Wills and Trusts Writing Services
How I can help you with wills and trust writing!
What will happen to your home, your financial assets and your personal possessions after your passing? More importantly, if you leave behind minor children, who will take care of them? Having a comprehensive estate plan is important for everyone.
In a Revocable Trust, you, the creator of the Trust (the Settlor) put all your assets into a Trust and name a Trustee to manage your assets for the Beneficiary. During your lifetime, you can be the Settlor, Trustee and Beneficiary. In other words, nothing has changed in that you are free to use your funds and assets freely for your own benefit. Also during your lifetime, the Trust is entirely revocable. However, you will also name a Successor Trustee or Trustees (reliable relatives or third-party professionals), and Successor Beneficiaries (typically your children, relatives and/or charities).
Probate court can be avoided all together by creating a Revocable Trust or a Living Trust. In Illinois, a probate proceeding will be initiated upon your death, meaning the court will decide on the validity of your Will, inventory & appraise your property, pay your debt and taxes, and distribute the remainder according to your Will. This can be a very lengthy and costly process.
In addition, Estate planning allows you to (a) appoint agents to act on your behalf when you cannot act for yourself, (b) provide direction to caretakers and medical professionals on the level and extent of care you want provided to you, and (c) control the disposition of your estate assets – so that your assets go to the people you want them to.
List of Services
- A Last Will and Testament
- An Illinois Durable Power of Attorney for Property
- An Illinois Power of Attorney for Health Care
- A Living Will – which allows a person the fundamental right to to control the decisions relating to the rendering of their own medical care, including the decision to have death delaying procedures withheldor withdrawn in instances of a terminal condition.
- A person with minor children may designate a proposed guardian for the children, or a trustee for holding assets and paying costs for the children.
- Transfer on Death Instruments (TODI)
- Land Trusts can all allow property to be controlled and passed to beneficiaries outside of a person’s probate estate.