Illinois Estate Planning Guide

Date: July 27, 2021

Important Estate Planning Documents

The first step to having a comprehensive estate plan is to gather information on your personal and financial information. “Estate planning documents include wills, trust agreements, beneficiary designations for life insurance, 401(K) plans and IRAs, powers of attorney for healthcare and property, buy-sell agreements, and living wills” – isba.com

Will Laws in Illinois

In short, a “Will” is a document that determines who will get your assets after death. The will goes into effect after you die. Having a will is very important for many reasons. To begin, a will allows the deceased individual to leave their property to those they want to. If there is no valid will, the estate will be divided up by the probate court pursuant to state statute. Often, individuals will leave their assets to their families and friends. If a person wants to make sure someone else receives a gift, a valid will is needed. In Illinois, the writer of the will must understand who they are, who they want to leave their estate to, and what assets they own. Furthermore, they must also be over the age of 18. In addition, your will must be in writing, signed by you in the presence of two witnesses.

Illinois Living Wills

Though it is called a “living will’ they are not technically wills (see above). Therefore, a living will can be defined as a legally binding document that lays out the end-of-life preferences of a person. “Illinois’ living will law explicitly states that an individual suffering from a terminal condition who is no longer able to make such lucid decisions may forego any “death-delaying procedure” if he or she has expressed this in a living will.” – findlaw.com

Power of Attorney

A power of attorney “allows a person (known as a “principal”) to appoint a representative (or “agent”) to manage their property and affairs in the event they are no longer able to do so for themselves.” -malawillinois.com. Everyone needs a power of attorney in case something unforeseen happens. The doctors and bankers want to know who you want to make decisions for you. Otherwise, you might get stuck with significant expenses for the courts to determine the matter. Similar to a will, your power of attorney must be executed when you are of sound mind. The two main powers of attorney that you will want to look into executing are healthcare and property powers of attorney.

Power of Attorney Types

First, there is what is known as health care power of attorney. This individual will make medical decisions when you no longer can. When you are able to make decisions by yourself, you are always able to overrule your healthcare agent. Next, there is the power of attorney for property, which is similar to health care power of attorneys. However, instead of health care decision, this person will help make financial decisions when you are no longer able too. We caution, however, that there are risks with executing this power of attorney and you should seek the help of an experienced attorney to take you through the risks and make sure your power of attorney is helping you accomplish your goals.

Sources:

https://www.isba.org/public/guide/estateplanning
https://marcjblumenthal.com/the-5-illinois-estate-planning-secrets-you-need-to-know/
https://statelaws.findlaw.com/illinois-law/illinois-wills-laws.html