?

Generally, incapacity and guardianship occur due to the following:

·       Stroke or brain injury630-780-1034

·       Mental illness630-780-1034

·       Several physical illnesses or disability630-780-1034

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 Posted on March 27, 2025 in Trust Administration

A living trust (also called a "revocable living trust" or "declaration of trust") is a foundational estate planning document that enables people to manage their assets in the event of an incapacity or death. Simply put, a living trust efficiently distributes assets and avoids probate.

Illinois has its own estate tax, and the federal estate tax exemption is $13.99 million. An exemption is a specific amount of money or value that is excluded from taxation. In the context of estate taxes, an estate tax exemption allows a certain portion of an individual’s estate to pass tax-free before any tax on the estate applies. Call our Illinois estate planning attorney for more information about estate planning and how a living trust could help you.

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 Posted on March 13, 2025 in Asset Protection & Wealth Preservation

When crafting your estate planning, you should not only consider how you wish your assets to be distributed, but also the ideal way to do so to minimize the burden on your estate and beneficiaries. Many people believe that simply designating beneficiaries on their financial accounts, life insurance policies, and retirement plans is sufficient to transfer their assets smoothly to their heirs.

However, relying on naming beneficiary designations creates significant probate risks, including unintended consequences, probate complications, and a lack of asset protection. A properly structured living trust can provide a comprehensive estate planning solution to mitigate probate risks. An experienced Plainfield, IL estate planning attorney can advise you on your estate planning options, such as a living trust or other estate planning instruments.

Why Relying on Beneficiary Designations is a Mistake

Beneficiary designations are a valid estate planning tool; however, beneficiary designations contain significant legal risks.

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 Posted on January 28, 2025 in Asset Protection & Wealth Preservation

If you are new to estate planning, you might understandably think that it is all about wills and trusts. While wills and trusts are powerful and widely used ways to create your estate plan, there are other legal instruments that may be well suited to your needs.

One of these is called the Illinois transfer on death instrument, and it is a way to transfer real property upon your death. An experienced Illinois estate planning attorney can offer advice on whether you should consider a transfer of death instrument for your estate plan.

What Is a Transfer on Death Instrument?

A transfer of deed instrument (TODI)  is a revocable estate planning document that allows the owner of residential real estate to transfer the property upon their death while bypassing probate, the court process used to settle estates and determine if certain legal instruments such as wills are valid. With a TODI, the property owner selects one or more beneficiaries who will receive ownership interests in the property when the owner dies.

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 Posted on January 13, 2025 in Trust Administration

Guardianship is the traditional legal process used to appoint a guardian over someone a court determines is unable to handle their personal or financial affairs. Most people making their estate plan wish to put in place protections to avoid this process should they become incapacitated, given the lack of control and expense it can entail. The main way to do so is to create a living trust, which has several advantages over guardianships. An experienced Yorkville, IL estate planning attorney can help you set up a living trust.

What Is a Guardianship?

Guardianship is a legal mechanism to protect the financial and personal affairs of a person who is deemed by a court to be unable to make basic decisions or manage their finances. A guardian is legally assigned to make decisions about the incapacitated adult’s health care, finances, living arrangements, and more.  Often, guardianships are created to care for people with Alzheimer’s, mental illnesses, or developmental disabilities.

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 Posted on December 30, 2024 in Trust Administration

An Illinois Living Trust, as its name implies, is a trust that you create during your lifetime. Your beneficiaries benefit from the trust after your death. A revocable living trust can also protect you should you become mentally incapacitated.

There are many benefits to the versatile living trust: It can help avoid probate, you have full control over trust assets during your lifetime, it can be modified during your lifetime, and it is a private document that is not part of the public record. To ensure that your living trust legally fulfills your wishes and contains key living trust provisions, consult with an experienced Yorkville, IL estate planning attorney.

Beneficiaries, Settlor, and Trustee 

The living trust should list who will be the beneficiaries, settlor, and trustee of the trust. This section is necessary to fulfill the basic purpose of the trust and plan for its administration.

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 Posted on November 26, 2024 in Asset Protection & Wealth Preservation

As a business owner, you are busy wearing many hats, from running the day-to-day operations to managing employees to growing the business. That is why you might not have taken the time to consider putting in place an estate plan to protect your assets. However, planning ahead as a business owner can safeguard and strengthen your business. If you want to know more about implementing an estate plan and asset protection strategy as a business owner, a qualified estate planning attorney can provide legal advice on how to best protect your assets.

Why Do Small Businesses Need Asset Protection?

The purpose of putting in place an estate plan is to ensure that your business assets are protected from any eventuality and that all the hard work, dedication, and money that you invested into building your business does not go to waste. A comprehensive estate plan can guarantee that someone you trust takes over your business if you are incapacitated and unable to do so. It can also protect your assets in the event you face:

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