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Learning About Different Types of Wills

Whether you are young or old, single or married, wealthy or with limited financial means, healthy or dealing with a medical condition, it is important to make a will. Many people have incorrectly heard that wills are only necessary for particular people, such as those with a substantial amount of assets or for older adults in poor health. Yet wills are critical for adults of all ages, and an experienced Oak Park estate planning lawyer can help you to make one. Before you begin working with a lawyer on a will, you might start conducting your own research into wills in Illinois and the requirements for a valid will. In so doing, you are likely to come across information about many different types of wills, and you are probably going to wonder whether you will need more than one kind of will. In short, there are different terms that can be used to describe the form or function of a will, as well as some distinct types of wills. Our Oak Park estate planning attorneys can explain in more ...
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Wills and Disabilities: What to Know

Can you make a valid will if you have a disability? In general, the answer is yes. Having a medically documented disability — including a mental disability — will not typically impact a person’s ability to make a valid will. However, when a person has been adjudicated disabled such that they are not of sound mind or memory, then the disability can impact the ability to make a will. Our Oak Park estate planning lawyers can say more. Requirements for a Valid Will The specific requirements in the Illinois Probate Act for a person to be eligible to make a valid will are minimal and straightforward: “Every person who has attained the age of 18 years and is of sound mind and memory has the power to bequeath by will the real and personal estate which he has at the time of his death.” In other words, to make a valid will, you must: 1) be at least 18 years old and 2) be of sound mind and memory. This sounds relatively simple, but it can sometimes become complicated to determine whether a person...
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Younger Parents Need an Estate Plan

It is critical for younger parents to have an estate plan, even if they know they are healthy and do not anticipate that anything will happen in the near future. Much too often, younger parents assume that they can wait until they are older to consider estate planning or until there is a health-related reason to begin the estate planning process. Yet estate planning is critically important for parents who have minor children. While estate planning is important for adults of all ages, it can allow parents to make important decisions about who will care for their children in the event that they become unable to do so themselves. Our Oak Park estate planning lawyers can explain in more detail. Naming a Guardian for Your Minor Children in Your Will Most importantly for younger parents, making a will allows you to name a guardian who can care for your child in the event of your unexpected death. Nobody anticipates a deadly accident or a sudden situation in which there is a need for another ...
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Estate Planning Checklist

Working with an Oak Park estate planning lawyer to create all of the documents that should be part of your estate plan and dealing with any issues that are likely to arise as part of the estate planning process might seem overwhelming. While there are many different facets to the estate planning process, and everyone’s individual needs will play a role in their own estate planning process, you can take some of the stress out of the process by being prepared. Your Oak Park estate planning attorney will be able to determine all of the necessary materials and issues to address in your estate plan, but you can also feel better prepared by making a checklist for yourself in advance and considering matters that are likely to come up. The following is an estate planning checklist for you to use as you prepare to meet with your estate planning lawyer in Illinois. Think About How You Want Your Assets to Be Distributed It is important to consider how you want your assets to be distributed. You ...
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Am I Too Late to Make a Will?

It is common for people to assume that they do not need to think about making a will until they are older or until they are dealing with certain health issues. Some people even think that they do not need a will at all unless they have a significant amount of assets of high market value or unless they own real property. While these are common misconceptions — to be clear, every adult, regardless of age, health, and economic status, should make a will — they often result in people wanting to make a will at what feels like the last minute. You may already know that if you die without a will, the intestacy law in Illinois will apply, and your assets will be distributed according to the state. In those situations, the people who you want to have your assets ultimately may not receive them. Whether you are getting older and are concerned about not having a will, or you have recently been diagnosed with a serious medical condition, you now might be wondering: am I too late to make a will? F...
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Do I Need More Than One Advance Directive?

When you are getting ready to work with an Oak Park estate planning attorney to make an estate plan, you should be thinking about a wide range of document types and estate planning tools that may be relevant to you. For most people, advance directives fall into this category — they are an important part of the estate planning process. Yet unlike wills or trusts — which most people have heard of, even if they do not have a will themselves or have any personal connection to a trust — many people do not know about advance directives or what they do. As such, when you first hear about advance directives, you might be wondering: do I need to have one, and do I need more than one? For most people, it is important not only to have at least one advance directive but to have multiple advance directives. Indeed, advance directives are important regardless of your current health because they can give you peace of mind concerning your health care no matter what unexpected events might occur. Our ...
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Unmarried Couples and Estate Planning

Whether you have been with your partner for a relatively short amount of time or you have been with your partner for decades and have many shared assets, it is important to learn more about estate planning specifically for unmarried couples and how you should be thinking about estate planning given your marital status. In short, many couples who are not legally married have strong relationships that might seem akin to the relationship of a married couple, but they do not have the same legal rights and responsibilities with regard to one another under the law. Accordingly, it is essential to work with an estate planning lawyer to ensure that you can make clear what rights and responsibilities your partner has, even if you are not married. Our Oak Park estate planning lawyers can tell you more. Leaving Assets to Your Partner in a Will If you were to die unexpectedly or did not have a will for any other reason, you would die “intestate.” What this means is that your assets would be distr...
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