Chicago Estate Planning Lawyers

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Everyone wants to make sure they will be ready to address the challenges that could affect them and their family in the future. Taking the time to create an estate plan can be a crucial part of this preparation. A comprehensive estate plan may involve decisions about the ownership and distribution of assets, the medical care a person will receive later in life, and the ways different financial issues will be handled in certain circumstances. Understanding the best ways to address these concerns will often require assistance from an experienced estate planning attorney.

At Newland & Newland, LLP, our lawyers help people in the Chicago area develop estate plans that are based on their personal values, ensuring that they can provide protection for their families and handle decisions that may arise during difficult moments. Whether you need to create a will or trust or update your estate plan to address major life changes, our team can provide the legal guidance and support you are looking for.

Understanding Estate Planning

When creating an estate plan, a person will prepare multiple types of legal documents. They may also take steps to ensure that their assets will be protected and managed correctly when making decisions about how issues related to healthcare and financial matters will be handled if they become incapacitated. A thorough estate plan can determine how property will be distributed, but it can also help to avoid family conflict, reduce delays in the probate process, and ensure that a person's wishes will be honored.

Testamentary Estate Planning

A key part of estate planning will involve using legal documents and other tools to determine how a person's assets will be distributed to their heirs after their death. The specific tools to use and the right approach to take will depend on the size of an estate, the nature of a person's assets, and the circumstances of a family.

Wills

A last will and testament is the foundation of most estate plans. A will allows a person to:

• Name beneficiaries who will receive the person's property after their death, including individual people or organizations.
• Specify how particular assets, such as a family home or personal belongings, should be distributed among beneficiaries.
• Designate an executor who will manage the estate and carry out the terms of the will.
• Name a person who should serve as the guardian for minor children if both parents pass away.

Trusts

When more flexibility is needed when managing and distributing assets, or when a person wishes to take steps to protect assets and avoid financial losses, one or more trusts may be used in addition to a will. When assets are transferred into a trust, they will be held and managed by a trustee, and specific instructions may be provided detailing how assets will be distributed to beneficiaries. Trusts offer a number of advantages, including the ability to avoid probate, to provide for beneficiaries with special needs, and to control how and when assets are distributed.

Common types of trusts used in estate plans include:

• Revocable Living Trusts: When a trust is revocable, it can be modified at any time. The person who creates a living trust may serve as the trustee during their lifetime, and they may also be a beneficiary, using their assets to provide for their needs later in life. A revocable living trust will provide for the seamless management of assets and flexibility in distributing assets to beneficiaries.
• Irrevocable Trusts: These trusts typically cannot be changed after they are created and funded. They can provide some protection from financial losses due to taxes or debts.
• Special Needs Trusts: When a beneficiary is disabled or has other special needs, they may rely on benefits provided by the government, including Medicaid or disability payments. A special needs trust or supplemental needs trust can provide financial support for beneficiaries in these situations while making sure they will still be eligible for public benefits.

Other Testamentary Tools

In addition to wills and trusts, our attorneys can help people and families review and update:

• Beneficiary designations on retirement accounts, life insurance policies, and payable-on-death accounts, which will allow these accounts to pass to beneficiaries outside of probate.
• Joint ownership arrangements, which will allow property to transfer automatically to a surviving co-owner.
• Transfer-on-death instruments, which allow real estate to pass directly to a beneficiary outside of probate.

Incapacity Planning

Estate planning can also address circumstances such as serious illnesses, accidents, or mental health issues that may cause a person to be incapacitated and unable to manage their own affairs. With the right legal documents in place, family members can avoid the need to establish legal guardianship, which is a process that can be costly, time-consuming, and emotionally difficult.

Powers of Attorney

A power of attorney will grant a person the authority to act on someone's behalf in specific situations. The specific documents that address these issues may include:

• Financial Power of Attorney: This authorizes an agent to manage a person's financial affairs, including paying bills, handling transactions, managing a business, and filing tax returns. A durable power of attorney for property will grant authority to an agent even if a person becomes incapacitated.
• Healthcare Power of Attorney: This designates an agent who can make decisions about medical care for a person. The agent may be authorized to communicate with healthcare providers and make decisions about treatments. A person can leave detailed instructions, ensuring that the right decisions about treatment will be made.

Advance Medical Directives

Other types of documents can address end-of-life care and related concerns. A living will can address the forms of treatment that should be provided if a person becomes terminally ill and cannot state their wishes. For example, this document can specify whether a person wants measures such as mechanical ventilation or artificial nutrition to be used or withheld. Other advance medical directives may include do-not-resuscitate orders or mental health directives.

A healthcare power of attorney and advance directives can work together to create a comprehensive picture of a person's wishes regarding medical treatment. This can help to reduce the burden on family members as they determine how medical care should be handled at the end of a person's life.

Chicago Estate Planning FAQs

Contact Our Chicago, Illinois Estate Planning Attorneys

At Newland & Newland, LLP, our attorneys will take the time to listen to your needs, explain your options, and help you build an estate plan that works for you. Contact our Chicago estate planning lawyers by calling 312-981-0409 to schedule a free consultation.