Blog Articles
Info About Wills, Trusts, and More…
Hello and welcome! I am Eileen Kerlin Walsh, and I will bring you valuable and topical information on Estate Planning. Estate Planning is the legal process of protecting your assets and your loved ones in the event of disability or death.
Why do you need an estate plan? If you don’t have a valid Will or Trust, Illinois law determines how your assets pass, to whom and when. Having no estate plan can lead to unnecessary taxes, creditors, probate court and other undesirable results. This is the most costly way to pass assets to your loved ones. You can do much better and my column will show you how!
Frequently Asked Questions: Expecting an Inheritance?
Question 1: Should I tell my estate planning attorney that I am expecting an inheritance? Yes. While some people may be hesitant to count their chickens before they hatch, looping your estate planning attorney into your full financial picture is the best way to...
Why Receiving an Inheritance Changes Your Estate Plan
The United States is in the midst of the largest generational wealth transfer in history. Over the coming decades, baby boomers are expected to pass down an estimated $84 trillion in money and property. Receiving an inheritance can be a meaningful and transformative...
What Is an Inheritor’s Trust?
If you are expecting an inheritance, an estate planning tool known as a trust may prove useful, depending on your circumstances. Among the numerous types of trusts aimed at fulfilling different estate planning purposes, an inheritor’s trust is specially designed to...
Assisting Your Clients with Estate Planning: When Is an Estate Subject to State Death Taxes?
Educational Overview for Advisors: State Death Taxes The United States imposes a federal estate tax at death, which is based on the total value of the deceased person’s estate—everything a person owns at the time of death—and is paid from the estate itself. In...
Homestead Exemptions And Estate Planning For Your Clients
The term homestead may seem like a throwback to pioneer days, but homestead exemption laws are highly relevant to today’s estate planning and can play a valuable role in a modern plan. When clients rely on you for guidance, understanding how these laws function can...
Avoid Living Probate: How to Keep Guardians and Conservators Out of Your Clients Estates
Key Insights for Professionals Supporting Clients Through Estate Planning Many proactive clients understand the importance of having an estate plan, yet they often assume it applies only after death. From your vantage point, it can be useful to highlight that a...
Estate Planning Facts to Share with Clients This Holiday Season
Every year around Christmas, stores and malls across America are transformed into winter wonderlands, complete with elves, ornaments, artificial snow, and larger-than-life decorations. Many children stare in wide-eyed wonder as they wait to sit on Santa’s lap and...
National Regifting Day: Invite Your Clients to Give the Gift of a Well-Planned Future
During the holidays, we usually receive at least one gift that, let’s face it, falls a bit flat. When we were young, it might have been an itchy sweater from Grandma or a toy from Mom and Dad that we had outgrown. As adults, maybe someone got your clothing size wrong...
Cozy Chats About Your Client’s Legacy: Planning for Peace of Mind
12 Steps to Guide Your Clients Through Estate Planning This Holiday Season “On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me a partridge in a pear tree.” —The Twelve Days of Christmas The popular holiday tune “The Twelve Days of Christmas” was inspired by the...
Property Sisters: The True Cost of Inheriting a Home
The United States is in the midst of the largest generational wealth transfer in history. Over the next few decades, baby boomers are expected to pass down an estimated $84 trillion in money and property,[1] around $18–19 trillion of it related to residential real...