Avoid These Common and Expensive Mistakes: How to Leave Assets to Minor Children

KEY TAKEAWAYS A simple will may not be enough when leaving assets to minor children. Your child’s guardian does not automatically control their inheritance. Court oversight can reduce the inheritance you intended for your child. A trust gives you greater control over...

How to Find an Estate Planning Attorney in the Chicago Area: What to Look For

Search “estate planning attorney near me” from anywhere in the southwest suburbs, and you will get dozens of results and almost no way to tell them apart. Every website promises experience. Nearly every website looks the same. That sameness is the real...

Estate Planning for Business Owners in the Chicago Southwest Suburbs

Most business owners in the southwest suburbs have a plan for growing their company. Far fewer have a plan for what happens to it without them. That hole is not about being unprepared in general. It comes from treating personal planning and business planning as two...

What Happens to Your Estate If You Die Without a Will in Illinois?

In Illinois, everyone already has an estate plan, whether they wrote one or not. If you die without a Will, the state of Illinois has one waiting for you, and it was not written with your family in mind. That plan is called intestate succession, and it follows a fixed...

Estate Planning for High Net Worth Families in Illinois: Beyond the Basics

A standard Estate Plan does its job well up to a point. Will, Trust, Powers of Attorney, beneficiary designations in order. For many families, that structure holds. For families whose wealth has grown significantly, that structure is often the floor, not the ceiling....

What Is a Pour-Over Will, and Why Do You Need One With Your Trust?

Most people with a Living Trust assume the Trust does all the work. Set it up, fund it, and everything flows the way you intended. Then life happens. A new bank account opened last year, or a settlement check landed after everything else was in place. Maybe you...