Recent Blog Posts
Could You Benefit From a Small Estate Affidavit?
Responsible adults of every age and wealth level can benefit from setting up an estate plan while they are sure of their wishes and sound mind. While the end of life is rarely a pleasant thing to contemplate, people are often surprised at the peace of mind they get when they know their wishes will be respected and their family members are protected.
Unfortunately, an unexpected death may have left your loved one unable to create an estate plan, leaving you - the executor or beneficiary - trying to determine what to do. If you are responsible for managing the estate of a deceased person (the “decedent”), consider meeting with an Illinois estate planning attorney to find out whether a small estate affidavit could benefit you.
Small Estate Affidavit in Illinois
When someone dies without an estate plan, their property must go through the Illinois probate process. This can be long, difficult, and expensive, to say nothing of the emotional burden of managing an unplanned estate after the loss of a loved one.
Can My Child Take My Last Name After My Divorce Is Finalized?
When divorce in Illinois is a messy emotional affair, it typically comes on the heels of an equally messy relationship. Couples often experience many years of difficult interpersonal conflict before deciding to get divorced, with the result that they may not want anything to do with each other once the divorce is finalized - even if they share minor children.
It is easy for partners who changed their last name when they got married to revert to their original last name after a divorce is finalized - doing so can simply be part of the divorce judgment. However, parents who want to change their minor child’s last name as well can run into significant challenges.
When Can a Child’s Last Name Be Changed After Divorce?
Every decision that affects a child’s life after divorce is under scrutiny by the court. Parenting time, allocation of parental responsibilities, where a child lives - these things must all be approved by a judge and parents can be penalized for not following a court-ordered child custody order.
When Is a Child Old Enough to Decide Which Parent to Live With?
Divorcing parents in Illinois frequently disagree about the best way to arrange shared parenting time and parental responsibilities. After so many years of an unhappy marriage, it can feel like negotiating your relationship with your child is too much to ask. Many children are caught between parents who cannot agree on a parenting plan and often, both the parents and children are dissatisfied with the eventual outcome.
But children grow older and as they do, they begin to develop more mature relationships with their parents. This can include a more nuanced perspective on their parents’ divorce, as well as strong preferences for a parenting arrangement that may be different from the current court order. As a child’s personality continues to develop, he or she may express a desire to spend more time with one parent than the current schedule allows. For the parent with whom the child wants to spend more time, this may be a welcome adjustment - but where do you go from here?
Consider Setting Up a Trust If You Are in One of These Five Situations
Setting up an estate plan for the first time can be a daunting task. Not only does it confront you with potentially uncomfortable questions ranging from the practical to the existential, but it also requires careful accounting of your assets and detailed planning for the future. Fortunately, you are not required to manage your estate plan alone. Experienced attorneys who have no motive but to protect your wishes are available to help you identify the type of estate planning instruments that will benefit you the most. One common feature of an estate plan is a trust.
What is a Trust?
A trust is a fiduciary (financial) arrangement that allows someone to give their assets to a designated person (trustee), who will manage or hold the assets until they pass on to the trust’s recipients (beneficiaries). People who have specific plans for their money, property, or heirloom belongings after they pass away commonly use trusts to ensure their wishes are protected.
The Fives Types of Powers of Attorney in Illinois
Establishing an estate plan early and reviewing it often will ensure your wishes are met and that your loved ones are protected; waiting too long to take care of your estate plan can instead leave your loved ones scrambling to make tough decisions. Having a power of attorney - i.e., giving someone the legal authority to make decisions for you - is essential for helping you and your family in times of need. Here are five kinds of powers of attorney and how each may benefit you.
Durable Power of Attorney
A durable power of attorney is applicable and legally binding as soon as it is signed. It is effective even if you become incapacitated, or unable to make decisions for yourself. Unless otherwise specified, most powers of attorney are presumed to be durable, but it is best to be as specific as possible in your estate plan. A durable power of attorney continues to be effective even if you come in and out of capacity, or if you are only capable of making certain decisions.
If My Ex Leaves Me For Someone Else, Do I Still Have to Pay Alimony?
Illinois is a no-fault divorce state. This means that, no matter how poorly spouses treated each other during their marriage, the only fault that can be given when a couple gets divorced is “irreconcilable differences.” With few exceptions, divorce judges do not take a spouse’s behavior during a marriage into consideration when he or she is making decisions about the outcome of the divorce.
For a spouse who has been wronged, this can feel deeply unfair. After all, it makes sense that someone who ruins a marriage with unforgivable acts of infidelity should not have the right to make the same demands of their spouse as someone who has been faithful. Unfortunately, this is how the law works in Illinois. But this does not mean that you cannot use the law to your advantage if your spouse is already with someone else and is asking you for alimony.
Can I Fight My Ex’s Alimony Petition if They Have Another Partner?
Four Challenging School Situations You May Run Into After Divorce
Divorce brings many changes and a new school year can heap challenge upon challenge for newly divorced parents who are managing children’s schedules from two different households. The first school year can be especially difficult as you come up with new strategies for managing the new and old problems that come with having minor kids in school. Here are four situations that Illinois parents frequently encounter during the school year and some suggestions for handling them smoothly.
Homework and School Projects
It is important for parents to be on the same page about enforcing homework rules and expectations. This is especially true for bigger projects and tests that can take weeks to complete or prepare for and which may require supplies to be moved between households. The more a routine can be predictable and simple, the easier it will be for kids and both parents to follow.
School Lunch
Whether your child buys lunch at school or takes lunch with them is less important than everybody knowing what to expect. After all, the last thing you want is for a kid to be surprised at school with an empty lunch account balance and a hungry stomach. If a child is eating school lunch, make sure you discuss how to manage the costs (this can be a great issue to address in your parenting plan). If you need to reimburse the other parent for the cost of food, do it directly through them, not your child.
Do I Have to Include My Stepchildren In My Illinois Estate Plan?
While many stepparents come to have close relationships with their stepchildren, other stepparents do not nor even wish to. Step-families are often a complex mix of histories, emotions, grievances, and perceived injuries, making warm relationships difficult to establish and nurture.
Whether one feels positively or otherwise about his stepchildren, when it comes to estate planning, certain questions must be answered. Does a stepparent need to specifically address stepchildren in the estate plan? Is a stepparent a terrible person if they choose to specifically exclude their stepchildren or even one particular stepchild? If you are learning more about creating an estate plan, read on and then contact our Illinois estate planning attorneys for skilled legal assistance.
Do Stepchildren Have Rights to an Estate?
The good news for stepparents who are not interested in making their stepchildren part of the estate plan is that, unless they are adopted, stepchildren have no inheritance rights. Even if they are not mentioned in an individual’s will, stepchildren do not have standing to claim an inheritance from a stepparent. Stepchildren who are adopted are treated the same as biological children.
The Big 4 Benefits of a Trust Over a Will
Trusts are rapidly replacing wills as the main form of testamentary estate planning. You do not need to be a millionaire for using a trust to make sense. In terms of deciding who gets what when you have passed away, a trust can do everything a will can do while also allowing for some discretion and more gradual distribution. There are a number of benefits trusts offer that wills cannot. Unless you have minor children, you may not need a will at all if you establish a trust. There are also numerous different types of trusts that all offer distinct advantages and disadvantages. An attorney can help you understand all your options so that you can make a well-informed decision.
Advantages of Using a Trust, Not a Will
Some of the benefits that have people turning to trusts as their primary testamentary document include:
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Gradual distributions - When you use a will, your beneficiaries get whatever gifts you have left for them in their entirety immediately. Depending on your beneficiaries and how they are with financial management, this could be a recipe for disaster. With a trust, you can have money slowly distributed to them over time instead of handing them a lump sum.
Is Legal Separation a Good Idea if We Are Not Ready for Divorce?
Many couples in Illinois feel as though they have lost a romantic connection or have differences too great to overcome. At the same time, these couples may not be ready to completely commit to a divorce - now or ever. When this happens, Illinois law offers an alternative option that may be a better fit: Legal separation. If you want to officially separate from your spouse but do not want a divorce, read this overview of legal separation and then talk to a DuPage family law attorney about your options.
What is a Legal Separation in Illinois?
When married couples who want to separate move out of the marital home, they may be physically separated but they have not yet gotten legally separated. Legal separation is not merely living apart; rather, it is a legal term that describes formally separating your life with your spouse in virtually the same way as a divorce without actually getting divorced.
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