If you live in Illinois, you are married and you own your home, it is worth becoming familiar with the meaning of holding title to your home in the form of a tenancy by the entirety. A tenancy by the entirety differs in several important ways from the other two…
Few dogs are lucky enough to be left $12 million by their owners like Leona Hemsley’s Maltese named Trouble. But this doesn’t mean that your pet can’t be provided for when you consider how you want your possessions to be handled in your will. In “Heirs to the Bone –…
An Illinois decision makes it clear that an individual unrelated to the person who died (the decedent), may be appointed by the court to serve as administrator of the estate. In re Estate of Gage involves a man with three children, whose mother he never married, who died without a…
The creation of and the termination of rights of parties who hold title to property as joint tenants have been liberalized in Illinois. In the case of Sathoff v. Sutter, 373 Ill. 3d App. 795, 869 N.E.2d 354 (Fifth District, 2007), the parties involved were an individual and a couple.…
Wills and Trusts are useful estate planning devices which serve different purposes. Both work together to create a complete estate plan. One main difference between a Will and a Trust is that a Will goes into effect only after you die, while a Revocable Living Trust goes into effect as…
Once you have created an estate plan, it is important to keep it up to date. The following is a list of events which may trigger an estate plan update. Whether it is your first marriage or a later marriage, you may need to update your estate plan after you…
A No Contest Clause, sometimes referred to as an in terrorem clause, is used in wills to prevent a beneficiary from challenging provisions in a will. The No Contest Clause would state that if a beneficiary challenges the validity of the will, he receives nothing. A beneficiary might challenge the…
A minor can be a beneficiary of an IRA, and the advantages are many. When an IRA is inherited, the required withdrawals can be stretched across the life expectancy of the individual who is inheriting the IRA. This defers taxes until withdrawals are made. If an IRA of $100,000 is…
Custodial accounts are created by adults as custodians for minor children. Both the custodian and the minor must be residents or resident aliens of the United States. The accounts are established under the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act (UTMA). A custodial account is an account created with property gifted by…
Your executor is the person who is responsible for distributing your assets after you die. Your Will specifies who you name as your executor. The following are some of the duties of an executor: • Locate Documents. The executor locates the original Will and files it with the County Clerk…