Oak Park Real Estate & Estate Planning Blog

For most people in the Oak Park area, the estate planning process will include drafting a will. Part of making a will includes deciding who to name as an executor. What is an executor? According to language provided by Illinois’s 19th Judicial Circuit, an executor is “the individual who is listed in the will as the person whom the decedent [the person who made the will and is now deceased] wishes to administer property and debts to assure that the will, or intent, of the decedent be fulfilled.” In other words, the executor makes sure the terms of the will are carried out and is responsible, in general, for administering the estate of the deceased person. As a CNBC article emphasizes, the average time it takes to settle an estate in the US is 16 months, so the “role of executor is a big job.” When you are making a will, you will decide on an executor of your estate. How should you choose an executor? There are a number of factors you should take into account. Consider the following in...

When you work with an Oak Park estate planning lawyer to create a will and advance directives and to establish trusts and other documents, you will often be doing so with an eye toward the probate process. Depending upon the types of estate planning tools you create, you may be trying to allow your loved ones to avoid probate for certain assets or, in some instances, to avoid probate altogether. The probate process is a process where a person’s property is identified after their death, assets are distributed to heirs, and the estate of the person is wrapped up by a party known as the executor of the estate. Probate is not necessary in all situations when a person dies, but it is typically required under Illinois law when a person dies with assets totaling more than $100,000 that must be probated (i.e., assets that are not held in a trust and assets that are not payable to a beneficiary upon death of the owner). The probate process can be extremely complicated, and it is important to w...

Having an attorney when you are buying or selling a house is extremely important in Illinois, particularly for the real estate closing . While your real estate attorney will assist you throughout the process of purchasing or selling residential or commercial property in the Oak Park area, the closing is especially complex. Whether you are considering buying or selling property, or you are already making a purchase or selling, you might be wondering: what happens at a real estate closing? Most laws concerning residential and commercial property are governed by Chapter 765 of the Illinois Code , but there are also other important laws that may be applicable to your circumstances. Our Oak Park real estate attorneys can discuss the process with you, and we can talk with you today about your needs for your real estate sale or purchase. Steps in Anticipation of Closing Before a buyer closes on a piece of domestic or commercial property and the transaction is officially closed, certain steps ...

Anyone who is working with an estate planning lawyer to make a will or establish a trust should also be thinking carefully about advance directives and their importance to any estate planning process. While many Oak Park residents already know about wills and what they often include and may have a general idea of how trusts work, advance directives are discussed less frequently among families in general. Yet advance directives are extremely important, and they can often provide important benefits not only to the person creating them but also to their loved ones, who can face anxiety and guilt over medical decision-making processes. There are different types of advance directives, and our Oak Park estate planning lawyers can explain how each of them works. What is an Advance Directive? What is an advance directive? Advance directives are documents that deal with a person’s health and their right and ability to make certain decisions about their health care. As the Illinois Department o...

Do you currently have a will? If you do not, it is essential to consider getting in touch with an Oak Park estate planning lawyer and making one. Many Illinois residents assume that they will consider a will when they get older or if they learn they are ill and need to worry about their own long-term health or the care of their minor children. Another common belief is that you only need to make a will if you have substantial assets. Yet making a will certainly is not only an essential task for an elderly adult, a wealthy person, or a terminally ill person. Indeed, wills are important for any adult, regardless of your age, how much money you have, and the status of your health. It is also critical to know that you cannot simply write a document with your wishes, keep it with your belongings or in a place known to your family, and assume that your wishes will be honored. To be sure, Illinois law has specific requirements for making a valid will, which includes having at least two witne...

Part of the estate planning process for many people involves thinking about how to avoid the probate process, as well as thinking about how to transfer real property to loved ones. For most Illinois residents, making a will is an essential part of the estate planning process, but there are many other considerations, as well, such as the creation of certain trusts and, for some, the benefits of the Real Property Transfer on Death Instrument Act . If you have never done any estate planning before, you may not have heard of this law or even realized that such a law exists. In short, it is a law that allows real property owners to designate a beneficiary to receive their real property upon death without going through probate. Our Oak Park estate planning attorneys can tell you more about this law and how it might be relevant to your estate planning process. Learning More About the Real Property Transfer on Death Instrument Act When you are considering working with an estate planning lawye...

Estate planning involves the creation of many different documents and the use of various tools for transferring property upon death or ensuring that loved ones are financially cared for upon your death. One of those tools is a “trust,” which is, according to Fidelity , “a fiduciary arrangement that allows a third party, or trustee, to hold assets on behalf of a beneficiary or beneficiaries.” There are many reasons that people establish trusts, including allowing beneficiaries to avoid probate, controlling financial distributions to particular individuals, planning for Medicaid and long-term care needs, and supporting a disabled loved one without putting their government benefits at risk. While many trusts are established by adults with significant assets, there are also many reasons that middle-class Illinois residents would also want to consider establishing a trust. Our Oak Park estate planning lawyers can give you more information about some of the different types of trusts that yo...