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!
Assisting Your Client: Top 3 Questions to Ask Your Clients About Their Estate Plan
As a trusted advisor, you provide expert guidance to your clients regarding many financial planning matters. It makes sense that you will come across clients who ask about estate planning. Even if they do not ask, you can start the conversation by inquiring if they...
Assisting Your Client: The Advisor List–A Powerful Tool for Client Care and Business Growth
Financial and legal planning often emphasize complex strategies that clients can use to manage their affairs. However, what about the simple, practical tools that can make a difference in our clients’ lives? One such tool is the advisor list, a centralized document of...
Assisting Your Client: Having An Asset Protection Planning Discussion With Clients
Discussing asset protection planning with clients A common misconception is that asset protection planning is only for high-net-worth individuals or people who work in professions susceptible to malpractice claims, such as doctors or lawyers. That is not the case. In...
Assisting Your Client: Debunking Common Misconceptions About Wills
One of the most common reasons clients think they do not need a will is that they do not have enough assets. High-net-worth clients tend to be more proactive about estate planning. However, misconceptions about wills abound, which is a big reason many Americans do not...
Assisting Your Client: Helping Your Clients Stay On Top Of Their Affairs
Clients Need an Ongoing Inventory of What They Own Before you can help your clients get to where they want to go on their wealth journey, you need to understand where they are right now. Doing so involves inventorying their assets (everything they own) and keeping the...
Assisting Your Client: Is a Will Right for Your Clients?
Every client, regardless of the size of their estate or their age, can benefit from a will that gives legal effect to their inheritance plan. Even if they have a trust to manage asset distributions, a trust cannot address every estate planning consideration. Wills...
3 Asset Protection Tips You Can Use Now
A common misconception is that only wealthy individuals and people in high-risk professions, such as doctors or lawyers, need an asset protection plan. However, anyone can be sued. A car accident, foreclosure, unpaid medical bills, or an injured tenant can result in a...
Who Is Part of Your Professional Team?
If you are like most Americans, you have at least one to-do list. You might also use lists when you are shopping, brainstorming, setting goals, and planning for events. To-do lists, grocery lists, bucket lists . . . the list goes on. However, there is one crucial list...
Ensure That Your Loved Ones Call the Right Doctor
Now that we are in late spring, we are well past the point at which most of us have abandoned our New Year’s resolutions. As in previous years, improving physical health ranked among the top goals that Americans set for themselves in 2025.[1] But while goals like...
Spring Organizing: Lists You Need to Get Your Affairs in Order
Do You Know What You Own? Americans’ median household net worth (meaning half the households have more and half the households have less) is around $193,000, while the average net worth is just over $1 million, according to the Federal Reserve, the central bank of the...