As she points out in her article titled, Estate Planning for Your Eighteen Year Old: What You Need to do Now May Surprise You, Lauren Keenan Rote points out that becoming an adult comes with certain privacy rights and independence under the law. An eighteen year old has rights under…
In his article, Estate Planning 101: Don’t forget the Digital Assets, Eric McWhinnie points out the need to consider intangible property when creating your estate plan. The internet is increasingly becoming the main storage of an individual’s financial life. A survey from Pew Research shows that 51% of American adults…
Eight of the most common estate planning objectives which influence a couple’s estate plan are set forth in an article by Lewis Saret in Forbes magazine. PROVIDE FOR LOVED ONES The most important estate planning objective for most married couples is to ensure that their loved ones are provided for if…
Keeping beneficiary designations up to date is important as Jason Zweig points out in his article, When Your 401(k) Has a Bad Heir Day. He cites the example of three adult children of a wealthy telemarketing executive who died suddenly. His Will states that all of his assets are to…
It is common for spouses to name each other as the beneficiary of their IRA and their children as the successor beneficiary if they are the second spouse to die. But as Sandra Block points out in her article, “Getting the Most From Inherited IRAs”, although your children will still…
In general, IRAs, 401(k)s and pensions are exempt from the account owner’s creditors under Illinois law. They cannot be seized or garnished by creditors. In an article by Bruce E. Bell, Protecting Retirement Plan Assets from Creditors, he points out that assets passing to beneficiaries of the deceased plan owner…
When planning for a special needs child, sometimes traditional planning ideas which work well for a family that is not addressing these issues do not work well for a family which is. In a recent article in Kiplinger’s magazine titled “Making a Plan for a Special-Needs Child”, it is pointed out that…
A decision by the Supreme Court of Montana, In the Matter of the Estate of Marilyn Hendrick, overturned a lower court running concerning a joint will. The facts of the case are as follows: Marilyn and Stanley Hendrick executed a joint will. Each had three children from a previous marriages.…
In a recent article in US News and World Reports, Scott Holsopple sets out questions which everyone should ask when planning for what happens when they are no longer alive and handling their financial affairs. One important question is: Does my spouse know about all of our accounts and how…
A Power of Attorney allows someone you designate (your agent or attorney in fact) to make decisions for you if you become incapacitated. For this document to be effective, your agent may need to be able to access your medical information. Medical information is private. The Health Insurance Portability and…