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4 Estate Planning Tips for Keeping Your Money in Your Family
Make no mistake about it, estate planning is not just for the excessively wealthy. Anyone—even those with smaller estates—can have their assets eaten up by various types of taxes and other obligations, especially if the items being passed down have appreciated greatly since they were acquired. However, there are some solutions that could allow you to keep more of your money within your family regardless of the current tax laws.
Tip #1: Check and Update Beneficiaries Frequently
It is surprising just how many people end up having no beneficiary or a previous spouse listed on life insurance policies, investment accounts, and even their wills. To an extent, it is understandable—life is busy, things change often, and before you know it, years have passed and you still have not gotten around to updating your beneficiaries.
Unfortunately, if you pass away while your accounts or policies are still in limbo, your assets will go to probate as “intestate.” This time-consuming and expensive process can very quickly eat up your assets and leave a much smaller estate for your loved ones than you had hoped. To make sure this does not happen, review your beneficiary information after any major life event, including the birth of children, marriage, or a divorce.
Can Non-Biological Fathers Seek Parental Rights in Illinois?
Whether they are divorced from their children’s mother or were never married, biological fathers usually have rights to some involvement in their children’s lives and responsibilities to contribute to their well-being. However, there are many situations in which a non-biological dad may also want to seek fathers’ rights after the relationship with the child’s other parent has ended. For example, you could have been part of a same-sex or opposite-sex couple in which a child was conceived through artificial insemination. You could be an adopted father or stepfather, or you could have raised a child believing you were the biological father and later found out otherwise. From a legal standpoint, these situations are not as clear-cut, but a recent Illinois court ruling has established that non-biological parents can have parental rights under certain circumstances.
Illinois Appellate Court Ruling on Non-Biological Parental Rights
3 Tips for Preventing Family Fights Over Your Estate Plan
If you asked your children and grandchildren how they think you should divide your assets in your estate plan, you will almost certainly get many different answers. Some of your family might suggest dividing everything equally—most likely without any idea of how to figure out what constitutes “equally.” Others might defer to you entirely since after all, it is your property that is being discussed.
Ironically, the people in your life who say that you should do what you want with your estate plan are likely to be the ones who get upset when they realize they did not receive the inheritance they expected upon your death. Fortunately, an experienced estate planning lawyer can provide the guidance you need to stop family fights about your estate plan before they even begin.
Decide on Your Priorities
According to the law in Illinois, you absolutely have the right to do whatever you wish with the assets and property that comprise your estate. However, it is a good idea for you to at least think about how your decisions are likely going to affect your surviving family members. You may reach the conclusion that you do not care who you upset with your choices since you will not be around to hear about it. Again, you have that right. On the other hand, it may be more important for you to take steps to promote family unity and stable relationships in the wake of your passing. There is a good chance that your estate planning choices could affect your family positively or negatively after your death. You should choose wisely.
How Does Your Marital Status Impact Your Illinois Estate Plan?
A marriage can have a significant impact on your estate plan. Married couples generally create an estate plan together— all or most of the marital assets are typically passed onto the surviving spouse. Only when he or she passes does the estate plan take effect. However, this is not always the case, particularly if one of the spouses has children from a previous marriage, or if there is a large age difference between the spouses. Moreover, if you are in the middle of a separation or a divorce, which can take over one year to finalize in many cases, it can have a significant impact on how you should handle your estate planning.
How Marriage Impacts Estate Planning
Marriage makes it easier for you to leave assets to your spouse after death. Even if you fail to do any estate planning or create a will, Illinois intestate succession states that a spouse inherits all of the intestate property. If there are children, then the intestate property is split between the spouse and children 50/50.
How Can My Social Media Use Affect My Illinois Divorce?
Each week, month, and year, new social media trends get released and new platforms begin to surface. What was popular last week, may not mean much once another Monday rolls around. As smartphones and social media have become more integrated into our lives, it can be easy to forget that there are still personal boundaries when it comes to what should and should not be posted online. Studies have shown that social media content has affected people’s views on their relationships, including romantic ones, sometimes causing issues that could be mitigated without the high usage of social media. With Facebook’s option to list your relationship status, Instagram’s ability to post photos with your new significant other, and Twitter’s propensity to elicit Tweets venting about your ex, your social media posts can greatly impact your Illinois divorce.
Using Your Spouse’s Posts to Your Advantage
Why Are Liquid Assets Important for Illinois Estate Planning?
When considering estate planning, it is wise to have some of your assets set aside as liquid assets. Liquid assets are easily turned into cash, the most obvious form being a checking or savings account. Mutual funds, stocks, and money market assets are also considered to be liquid. Non-liquid assets include physical property, which can take months to sell, or ownership in a company.
Immediate Access to Liquid Funds After Your Death
There are specific expenses that will come up very quickly after your death and your survivors may or may not be prepared to pay for these costs without using the funds from your estate. These costs may include:
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Funeral and Burial Costs - According to Lincoln Heritage Funeral Advantage, the average funeral costs between $7,000 and $12,000. Even a cremation can cost $6,000 to $7,000.
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Taxes - Aside from the final individual income taxes that will be due on April 15 after a person dies, there will be federal and state estate taxes to pay as well. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) can cease the distribution of assets during an audit. If there is a gross misrepresentation of income in a return, the IRS can audit a return up to six years later. If there is evidence of fraud or of trying to evade taxes, the IRS can conduct an audit at any time, even decades later. It is crucial to ensure that your loved ones have enough liquid assets to cover your income taxes for the tax year in which you pass.
Estate Planning Options to Consider During Coronavirus
With coronavirus hitting the United States hard, many people are realizing the importance of estate planning. Not only are people worried about their financial future, but they are also concerned about what would happen if they became gravely ill from COVID-19. Luckily, Governor Pritzker determined at the beginning of the pandemic that legal services were still an essential business in Illinois. There is no better time to consider what will happen to your assets after death. Moreover, it is extremely important to get your affairs in order so that your children and grandchildren are properly taken care of.
What Happens to the Home?
Having a will and testament is not enough to keep your property out of probate, which is a long and costly process. Furthermore, if you do not designate beneficiaries and complete the proper legal paperwork to transfer your property after your death, it is possible that any family members who live with you could lose their home. One way to ensure your family stays in your home after your death is by setting up a transfer on death instrument which allows you to designate a beneficiary who will receive interest on the property and avoid probate. Other options include creating a living trust, joint tenancy, or life estate. A knowledgeable estate planning attorney can guide you through which option is best for you and your family.
What Is a Generation-Skipping Trust and How Can It Benefit My Family?
Generation-skipping trusts, also known as dynasty trusts, are a way of avoiding estate taxes on an individual’s property and assets after death. It is a legally binding agreement that skips the children’s generation and leaves the inheritance to the grantor’s grandchildren to avoid an estate being taxed twice. With a generation-skipping trust, the children can still access the funds to pay for education, health, maintenance, and support, but upon their death, it automatically goes to their children. Generation-skipping trusts are a type of irrevocable trust, which means they cannot be changed or canceled. For this reason, it is wise to speak with a knowledgeable estate planning attorney who can assist in creating the trust before attempting to do so yourself.
Who Can Be the Beneficiaries?
The fact that this type of trust is called a generation-skipping trust leads many people to believe that the only beneficiaries can be grandchildren. However, the trust can be set up for anyone who is 37.5 years younger than the grantor. If the beneficiary is not a relative, he or she is called a “skip-person.” According to Internal Revenue Code 2651, if the parents die before the grandchild, then the grandchild moves into his or her parent’s place in line and a generation-skipping trust is no longer applicable to them.
How Do Medical Expenses Affect Child Support in Illinois?
A divorce involves many issues that need resolving, especially when children are involved. When determining child support, the financial status of both parents is seriously considered. If the non-custodial parent is providing support, the child’s medical expenses may cause an additional financial burden. These additional expenses could cause the judge to lessen the amount of support given to the custodial parent. Whether you are the non-custodial or the custodial parent, it is important to consult with a skilled family law attorney if you have any questions or concerns regarding your child support payments.
Determining Support
Child support calculations can be incredibly complex. Within the state of Illinois, child support payments are usually paid by the non-custodial parent to the custodial parent to provide additional financial support for the child’s basic needs such as food and clothing. Payments can also be used to fund tuition, transportation, housing expenses, extracurricular activities, and medical care costs. These factors, as well as the net income of both parents, will be used to determine the amount of support the custodial parent will receive from the non-custodial parent.
How Can Therapy Medical Records Impact Your Illinois Divorce?
During a divorce, one or both spouses may seek counseling or therapy. Due to the universal Doctor-Patient Confidentiality Agreement, patients are reassured that the sessions are private. However, it is possible your therapy records could end up in the courtroom during your divorce proceeding. When this occurs, it is important to hire a family law attorney to protect your rights.
Record Contents
Typically, if you are attending therapy or seeking the help of a professional counselor, you may have overwhelming issues that affect you psychologically and hinder your daily activities. Discussing them with an unbiased individual can be comforting and allow you to process your emotions. Problems may involve alcohol/drug addiction, a tragic event, or mental health issues. Within a divorce proceeding, these issues may negatively affect spousal support, and/or the allocation of parental responsibilities.
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