Estate Planning

Do I Really Need A Living Trust? A geriatric social worker recently shared with us a conversation he had with an older woman who attends the senior program the social worker manages. The older woman, who I will refer to as Mrs. G, told the social worker that she attended a free seminar on living […]

Digital Assets Can Raise Estate Planning Issues More and more, we are conducting our business on the Internet, whether that’s online banking, shopping, uploading documents and files to the “cloud,” posting videos, or communicating with ‘long lost’ friends. So, what happens to all of our accounts and files when we become incapacitated or pass away?

Choosing Your Fiduciaries In planning your estate, among the most important decisions you will make will be your choice of those persons who will be your fiduciaries – the persons you will entrust with your financial well-being and personal health decisions. Those fiduciary positions are your agents under power of attorney for property and power

A Planning Guide For Parents With Children Who Have Special Needs Below are action items to take when you have a child, of any age, who has special needs. Personal Information Keep all of your records and your child’s personal information (name, nicknames, date and place of birth, phone numbers, Medicare number, Medicaid number, addresses,

ABLE Accounts Come To Illinois   “ABLE” Accounts are a recent creation of federal law designed for individuals with disabilities to allow them to have a tax-free savings account which does not affect eligibility for public benefit programs such as SSI and Medicaid. States must establish the ABLE Account Programs. The new Illinois ABLE Account

A Guide To Special Needs Trusts   Why Create a Special Needs Trust? A Special Needs Trust can be an important tool for a disabled individual who is, or may become eligible, for Supplemental Security Income or Medicaid but has excess assets preventing eligibility. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is the Social Security program that grants

A Checklist For Beginning Estate Administration   Important Papers: Locate and review all of the decedent’s important papers as soon as possible after death. Important papers include funeral arrangements, anatomical gift directions, deeds, accounts & investment statements, wills, trusts, land trusts, gift list that may be referred to in a will or trust document, bonds,