Estate Planning
Whether you are rich or poor, married or single, it is vital to take steps to prepare yourself legally for incapacity and death. If you fail to prepare, someone else, maybe someone you don’t even know, will end up making decisions for you. At Elder Law & Estate Planning Attorneys of Illinois, LLC, we evaluate your concerns and family needs to address unique circumstances. Then we create a custom plan to protect your family and preserve your assets across a variety of situations.
Our experienced estate planning attorneys can address asset protection, aging adults with health concerns, and families of children with special needs.
Estate planning protects your assets from the government, potential creditors, or lawsuits, including divorce, bankruptcy, business failure, and more. Each can reduce the size of your estate and what you are able to leave to your family in the future.
Elder Law & Estate Planning Attorneys of Illinois, LLC uses a variety of legal documents, including, but not limited to:
- Wills
- Living Wills
- Trusts
- Durable Powers of Attorney for Health Care and Property
Wills
A will appoints an executor to manage your estate, pay debts, and distribute property as you have specified after you pass. It can also help establish guardians for minor children. Your family may need to go through probate proceedings.
Living Wills
A living will identifies the medical procedures you prefer for end-of-life care. It can tell your doctor whether or not you want to receive life-sustaining treatment. Since the person who created the living will is usually incapacitated, we add durable powers of attorney to give authority to another individual to make medical or financial decisions when you are unable.
Durable Powers of Attorney
A power of attorney is a legal document giving another person the authority to act for you if you become incapacitated. A durable power of attorney for property allows your agent to carry out financial tasks for you when you are unable. This might include paying your bills, managing your property, or handling other money matters. A durable power of attorney for health care lets your agent make medical decisions for you.
Illinois Revocable and Irrevocable Trusts
A trust allows a designated person, called a trustee, to hold and manage property for another person, called a beneficiary. Different kinds of Illinois trusts can help you avoid probate, reduce estate taxes, or set up long-term property management. A living revocable trust lets you arrange how you want your property managed while you are alive.
Trusts offer a great deal of flexibility and can be tailored to meet each person’s unique circumstances and issues. At Elder Law & Estate Planning Attorneys of Illinois, LLC, we can design living trusts for specific reasons, including Alzheimer’s and dementia, Parkinson’s disease, Medicaid planning, special needs planning, and addiction, to protect your loved ones.
Trusts may be used to avoid guardianship/conservatorship by using durable powers of attorney instead. They may also protect assets, like the family home, from being used to pay for long-term health care expenses. A properly drafted trust will allow beneficiaries to receive government benefits while still receiving funds from the trust.
The experienced team at Elder Law & Estate Planning Attorneys of Illinois, LLC guides you in selecting the proper estate planning tools for your situation. Each attorney has unique skills in the broad field of estate planning, including long-term care planning, guardianship, estate and trust administration, and probate litigation in Illinois. Schedule a consultation with one of our experienced attorneys to protect what matters for your family.
CONTACT US or call (847)253-7500 to schedule an appointment.
Client Testimonials
At all times he was and is today honest, a man of great knowledge and wisdom in the legal field... Having him as our family Legal Advisor for any situation is comforting. It is a great pleasure that I recommend the services of James C. Siebert, Attorney at Law.
Maria W
How would you rate Mr. Siebert’s legal expertise? Excellent Throughout your representation were your questioned answered in a timely and courteous manner? Yes, Mr. Siebert and his entire staff were extremely helpful. Would you recommend Mr. Siebert to your family, friends or acquaintances? Yes and we have
Joe S
How would you rate Mr. Siebert’s legal expertise? Very high he speaks in on easy to understand so you are immediately at ease. How would you rate the quality of our legal services provided? Very high Would you recommend Mr. Siebert to your family, friends or acquaintances? Yes and have
Gale K
My wife and I appreciate the time you have taken out of your day to help with other issues such as estate planning, wills and other personal issues. We both admire your legal expertise ... You have the integrity that is not seen from many lawyers in this day and age and have always been so willing to help us in our times of need
Michael S
I would like to express my heartfelt thanks for attending to my brother, Josef’s immediate needs and my peace of mind in preparing the legal aspects of our needs.
George W.
