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Some estate-plan documents have nothing to do with money or what happens to our estate after we die. If you are outraged-or at least mildly irritated-that you pay your daughter’s college tuition but don’t have the right to see her grades, imagine a true world of hurt concerning her medical privacy rights. You get a call in the middle of the night from a hospital in her college town, a thousand miles away. The nurse’s voice on the other end of the phone says, “She’s here, unconscious, but in stable condition.”

Naturally, you want to know what happened and her condition. The problem is that her rights to privacy extend well beyond her grades, and include her medical care. Without your daughter’s consent or a HIPAA (Health Information Portability and Accountability Act) authorization naming close family members as HIPAA-authorized, the worker at the other end of the phone is legally restricted in what information she can relay without violating federal HIPAA privacy regulations, so you get no clear response or even basic information. If you press the nurse for more information, her take-it-up-with-our-legal-department response leaves your stomach churning, your mind exploding.

In addition to privacy rights, adults make their own decisions regarding health care. Health Care Powers of Attorney appoint an agent (a/k/a “proxy”) to make medical and other personal decisions on your behalf if you become incapacitated. A Health Care Power of Attorney is an “advance directive” that helps prevent a guardianship over a disabled adult, keeping your family out of court. The Health Care Power of Attorney provides a forum to select agents and articulate treatment and residential options, along with end-of-life philosophies, such as metaphorical pull-the-plug and other personal decisions when your adult child (or you, a parent, sibling or friend) no longer have a voice.

As your children attain the age of majority, 18 in Illinois, you may not realize some of the ramifications of their imperceptible change in status. For millions of young adults with limited assets, dipping their toe into the water of estate planning, like registering to vote, is an adult thing to do. The HIPAA authorization and a Health Care Power of Attorney are gateway estate-plan documents, more essential than a Will for people with few assets.

HIPAA authorizations and Health Care Power of Attorney (whether combined into a single document or not) are estate-planning tools that are essential for people of all ages and means. Before heading off to college or work, your 18 year old, now an adult, must act like a grown-up and sign a HIPAA authorization and Health Care Power of Attorney. Otherwise, while daydreaming about next-day or next-year plans, an unanticipated event may occur, derailing the expected and adding turmoil to a bad fork in the road that nobody saw coming.

 

Eric G. Matlin is President of Matlin Law Group, P.C., a Northbrook, IL law firm that concentrates in the legal areas of estate planning and estate administration. Call (847) 770-6600 or visit www.MatlinLawGroup.Com to schedule an estate administration consultation, a free initial estate planning consultation).

Eric is also the author of two books. Not Dead Yet so plan your estate (Ozanam Publishing, Inc. 2019-available at Amazon.com or directly from Eric, in person), is a serious estate planning handbook with a book-within-a-book full story arc graphic novel that visually demonstrates the kind of nightmares that occur when people do not plan for life’s uncertainties and death’s finality. Eric’s previous book is The Procrastinator’s Guide to Wills and Estate Planning (New American Library division of Penguin Group, USA, 2004, with a new Ozanam Publishing, Inc. edition on track to be available in 2020).

Schedule your free estate planning consultation today!

Every legal adult needs an estate plan, powers of attorney and HIPAA authorization at the very least, but the scope of planning may change considerably once you start a family.

Young people often avoid planning for death when building a family in preparation for life. But procrastinating about doing simple planning puts your assets and family into potential limbo.

To ensure your family is protected, take a few simple steps during this life stage.

What Should a Young Family’s Estate Plan Include?

We recommend that young families have a few key documents in their estate plans, including a simple Will, HIPAA authorization and Power of Attorney for health care and property (finances). In many cases, young families might consider setting up a revocable living Trust as well.

If you’re unsure where to start, this estate plan guide can help.

Here are five steps to help secure your young family’s future:

1. Select agents for powers of attorney for healthcare and property

A Will covers plans for your assets once you die and names a guardian for minor children, but what if you suddenly become incapacitated and unable to make decisions while you’re living? Designating Powers of Attorney to make financial and healthcare decisions on your behalf, should be your first step in estate planning.

Your Power of Attorney makes medical decisions for you and carries out other tasks.

The financial duties of a Power of Attorney for property include:

• Filing your taxes for you
• Paying your bills
• Contractual authority
• Making other financial decisions for you

While your spouse can often assume control over the property you own together, this is not the case for assets you own individually, and even your spouse cannot sell jointly held real estate without a power of attorney or court involvement.

2. Create plans for managing your property

Neither parents nor anyone else can leave property directly to minor children. If you have young children, your Will must designate someone to manage these assets until your children become adults. If not, a court will appoint a guardian to manage the property on behalf of the child, which is a costly option, requiring annual accountings and legal expenses.

You can also leave assets to your children through a Trust and appoint a trustee to manage the assets. The acting trustee is under a legal obligation to carry out your wishes for managing the assets to benefit the children. Once your children become adults, they can take possession of the assets from the Trust, but you can also opt to postpone their control or not give them control at all, depending on the Trust terms.

3. Grant guardianship for your children

You and your spouse are gearing up for your first vacation as first-time parents, and suddenly the thought sinks in: What happens to our child if we suffer a catastrophic event?

This question is inevitable for new parents. You might quarrel over whose parents would care for the children, and even talk to your loved ones about you wishes. Your and your spouse’s parents or siblings might have differing ideas about who is best suited to care for your children.

Without documenting your wishes in a formal estate plan, this question may lead to a court battle and even more painful transition for your kids.

Talk to your spouse about naming a guardian, and document those wishes in a Will. You can even ensure family members are excluded to protect an ill-fit family member from gaining any role in raising your child.

This simple act can save your family additional headache and heartache if the unexpected occurs.

When selecting a potential guardian, you may want to consider such factors as where your potential guardian lives, whether that person shares your values and is financially stable. It is important to discuss these matters with the guardian you name, to ensure an honest willingness to act with the capability you desire.

4. Distribute your personal possessions and other assets

Who will receive your personal items, investments and other assets when you die?

Without a Will giving direction, the court decides how your personal items will be distributed among battling beneficiaries. Rather than assume that your wishes will be honored, put them in writing, to avoid unfair results and perhaps a heated family dispute in probate court.

Many young families also assume their spouse will own their assets once they die.

But for married couples in Illinois, half of their property goes to the living spouse and half is split among their children. If your children are minors, the court would also need to appoint a guardian to manage their portion of the property, even if the guardian is, in fact, the surviving parent.

The financially fortunate few may also need to consider the tax implications of dying. For example, if your assets exceed the applicable exclusion amount (the amount you can leave to your heirs without incurring taxes), a married couple may want to establish Trusts to ameliorate or eliminate estate taxes in the long run, even after the surviving spouse’s death.

5. Designate an estate manager

When you die, someone will need to carry out financial tasks for you, such as closing your bank accounts, paying your bills and more. A Will names an executor to be your personal representative, taking responsibility for wrapping up your financial affairs. Many Wills include language making the administration of your estate independent of the court’s supervision and waiving surety bond requirements, thereby minimizing the cost of the probate.

If you die without naming an executor, the court will have to appoint your personal representative, known in Illinois as an administrator. Your court-appointed administrator may or may not be who you would have chosen. Also, the administrator will have to pay from the estate surety bond premiums, which can add significant cost to the probate process.

Starting a family is the perfect time to get your affairs in order and ensure your dependents are better cared for when you are no longer there to give love and protection.

For more than two decades, Matlin Law Group and its predecessor firm have provided estate planning services to many thousands of clients living in Chicago, Chicago’s North Shore, Northbrook and other surrounding suburbs. Through our compassionate estate planning approach, we take the time to understand your family dynamics and create estate plans custom-fit to your needs.

Our goal is to give you peace of mind, knowing that your affairs will be handled correctly in the event of a potential incapacity and certain death, either of which can happen in an unanticipated moment.

Schedule your free estate planning consultation today!

Estate planning is an important milestone in an adult’s life. Regardless of wealth and status, everyone benefits from estate planning, to ensure that personal belongings and other assets are controlled by and go to the right people, minimizing unnecessary stress on families at a difficult time.

As you prepare for the future, you may be wondering how much an estate plan costs in Chicago and surrounding suburbs.Many factors can affect the cost of an estate plan, including the complexity of your family dynamics, type and amount of assets, and the estate documents that best fit your requirements.

If you are shopping for an attorney based upon the cost, it’s critical to understand the type of estate planning documents you need and the quality of service you’re receiving.

Through this guide, you’ll learn some of the costs associated with estate planning and how to evaluate your different estate planning options.

What Does a Typical Estate Plan Include?        

The cost of your estate plan largely depends on the complexity of your estate and the documents you need. Here are the essential estate planning documents many people need:

• Will: Instructs who receives your tangible possessions and other assets after your death, plus directions for the care of minor children and disposition of remains.
•  HIPAA Authorization: Allows designated people access to your healthcare providers.
•  Power of attorney for health care: Appoints an agent (a proxy) to make personal and medical decisions on your behalf should you become incapacitated.
• Power of attorney for property: Appoints an agent (a proxy) to manage your finances, should you become incapacitated.
• Revocable living trust: A Trust established by the grantor (its creator) during his or her lifetime, with terms that can be amended (changed) or revoked (canceled) at any time during the grantor’s life.
• Irrevocable trust: A Trust that cannot be amended or revoked by its grantor, either because of its terms or because the grantor has died.

What Happens If You Don’t Plan for Your Estate?    

The risk and cost associated with delaying your estate plan far outweigh the potential time and money you’d save in the short term. Pay now or pay more later — it’s your choice.

The truth is that you don’t know when you’ll die or be unable to make decisions regarding your future. At a moment’s notice, your family could be left scrambling to clean up the mess.

Some risks of procrastinating about your estate plan include:

• Nasty family feuds over your personal items
• Distant or undeserving relatives end up with assets
• Confusion over what happens if a parent, sibling, child or you become incapacitated with little warning
• You or your estate needlessly pays taxes which relatively simple planning could have prevented.
• An expensive, lengthy and dramatic probate battle erupts among family. 
• You put undue stress on your loved ones because they lack knowledge of your wishes.
  

You or your estate needlessly pays taxes which relatively simple planning could have prevented.

An expensive, lengthy and dramatic probate battle breaks out among family.

You put undue stress on your loved ones because they lack knowledge of your wishes.       

What Does Probate Cost in Illinois?

Probate is a legal process where the court validates your Will; appoints an executor to distribute your estate per your instructions; and pay any taxes.

Not having a Will when you die lengthens, complicates and adds costs to the probate process. The court determines how your assets will be divided, pursuant to a statutory intestacy formula, appoints your estate administrator and requires surety bonds be paid. It opens the door to potential claimants on your estate.

One goal of estate planning is to avoid probate, which can cost your family tens of thousands of dollars if a legal battle ensues. In Illinois, basic probate, without any disputes, can easily cost between $4,000 and $6,000. Add any complications and the legal costs can skyrocket.

The estate typically covers many of the costs, but families must front hundreds or thousands to initiate the process.

How Much Does Estate Planning Cost in Illinois?

Now that you understand what basic documents are included in an estate plan and the cost of procrastination, it’s time to talk about the legal cost of planning.
The price of estate plans can range from a few hundred dollars to $6,000 and more, depending on the quality of the service and complexity of your needs. Many law firms concentrating on estate planning charge flat-rate fees for basic estate plans, or at least provide a target range. Basic revocable living Trusts may be included in a flat-fee estate planning package costing between $2,500 and $6,000. Revocable living Trusts help you bypass the costly and public probate process and can evolve into testamentary Trusts that allow you to control your assets long after you have departed this world.

While complex Trusts often fall outside the scope of a basic estate plan, and can add thousands of dollars to your estate plan, they may save your estate exponentially greater sums in the long run. A professional estate-planning attorney will walk you through the considerations you want to make to ensure you’re only paying for the documents you need.

Some accounts allow for individuals to be named as beneficiaries and can be distributed without probate. Typically 401k, pension, IRA, Roth IRA and insurance plans name beneficiaries. You may also name a Trust as beneficiary, providing the opportunity to better control assets and anticipate potential contingencies.

Online services such as Quicken WillMaker and LegalZoom are cheaper alternatives for creating basic documents like Wills. However, these services may miss key considerations for Will planning and complex estate plans that could cost your beneficiaries down the road.

How to Choose an Illinois Estate Planning Attorney

Creating an estate plan isn’t a one-time event. Your estate plan is a living document that may require updates at different stages of life.

Having a well-informed attorney who understands your family dynamics and stays up-to-date on Illinois tax and estate laws can help you make the right decisions that preserve your estate for loved ones.

Here are some critical tips for selecting a trusted and professional estate-planning attorney who fits your needs:

Choose an attorney who concentrates his or her practice on estate planning. The legal field is complex and far-reaching, and it helps to have a knowledgeable estate planning attorney on your side. You wouldn’t hire an electrician to fix a plumbing issue. In the same vein, most people planning their estate are best served by an attorney or law firm that concentrates on estate planning and estate law, who will draft the right documents for you and advise you on how to maximize the value of the documents.

Be wary of sole practitioners who are not experienced in estate planning. They may offer to draft your estate documents for a discounted price because they don’t typically do this type of work and need business. If the quality of the work in such instances is sub-par, you or your beneficiaries are the ones who will end up paying.

You can often evaluate a law firm’s quality by visiting their websites. View the testimonials of their clients. Referrals are often the best way to find the right firm. Also, how many years has the lawyer or firm been concentrating in this field of law?

You don’t want to be left high and dry when you need to update your estate plan or an important tax update rolls out. When you meet an attorney, ask questions such as:

• How do you communicate tax changes to your clients?
• How do I keep my estate plan documents up to date?
• What if I have questions in the future?

For more than two decades, Matlin Law Group and its predecessor firm have provided estate planning services to many thousands of clients living in Chicago, Chicago’s North Shore, Northbrook and other surrounding suburbs. Through our compassionate estate planning approach, we take the time to understand your family dynamics and create estate plans custom-fit to your needs.

Our goal is to give you peace of mind knowing that your affairs will be handled correctly in the event of a potential incapacity and certain death, either of which can happen in an unanticipated moment.
Schedule your free consultation today.

When tragedy strikes, it reminds us that life is precious. Recently, friends of clients of mine lost their 17-year-old son to a skiing accident in France. He fell 400 meters off of a cliff and in the blink of an eye, his life was cut short. Neither he nor his family saw it coming.

At moments like this, it’s important to take time to reflect on your own life, be grateful for what you have and prepare for the future, expected or not. I recommend all legal adults over the age of 18 create an estate plan to prepare for death and incapacity. To help demystify this process, I’ve created an estate planning checklist that covers five essential estate-plan documents to protect your future.

5-Step Estate Planning Checklist

Here are the five must-have documents in your estate plan:

1. HIPAA Authorization
2. Power of Attorney for Healthcare
3. Durable Power of Attorney for Property Finances
4. Will
5. Revocable Living Trust

Throughout this blog post, I’ll talk about the purpose and priority level of these documents and address some of the questions you’ll need answers for.

Want to talk to an attorney about what you need in your estate plan? Contact us for a free estate planning consultation.

1. HIPAA Authorization

The first document that all adults need in their estate plan is a HIPAA authorization form. This document gives those closest to you permission to have a conversation with your healthcare professionals.

Why You Need It

Imagine you’re suddenly hospitalized or need medical attention. A HIPAA authorization form ensures that your family and other close relations are not cut off from your medical team.

Most healthcare professionals will notify your immediate family in the event of an emergency. However, if the ER doctor or nurse is not certain of a friend or family member’s right to access your information, that person may rightly withhold details of your condition out of fear of violating HIPAA privacy rules.

You can prevent confusion by filling out a HIPAA authorization form and naming the people you want to be able to access your medical information.

How to Assign HIPAA Right of Access

Ask your primary care doctor to provide you with a HIPAA authorization form. Most doctors can email you one to fill out and submit. You can also download this sample document from the American Bar Association for more information. Many estate-planning attorneys also provide such forms.

What to Consider

Before signing a HIPAA authorization, think about who you would want to know the details of your care plan if you were injured in an accident or suddenly fell ill.

If your immediate family lives in another state, you might want to think about authorizing close friends or acquaintances that live nearby.

It is advisable to notify the persons you list on a HIPPA authorization form.

2. Power of Attorney for Healthcare

The second document on your estate planning to-do list is a Power of Attorney for Health Care. This document appoints an agent to make personal and medical decisions on your behalf if you become incapacitated.

Why You Need It

Imagine that you’ve just been in a severe car accident and are in a coma. You’re unconscious — unable to speak or make decisions for yourself. The doctor has assessed that if you recover, you’ll function at a low level compared to your current self.

When the doctors ask your loved ones about next steps, half of your family wants to take extreme life-extending measures in hopes that you will come out of your coma. The other half of your family is willing to let nature take its course.

If your family can’t come to a consensus on what to do, your case may have to be decided in guardianship court where a judge has the authority to select a guardian of the person to be responsible for your health care decisions. The judge may end up selecting the last person you would choose if given the choice.

Without a Power of Attorney for Health Care, you risk the chance of the wrong person making life-and-death decisions, along with determinations over such matters as where you reside. Making your wishes known with a Power of Attorney for Health Care gives direction to others regarding your care for better peace of mind.

What to Consider

Select a trusted loved one as your agent under a Power of Attorney for Health Care who:

1. Understands you
2. Can decipher medical terminology
3. Is willing and able to fight for you
4. Is accessible, whether living in the same town or 1,000 miles away

Think about who you would want making medical decisions. Choose someone you can depend on and who would be available in an emergency. Also, select one or two alternate agents if your first choice cannot act on your behalf.

3. Durable Power of Attorney for Property Finances

A Durable Power of Attorney for Property, which deals with various financial aspects of your life is the third document on our estate planning checklist. A Durable Power of Attorney for Property allows you to select an agent (or proxy) to control your money and pay your bills if you become incapacitated. Please note that it is different than a nondurable Power of Attorney, which allows someone to act on your behalf for a specific financial transaction or series of transactions because you are unavailable.

Why You Need It

If you become incapacitated and don’t have a Durable Power of Attorney for Property, your family may have to spend money on a lawyer to go before a judge to appoint a conservator of your estate. Depending on the circumstances and family dynamics, this can be a long, drawn-out process. Judges usually award conservatorship to your closest family member — someone you may or may not want to handle your money.

What to Consider

Ensure the person you select as your agent is:

1. Someone you trust
2. Understands bill paying and simple contracts
3. Shares your financial philosophy

Keep in mind that when drafting your Durable Power of Attorney, you can set limits on what your agent can and cannot do. When setting limits, think about all of the possible financial decisions this person may need to make.

In the document, specify how you want the agent to handle various transactions. The most common financial transactions a conservator makes include:

• Paying your bills
• Paying your taxes
• Paying medical expenses
• Managing your real estate assets
• Accessing your financial accounts
• Investing on your behalf
• Collecting retirement benefits
• Transferring and selling your assets
• Buying insurance for you
• Operating your small business
• Hiring an attorney to represent you
• Other activities that involve contractual authority

4. Will

A Will is the fourth must-have in your estate planning checklist.

A Will specifies who will receive your possessions and assets after you die and states your funeral wishes. In the state of Illinois, a Will is the best document to nominate a guardian to care for your dependents or minor children.

Why You Need It

If you die without a Will, a court will distribute your individually owned assets according to state intestacy laws. In most states, these laws distribute your property to family members in order of closeness of relation. Typically, half of your assets go to your spouse and half go to your living children.

If you wish to award your property to people outside of these two categories, a Will is necessary.

If you have minor children or dependents, it’s even more critical that you have a Will. If you die without nominating a guardian, the court will decide who will take care of your children, deciding such matters as where they live and go to school. Judges typically award guardianship to a living parent first, followed by the next closest relative.

What to Consider

There are several questions you need to answer before creating a Will.

• Who do you want to name as your executor to carry out the wishes in your Will?
• Who are your heirs according to state law and do you want them to receive all your assets?
• Other than your heirs, is there anyone else that you want to receive assets after you die?
• Who would you want to care for your children after your death?
• What are your individually owned assets?
• What are your funeral wishes?

Need help making these crucial decisions? Check out our Will Planning Guide or contact us for assistance.

5. Revocable Living Trust

A Revocable Living Trust is the fifth document on our estate planning checklist. It can do everything that a Will does — and more. The difference is that, unlike a person, a Trust does not die. Upon your death, the Trust continues, without court involvement, to manage your assets according to its terms.

To ensure your Revocable Living Trust efficiently transfers assets to your beneficiaries after you die without having to go to probate court, you must fund it. Usually, you will name yourself as the initial trustee. Doing this allows you to transfer ownership of your assets to the Trust. Now, instead of owning your assets individually, you own them as a trustee of your Trust.

Upon your incapacity, the Trust is administered according to your best interests for the rest of your life. After you die, your Revocable Living Trust either becomes irrevocable under new testamentary terms, or its assets are distributed and the Trust ends.

Why You Need It

Probate can be a costly, time-consuming process. A Revocable Living Trust lets you avoid this process altogether. A Revocable Living Trust can be helpful if you have a modest to large estate or complicated family dynamics, because, coupled with a Testamentary Trust embedded within it, you control assets even after your death.

What to Consider

Creating a Revocable Living Trust can be complicated, so it’s best to seek legal assistance before signing one.

If you do not fund the Revocable Living Trust, it can still carry out most of the functions of a Will, but it will not avoid probate.

Estate Planning with Matlin Law Group

Need help with estate planning in Chicago or Northbrook, Illinois? At Matlin Law Group, our compassionate approach to estate planning helps us create estate plans custom-fit to your needs. We take time to understand your family dynamics. Our goal is to give you peace of mind knowing that your affairs will be handled correctly in the event of a potential incapacity and eventual certain death.  

Check out our estate planning FAQs to learn more or contact us today for a free consultation.

Making a Will can be a daunting task. You know it’s important to plan for what will happen to your property, dependents and remains when you die, yet something holds you back.

“I want to plan; I just don’t know if I can make these decisions right now…” This sentiment is something our Chicago-based attorneys hear all the time.

Rest assured — with the right education and preparation — you can create a Will that will give you peace of mind and leave your estate in good hands. Read on to learn how to make a Will and the considerations you’ll have to make in the process.

What Is a Will?

A Will is a legal document that directs the distribution of your assets when you die. To transfer the assets listed in your Will to other people, a court of law must first validate the Will through a process called probate.

A Will allows you to appoint an executor and (in Illinois) a guardian over your minor children. The executor carries out the financial wishes stated in your Will. A guardian is someone you name to take care of your minor children after you die.

As you go through this planning guide, it will be helpful to know some Will-related jargon. Here are a few definitions to keep in mind:

• Testator: The person making a Will in preparation for their dying (you!)
• Codicil: A Will amendment
• Probate: The process of proving and accepting a Will as a valid public document in a court of law
• Probate Assets: Any property individually owned by the testator
• Decedent: A person who has died
• Legatee: A beneficiary to whom a testator leaves assets in a Will
• Bequest: A gift given to a legatee
• Intestate Heirs: The persons who receive your probate assets when you die without a Will.
• Notary: A person licensed by the state government to authenticate signatures on legal documents

What Happens If You Die Without a Will in Illinois?

If you die without a Will in Illinois, the court names the personal representative of your estate, who generally has the same duties as an executor who is named in a Will. The court also decides how to distribute your probate assets in accordance with the state laws of intestacy and, if you have living minor children or dependents, appoint a guardian for you.

When a judge distributes your assets at the time of your death, the court does not dive into the dynamics of your family history or try to decipher who you would have wanted to receive bequests. The court just divides your assets according to your will, if you have one, or among your closest living relatives, if you don’t have a will.

among your closest living relatives, purely by formula.

Without a Will, the future of your probate assets and living dependents lies in the court’s hands, which are tied to court statutes.

How a Court Awards Property in Illinois If You Don’t Have a Will

If you don’t have a Will when you die in Illinois, half of your estate goes to your spouse, and half is divided equally among your descendants.

If your spouse is no longer living, the court distributes your estate among your descendants. If you don’t have descendants, your entire estate will go to your spouse.

What if you don’t have a spouse or any living descendants? The court will divide your assets among other relatives starting with your parents and siblings.

No parents or siblings? As you might guess, Illinois intestacy laws on descent and distribution outline a laundry list of relatives to whom your estate will go, including relatives with whom you may have no relationship.

The way to prevent a judge from deciding the fate of your hard-earned probate assets is to create a Will.

What Are the Legal Requirements of an Illinois Will?

To create a legally valid Will in Illinois, you must be at least 18 years old and of sound mind and memory. This means you must be able to understand:

1. The assets you own individually and who you want to gift it to after you die
2. That the purpose of a Will is to dispense your assets when you die, nominate a trusted executor to carry this task out and, if you have minor children, appoint a guardian

An Illinois Will must be in writing, contain your signature and the signatures of two credible witnesses.

State law doesn’t require Illinois Wills to be notarized. However, the only way to ensure a shortened probate process and prevent your witnesses from possibly having to testify in court during probate is to make your Will “self-proving.” To do this, you and your witnesses must sign an affidavit in the presence of a notary.

How to Make a Will

The components of a Will are straightforward. Generally, you must:

1. Write an Introduction
2. Select an Executor
3. Identify Your Heirs and Beneficiaries
4. Nominate a Guardian for Your Minor or Dependent Children
5. Assess and Divide Your Property
6. State Your Funeral Wishes (If You Have Any)
7. Sign and Notarize the Document

While completing these seven steps may sound simple, it can be difficult to do without professional legal advice. You must make decisions that will affect your loved ones long after you’re gone and also plan for contingencies.

Here are the seven essential components to place in your Will.

1. Write an Introduction

The title of your Will should be, “The Last Will of” and include your full name.

In the first sentence of the Will, state your full name and declare that you are of sound mind and memory. You will also restate that this is your “last Will and testament” and that it revokes any previously made Wills and Codicils.

2. Select an Executor

After you establish your identity and make it clear that this document is a Will containing your last wishes, select an executor.

Carrying out the wishes of your Will and making sure your estate is in order is a big responsibility. Your executor must be someone that you trust.

Your executor has several responsibilities related to your estate. The executor must:

1. Present your Will for probate in probate court
2. Protect the assets of your estate from mismanagement
3. Locate, manage and award your assets to your beneficiaries
4. Pay the debts and taxes of your estate
5. Arrange your funeral using the estate funds

Before you select an executor, be aware that if the executor mismanages your estate and your beneficiaries receive less than they otherwise would have received had the executor done the job correctly, the executor may be held personally liable.

The executor’s duty is a major responsibility, so ask permission before naming someone in that role and discuss with that person what the job will entail. We recommend that you appoint one or two alternate executors should your first choice be unable or decline to do the job.

3. Identify Your Heirs and Beneficiaries

Your Will must identify your beneficiaries. Your heirs are the blood relatives in line to receive a portion of your estate by state intestacy laws, but they do not have to be your legatees. In the state of Illinois, your spouse is always an intestate heir.

Your beneficiaries are the people who will receive your probate estate. Your heirs may not be the people you choose as beneficiaries, so it’s critical to clarify this in your Will. By naming people in both these categories, you’ll help your executor ensure that your assets go to the right people. Otherwise, an heir whom you intend to disinherit may assert that you simply forgot to mention the person in the Will.

Please note that your heirs, beneficiaries and minor dependents have a legal right to contest your Will or argue its validity. To make sure your Will accounts for this possibility, or if you want to disinherit someone from your will, we recommend seeking the help of an attorney. Non-contest clauses and other measures can be taken to help prevent your Will from being attacked by a beneficiary or an heir who is not a beneficiary (or receives a lesser amount than other beneficiaries).

4. Nominate a Guardian for Your Minor or Dependent Children

In Illinois, you may also nominate a guardian to take care of your minor or dependent children within your Will. Choosing a guardian may be the most significant decision you will make in the Will creation process. If you die, the guardian of your children will decide where your children live and go to school and other decisions that you, as a parent, make.

When selecting a guardian for your Will, ask yourself four questions:

1. Who will impart the best value system?
2. Who will your children feel most comfortable living with?
3. What living arrangements will be least disruptive to your child’s routine after your death?
4. Who is best suited for the physical and financial rigors of raising your children?

Just like the executorship, you may want to name one or two alternate guardians if your first choice is unable or unwilling to perform the duty when the time comes. Always discuss guardianship with the people you name prior to signing your Will.

5. Assess and Divide Your Property

A section of your Will must assess and divide your property among your beneficiaries. Depending on the terms of your Will, you may need to list categories of assets you own individually, including:

• Real estate
• Bank accounts
• Retirement accounts
• Stocks
• Bonds
• Tangible assets

After you have outlined the assets that make up your estate, your Will directs percentages or specific cash or other gifts to your beneficiaries. You can give tangible bequests like jewelry or precious heirlooms. If you would like to leave gifts to classes of people instead of naming them individually, you may do so, using correct legal terminology.

Include contingency plans if one or more of your beneficiaries are unable to receive your estate. Gifts to people made per stirpes, a term very common in Wills means (in Latin) that if the person does not survive you, that person’s share of the estate will be distributed to the predeceased beneficiary’s descendants.

6. State Your Funeral Wishes (If You Have Any)

Your Will is also the document where you may articulate your funeral wishes.

You can include instructions on how you want the funeral home and your loved ones to care for your remains. Clarify whether you want to be buried or cremated and include directions for the disposal of your remains if necessary.

You may also outline how you wish to be commemorated. If you want a funeral, memorial service or another ceremony, state this in your Will and include instructions about what you would like to take place at the event.

When you do not clarify your wishes in this regard, your family will have the responsibility of making these personal decisions for you, so if you have a preference, a Will is where you give such direction.

7. Sign and Notarize the Document

Once you’ve completed your Will, you must sign it in the presence of two appropriate adult witnesses of sound mind and memory, and though it is not strictly required in all states, best practice includes a self-proving affidavit that is also notarized.

When you complete your Will, know that it can be amended any time before your death by following proper legal procedure. In most instances, if you create another Will at a future date, it will revoke any older Wills in existence.

Creating Your Will With Matlin Law Group

We hope that this Will planning guide has helped you understand what it takes to write a Will. If you want to learn more about the estate planning or Will creation process, feel free to reach out or check out our legal resources for more information.

Always keep in mind that your Will is going to have a lasting effect on your loved ones long after you’re gone. Although it’s possible to create a Will on your own without any legal assistance, we recommend hiring a trained attorney to help with the process.

Our attorneys are compassionate professionals with over 50 years of collective Will creation and estate planning experience. We know how to assess your family dynamics and create estate plans that preserve your best interests. We also represent executors, other personal representatives and beneficiaries.

Contact us today for a complimentary estate planning consultation.

When do you need estate planning? At every stage of adult life!

Estate planning isn’t just something older people with great wealth do. Everyone needs an estate plan — the newly legal adult about to head off to college, the single mom of two struggling to pay rent, the middle-aged married couple funding three college educations, the retiree in the process of downsizing, the 80-year-old without close familial ties, and everyone in between.

At Matlin Law Group, we guide Chicago and Northbrook, Ilinois, residents of every age through the estate planning process. No matter what stage of life you’re in, you can and should take steps to prepare for your death or incapacitation — regardless of how distant these events may seem. In this blog post, we’ll explain what estate planning is and outline how you can start preparing for the inevitable today.

What Is Estate Planning?

Estate planning is the legal process of outlining what you want to happen if you become incapacitated or pass away. Creating an estate plan is the only way to ensure that your wishes will be granted when you’re no longer able to speak for yourself.

Although the contents of your estate plan will vary depending on your specific needs and circumstances, your plan should at least contain the following five documents:

• Will: Divides your assets and other possessions up among people of your choosing. Outlines how to care for your minor or disabled children and remains.
• HIPAA Authorization: Gives others the ability to access your healthcare information.
• Power of Attorney for Health Care: Appoints someone to make medical decisions on your behalf if you become incapacitated.
• Power of Attorney for Property (Finances): Designates who will manage your financial affairs, such as bill paying, if you become incapacitated.
• Revocable Living Trust: Determines how your assets will be handled after you pass away. Names beneficiaries and the provisions they will be given. Can be changed or canceled at any time before you die Assets owned by your RLT avoid probate court upon your death.

How to Plan Your Estate at Every Stage of Life

The earlier you start estate planning, the better.

However, 78 percent of millennials, 64 percent of Gen Xers and 40 percent of Baby Boomers don’t have a will. But the longer you go without an estate plan, the more complex the process becomes for you and your family.

At Matlin Law Group, we often recommend creating your estate plan in steps, as your life and circumstances evolve. This way, you and your family are ready if tragedy strikes.

Let’s take a look at the ideal estate planning timeline.

18-21: Create Power of Attorney for Healthcare and HIPAA Authorization

When you become a legal adult, you become responsible for your healthcare decisions. If you were to suddenly become incapacitated and needed medical attention, without the proper legal documents, no one would be able to make decisions on your behalf or access vital medical information.

Once you become a legal adult, you should designate a responsible family member to make medical decisions for you — known as a power of attorney for healthcare.

In addition to this document, you should grant family members access to your medical history with a HIPAA authorization. This way, if they need to make decisions on your behalf in a medical emergency, your doctors will be able to give them all of the details of your state.

20s: Add Power of Attorney for Property and Simple Will

As you journey further into adulthood and begin to work full time, you gain assets and financial responsibility. Even though you don’t have any dependents, there are still important decisions to be made.

For example, if you were to enter a coma as a single 20-something, you’d want to designate people to:

• File your taxes for you
• Pay your bills
• Take care of your pets
• Make other financial decisions for you

You might assume that someone would “just step up” if tragedy strikes, but this might not be the case. Don’t leave important decisions to chance.

Create a power of attorney for property to ensure that someone can assume financial responsibility for your assets. You should also consider creating a will to outline how to divide up your assets and take care of your remains if you pass away.

30s: Update Your Will and Grant Guardianship if Necessary

After a decade as a legal adult, your financial and legal responsibilities grow even more. You may own property. You might be married or in a relationship and have children for whom you are legally responsible.

In your 30s, you should update your will to ensure that your family shares your assets as desired. If you have children, you should also name a legal guardian to take care of them if you and your spouse are unable. This person will be responsible for all aspects of your children’s lives including where and how they will live.

40s: Create a Trust

In your 40s, your assets and life circumstances continue to grow and change. You may have growing children and life insurance, a mortgage and college to pay for. Or maybe you’ve gone through a divorce and become part of a blended family.

During this time, you should create a trust to ensure that if you die, your insurance money and other assets will be used to benefit your biological or non-biological children for as long as possible and not dissipated when they become legal adults.

50s: Grant Adult Children Fiduciary Responsibility

In your 50s, your priorities change. Your children are adults, your parents are aging and retirement begins to enter your mind, though it’s 10-20 years away.

At this point in your life, you probably have more assets than ever before. You may have paid off your mortgage. As your children begin their working adult lives, you no longer bear as much financial burden as you once did.

At this stage in life, you may want to update your estate plan to name your responsible adult children as fiduciaries instead of your aging parents or siblings.

60s: Update Your Trust to Accommodate Aging Parents and Descendants

When you’re in your 60s, retirement is closer than ever. You’re laser-focused on saving your assets and avoiding financial risk. You also have elderly parents nearing their end of life to care and make decisions for. If you were to become incapacitated tomorrow, you would need to make sure they were taken care of.

During this time, you should consider writing your parents into your trust so that if something were to happen to you suddenly, they would have financial help.

70s: Amend Your Estate Plan to Account for Financial Changes in Retirement

Although the majority of Americans over the age of 65 are retired, 20 percent still work full time — and this number is multiplying. Regardless of how long you work, your 70s are an excellent time to update your estate plan to accommodate personal and financial changes that have occurred since your last update.

If your estate is large, you may want to deplete your assets by gifting them to your family for tax reasons.

80s: Clarify Your Wishes and Finalize Your Legacy

In your 80s, the decisions you once made as a middle-aged adult may no longer seem appealing. At this time, you may want to clarify how you’d like to spend your remaining years in the event of incapacitation.

Some questions to consider at this age include:

• How do you feel about nursing homes versus in-home health?
• What does quality of life look like to you?
• How would you like caregivers to treat you?

You should not only communicate your wishes verbally but ensure that they are outlined clearly in your estate plan documents.

As you move through the stages of estate planning, remember that preparing now will ensure your assets are treated as you wish and save your loved ones from difficult decisions in the future.

Need help getting started with your estate planning process? Matlin Law Group can help! Contact us to learn more or request a free consultation.