Estate Planning: What Documents Should I Consider?

Have you thought about estate planning and what types of documents you might need to prepare with assistance from an Oak Park estate planning lawyer? Many people mistakenly assume that estate planning is something that they can put off until they are older or until they learn about an illness. In reality, estate planning is a process that all adults should consider, regardless of age and health and regardless of whether they have minor children. If you are beginning to learn more about estate planning or if you want to create important estate planning documents, it is important to learn more about the general process and the most common documents and tools.

Drafting a Will

A will is one of the most common documents that you will want to draft in the estate planning process. Almost every adult should have a will. Under Illinois law, this document allows you to do a number of important things (including leaving assets to specific parties or entities and naming a guardian for your minor children), but it must be completed in a particular manner in order to be valid.

In Illinois, all wills need to be in writing, and they need to be properly witnessed by two parties who will also sign the document. The party who makes a will is known as the testator. A lawyer can tell you more about what can go into a will and what cannot and can explain how assets left in a will ultimately must go through the probate process.

Advance Directives

What will happen if you are involved in a serious accident or otherwise cannot make medical decisions for yourself? This question is one of the key reasons to consider creating advance directives. According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, an “advance directive is a written statement you prepare that expresses how you want medical decisions made in the future should you not be able to make them yourself.” There are four general types of advance directives in Illinois, and you should likely have all four:

  • Health care power of attorney (where you choose a trusted person to make health care decisions for you if you cannot);
  • Living will (where you clarify what kind of life-prolonging or death-delaying procedures you do or do not want);
  • Mental health treatment preference declaration (where you can indicate whether or not you are willing to have electroconvulsive therapy and/or psychotropic drugs in certain circumstances); and
  • Practitioner order for life-sustaining treatment (which indicates whether or not you want CPR if your heart stops or your breathing stops).

Trusts

Another important part of estate planning for many people is the establishment of a trust. There are many different types of trusts, and there are also many purposes of various trusts. Trusts can allow people to leave assets to loved ones that will not need to be probated, but they can also serve other important purposes.

Contact an Estate Planning Attorney in Oak Park

Do you have questions about estate planning documents or tools, or are you ready to embark on the estate planning process? One of the experienced Oak Park estate planning attorneys at our firm can talk with you today. Contact the Emerson Law Firm for more information.



See Related Blog Posts:

What is Intestate Succession in Illinois?

What Goes Into a Valid Will in Illinois?

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