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!
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...
Property Sisters: Should I Buy a Home with Someone Other than a Spouse?
Rising housing costs, the desire for companionship, and the need to share resources are increasingly leading buyers to consider co-owning a home with someone other than a spouse, such as a friend, relative, or significant other. Although this arrangement can be...
The Trust Protection Myth: Your Revocable Trust Protects Against Lawsuits
Many people believe that once they set up a revocable living trust and change the ownership of their accounts and property from themselves as individuals to their trust, those accounts and property are protected from lawsuits. This is not true. While trusts...
Myths and Frequently Asked Questions – Estate Planning Using Asset Protection Strategies
Myth 1: Asset protection planning is only for the wealthy or those with high-risk jobs, such as doctors or lawyers. Fact: Asset protection planning is for everyone. If you engage in any activity that could give rise to a lawsuit (drive a car, employ someone, allow...
Asset Protection And Your Estate Plan
Many people believe that asset protection planning is only for wealthy people or professionals susceptible to malpractice claims, such as doctors or lawyers. That is not the case. In today’s litigious society, anyone can be sued. The United States justice system is...
Assisting Your Client: Money Isn’t Everything in Estate Planning
How to Pass Personal Stories and Values to Future Generations Don’t stop reading. . . we know that money is inherently very important, but it is also true that while money and property may be the most discussed types of wealth that a person owns, the riches of their...
Assisting Your Client: How Do I Know When My Clients’ Need An Estate Plan?
The short answer is that everyone age 18 and older needs an estate plan. It does not matter whether they are old or young, have built up considerable wealth or are just entering adulthood—everyone needs a written plan to control what happens to the things they own and...