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Including Your Caregiver in Your Estate Plan
As you get older, your needs are going to change. Many people require more medical and personal care in their later years than they did when they were younger. If this happens to you, your loved ones and family members will probably be on board with helping as much as possible, but they might not be able or equipped to provide the level of care that you need. In such a situation, you might need to rely on an independent caregiver—someone that you are not related to or do not really know in any other capacity. While a caregiver might be a stranger at first, it is possible that you will become closer with him or her over time. Depending on the circumstances, your caregiver might do so much to help you that you even think about adding him or her as an heir in your will.
What the Law Says
Several years ago, lawmakers in Illinois updated the Illinois Probate Act of 1975 (755 ILC 5) to address inheritances left to non-related caregivers. The 2015 amendment addressed situations in which an estate planning instrument, including a will or trust, left more than $20,000 to a caregiver who was not related to the decedent. Under the amended law, a transfer of property greater than $20,000 is presumed to be fraudulent in the event that the transfer is subject to a challenge. The presumption of fraud will invalidate any instrument making the transfer.
Considerations for Pets in Your Estate Plans
Although the law considers pets to be property, pet owners often think of their pets as family members. If you have a beloved pet, you may want to include him or her in your estate plans. If there is a possibility that your animal companion may outlive you, you may want to include provisions as to how your pet should be cared for after you pass. Read on to learn about how you can plan for your pets future through estate planning.
Why Include Pets in Estate Plans?
If you are an animal lover, you probably worry about your pets often. You may especially worry if your pet requires special care or has a health concern. One reason many people include pets in estate plans is to plan for the possibility that they become incapacitated or pass away before the animal does. Sometimes, when a pet owner dies, their beloved pet can end up at a shelter – especially if no surviving family members are available to care for the pet. Surviving family members may be unable to care for their deceased loved one’s pet due to pet restrictions in their apartment or home, allergies, expense, concern for the children or animals already living in their home, or other reasons. It is best not to assume that your family will care for your pet without making formal arrangements.
Remarrying Your Ex-Spouse: What to Consider Beforehand
Remarrying an ex-spouse is fairly uncommon but it does happen. This typically happens with couples who married young and have been divorced for a significant period of time. People grow older and wiser, realize their mistakes, and change their futures based on the experiences they have acquired since the end of that relationship.
According to research conducted by Nancy Kalish, a professor emeritus at California State University, 6 percent of couples claim to have married, divorced, and remarried the same person. Of these individuals, 72 percent stay together after remarrying.
Getting Remarried After Divorce
People decide to get remarried for a variety of reasons. Some fall in love while others are trying to avoid loneliness. Everyone has their own reason for getting remarried, but children should not be one of them. Many divorced couples who have children together feel an obligation toward their child’s other biological parent. The false ideation of the “perfect family” continues to stick in their head. This guilt can cause former couples to reunite for the sake of their children. This is not a good reason for remarriage. Children can sense a forced relationship between their parents and seeing them happy is more beneficial than seeing them together.
What Does an Executor Do for the Estate?
One of the most important estate planning decisions you will make is choosing the executor of your estate. In most cases, the executor of an estate is usually a close relative or friend, but it does not have to be. The job of an executor includes managing and protecting the property of the decedent. The executor of your estate will be responsible for making sure that your final wishes are fulfilled and that your property is maintained until disbursement. He or she will also be responsible for paying estate debts and any outstanding tax obligations.
The person you select as executor of your estate has a tremendous responsibility. It is imperative that you choose someone who is capable of managing your estate effectively. Mismanagement of estate assets can result in losses to your beneficiaries as well as family arguments.
Executor Duties and Responsibilities
One of the first things an executor should do following the death of the estate’s original owner is to obtain at least several official copies of the state-issued death certificate. He or she will need these in order to fulfill executor duties. The executor must use these to access financial accounts and cancel government checks from programs like Social Security Disability Income (SSDI). A copy of the death certificate must also be included with the estate’s final federal tax return. It might also be the executor’s responsibility to handle the funeral and burial financial arrangements if arrangements were not already made.
How to Parent from a Distance After Divorce
Some parents are forced to have a relationship with their child from hundreds of miles away. This is common for military members, individuals who travel often for work, separated couples, and those going through the divorce process. No matter the circumstances, trying to care for a child with a long distance between you is not easy. The transition is usually the most difficult part, especially if this is a recent lifestyle change. You start to miss the little moments and sometimes the big ones, too. Gone are the days of dropping your child off at school each morning and putting them to bed at night, and while you try not to miss the big events, life sometimes gets in the way.
Here are a few tips about how to maintain a healthy parent-child relationship when many miles separate you.
Technology is Your Friend
Parenting from a distance has never been easy because all a parent wants to do is be there for their child. Although a long-distance relationship is not ideal, technological advances have made the job much easier. Being able to call or text your child at any time helps lessen the distance between you, especially if your child is old enough to have a cell phone. FaceTime or Skype calls are the best forms of communication between a child and parent. Face-to-face communication can make you feel closer, even if it is a digital image. This technological advancement is especially helpful if you have a young child. It helps them remember your face and mannerisms without your physical presence.
What You Should Know About No-Contest Clauses
When a person dies, the impact of the death can be great on the person’s surviving family members and friends. The emotions associated with a loss—especially one caused by a premature death—can make a grieving survivor act in uncharacteristic ways. Such behavior can lead to disputes over all sorts of matters, including the terms of the deceased person’s will. A battle over inheritances can be devastating to a family, and the resulting scars can last for years, if not forever. If you are currently drafting your will, you may want to think about including a no-contest clause to reduce the chances of such problems after your death.
What Is a No-Contest Provision?
No-contest clauses are also called in terrorem provisions, which is Latin for “by way of threat.” In essence, no-contest clauses threaten any named heir who contests the will, and they are used to discourage family in-fighting after the death of the will’s creator. Most no-contest clauses hold that an heir who formally contests the will automatically forfeits the portion of the estate that was originally intended for him or her. Sometimes, a no-contest clause might reduce the inheritance of a heir who challenges the will to $5 or another nominal amount.
What are the Most Common Reasons for Divorce?
Divorce may have been taboo in the past but it is far from uncommon in today’s society. Statistics fluctuate year-to-year, but divorce rates are actually decreasing. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the state of Illinois had one of the lowest divorce rates in the country in 2017. From 1990 to 2017, Illinois’ divorce rate decreased from 3.8 to 1.9 divorces per 1,000 people. The number of divorces may be decreasing, but the common reasons for divorce have essentially remained the same.
Infidelity
This is one of the most common reasons for divorce because a single action, or a series of them, can break down an entire marriage. Cheating on a spouse often begins as an innocent friendship and eventually transforms into a physical affair. Infidelity usually results in divorce because many couples see this as an act of betrayal that can never be forgotten.
Financial Stress
High-stress situations become a breeding ground for arguments and distrust, especially when finances are involved. Many couples let money problems eat away at their relationship, little by little becoming a bigger problem and often leading to divorce.
Special Estate Planning Considerations for Blended Families
The number of remarriages has been gradually increasing over the past few decades. As a result, blended families have become more prevalent than ever before. Blended families face unique challenges when it comes to estate planning. If you are a part of a blended family or are remarried, read on to learn how estate planning can put you in control of your and your family’s future.
When a Relative Dies Without a Will
Although it can be a hard topic to discuss, it is crucial that blended families talk about estate planning together. Family arguments and other issues can arise when parents pass away without a will or trust to dictate how their property should be divided between children of different marriages. When someone dies without any estate plans, surviving family members are left to figure out inheritance dilemmas in probate court. This can be an incredible burden for a family to shoulder. Creating inheritance and estate plans now can give you peace of mind and a sense of control knowing that your family will not be forced to sort out your final affairs during an already challenging time.
Child Support in Illinois: Determining Payment Amounts
Child support payments are among the most important elements that must be determined for most couples as they begin the divorce process. While many people associate child support with divorce, parents who share a child but are not legally married may seek or be required to pay child support.
Although child support payments are typically determined through the court, some families decide to settle their payments through a mutual agreement. According to 2016 data released by the U.S. Census Bureau, 89.9 percent of custodial single parents have formal agreements through the court, which means only a small percentage of parents maintain an informal agreement.
Here is a look at the types of arrangements families can have and the aspects that figure into the determination process.
Types of Child Support Arrangements
Most parents have joint custody of their children after divorce since judges typically believe this is in the best interests of the child. For those who share custody, calculating payments can be complicated. There are two factors that go into the determination process: a parent’s income and the amount of time spent with the child. Often, the parent who has the highest income will contribute the most money. However, if the highest earning parent also spends the most time caring for the child, their required check will most likely be reduced in an attempt to equate the costs between both parents. For those who have never been married, determining payment sizes can depend on a variety of factors. These include who the child lives with, the resources available to the custodial parent, and each parent’s income.
Be Wary of Estate Planning Scams
Whether you have never written a will or you are decades into maintaining a comprehensive estate plan, everyone should be on the lookout for a new type of scam artist: the estate planning scammer. The complex nature of estate planning has given unscrupulous individuals an opportunity to scam money out of innocent victims.
Facing your own mortality when planning for your family’s future can be overwhelming and emotional. Sadly, it is this emotional vulnerability which scammers use to trick people into ineffective and unnecessarily expensive estate plan “assistance”. If you are planning to draft a will or other estate planning document, make sure to avoid taking legal advice from unqualified or untrustworthy individuals. A licensed estate planning attorney can help ensure that your estate plans are sound and legally binding.
Understand What You Need and What You Do Not Need
Everyone should have an estate plan of some kind. Many people make the mistake of thinking that only the wealthy or those with children need a will or other estate plan. Most people own items of value (whether financial or personal value) that they wish to pass on to loved ones after they die. Estate planning allows you to guarantee that your property ends up where you want it to be after you pass away. Estate plans can also include decisions about final arrangements. Making decisions like these in advance saves your surviving family and friends the burden of guessing what you would have wanted. If you have minor children, creating an estate plan allows you to choose a guardian to care for your children if you pass away before they reach adulthood. Individuals with greater or more complex assets will require more complex estate plans that those without much property.
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