Estate Planning is appropriate and necessary to avoid death and income taxes for a decedent’s estate, to reduce estate administration expenses for estates and to guarantee the persons you want to inherit your real and personal property, funds and investments will receive their inheritance soon after your death.
Estate planning documents in Illinois typically could include the following:
(1) A Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care (to appoint a person you select to make health care decisions for you if you become disabled during your lifetime until you are able to resume making your own health care decision again and to avoid the cost and delay in having a court step in and appoint a guardian or conservator of the person under court supervision to make your health care decisions for you).
(2) A Durable Power of Attorney for Property (to appoint a person you select to pay your bills, manage your investments, and conduct your business affairs if you become disabled and incapable of conducting your own business affairs until you are able to resume making your own business decision again and to avoid the cost and delay in having a court step in and appoint a guardian or conservator of your estate to conduct your business affairs and annually account to the court).
(3) A Last Will and Testament to appoint someone you select to conduct your estate affairs after your death provide for the payment of your debts, last illness, funeral and burial expenses and distribute your assets to the persons or organizations you select instead of according to the Statute of Descent and Distribution laws of the State of Illinois.
(4) A Revocable Living Trust instead of a Last Will and Testament to avoid probate court supervision of the administration of your estate after your death and to eliminate the expense and delays attendant on probate administration of your estate. With the Revocable Living Trust there would be a “Pour-Over Will” that would provide that if any of your assets were not held by your Trust at your death they would be “Poured-Over” by the Will into the Trust to be administered and distributed to your designated Trust Beneficiaries by your Trust.
(5) A Living Will that would provide that your death will not be prolonged by artificial means if you are the victim of a terminal ailment, illness or condition that the doctors who are treating you have determined they can prolong your death but they cannot save your life you will be provided with comfort care and hydration but that you will not be connected to feeding tubes to prolog your death and will be allowed to die naturally.
(6) A Beneficiary Deed that would transfer ownership of your homestead real estate at your death to the person or persons you select to inherit it.
(7) Transfer on Death Designation of bank and investment accounts to transfer ownership of you funds on deposit in bank accounts or securities held in investment accounts to the person or persons you select to inherit the same after your death.
(8) Real Estate Appraisals after a person dies to determine date of death valuation of inherited real estate to avoid income tax on inherited real estate in the event of a later sale.
Most people do not realize the total amount and value of their estate assets that will be inherited by their estate beneficiaries (typically a spouse and children) after they die nor appreciate the taxes and estate administration expenses that can be involved in passing on their estate assets to those they leave behind (which will deplete the amount of inheritance their loved ones will receive by inheritance after they die).
Young married persons who have minor children typically are not thinking about who will raise their children and manage their assets to support their children until their children are raised if they are killed in a common disaster like an automobile accident. They should. By a guardianship and trust will for a very minor expense this situation can be dealt with for the welfare and best interest of the children who would be left behind if their parents die before they are old enough to take care of themselves.
An estate planning attorney should be consulted for assistance in conserving your assets that you would want your loved ones to inherit at your death and to avoid income and death taxes and estate administration expensed that will deplete the inheritance your estate beneficiaries would otherwise receive.