Recent Blog Posts
Who Counts as My Child in Illinois Inheritance Law?
Children are often the people those making an estate plan are most concerned with protecting. Before you begin working on an estate plan, it is important to understand who would or would not be counted as your child. Under intestacy law, the definition of a child is fairly rigid and cannot be altered. Modern family dynamics can be complicated, and it is quite common for children to be raised by someone other than their biological mother and father. The legal definition of a child may not encompass everyone who you consider to be your son or daughter.
The language used in your estate planning documents is very important and cannot be left ambiguous. If your family situation is complex and you are not sure whether an individual is legally your child for inheritance purposes, it is best to consult with a qualified estate planning attorney.
Who Is Considered One of My Children For Estate and Inheritance Purposes?
You probably have a fairly clear-cut idea in your head of who you consider yourself a parent to. Whether you belong to a large blended family or a small nuclear family, you know who you want to be counted as your child for inheritance purposes. If your idea of who your children are does not match the legal definition, you will need to use language in your estate planning documents to specify how you define “child.”
What is a "Survivorship Period"?
Pairs of people who are each other’s next of kin, such as a married couple, often leave everything to each other in their estate plans. The idea is that when the first passes away, the second will inherit and enjoy the estate until she too passes away. Sadly, sometimes a couple passes away at the same time, for example, in a car accident. However, it is unlikely that both people died at exactly the same moment. Odds are, one person survived longer than the other - maybe by a few seconds, maybe by a few weeks.
The problem for estate administrators is sorting out who inherits the estate of the person who died first when the person who dies second does not live long enough to claim the first person’s estate. Survivorship period laws simply require that the beneficiary of an estate outlive the decedent by a certain amount of time before benefiting from the estate.
Is Divorce in Illinois Different for Gay Couples?
Same-sex couples in Illinois get married with high hopes of long-term marital success. Unfortunately, staying married forever is not always possible and divorce becomes necessary. Since same-sex marriage became legal in the United States, the divorce process for same-sex couples is usually the same as ending a marriage for heterosexual couples.
Regardless of the gender of your spouse, it is important to understand the divorce process so you can make your divorce as smooth and fair as possible.
The Divorce Process in Illinois
Before a couple can get divorced in Illinois, one spouse must be a resident of Illinois. To be a resident, a person must have lived in Illinois for the past 90 days or, if they are an active duty member of the military, must have been stationed there the past 90 days. If children are involved, the children must have been residents for at least six months.
What is the Difference Between a Will and a Trust?
While wills and trusts are both ways to pass money and property to your survivors, there are a few major differences. For example, a will has no effect until the testator has passed away, while a trust takes effect immediately. Many strong estate plans use a combination of a will and a trust, or trusts, as a way to make sure everything is covered. It is important to work closely with a qualified estate planning attorney, who can help you determine whether your ideal estate plan includes a will, trust, or both.
What are the Major Differences Between Wills and Trusts?
When you begin working on your estate plan, your attorney will discuss the benefits and drawbacks of both wills and trusts to help you decide what is best for your individual situation. A few key differences are:
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Timing - A will and trust take effect at different times. A living trust may immediately transfer ownership of any property you place in the trust to the trust. A will, on the other hand, has no legal effect whatsoever until you have passed away.
Will Getting Remarried Affect Child Support Payments?
Different states have different methods for handling child support when either parent remarries. Illinois uses a method known as the “income shares model” to determine each parent’s financial obligation to their children and whether one parent must pay the other monthly child support. Parents’ incomes and the parenting time they have are the primary factors of child support payment calculations. Because remarriage potentially affects the remarried parent’s overall financial situation, either parent, paying or receiving, could request that child support payments be modified by an Illinois court.
Remarriage as Grounds For Child Support Modification
If the parent with the majority of parenting time gets remarried, the other parent - the one making the child support payments - may request a modification. Although the spouse of the remarried parent has no legal obligation to help pay for the children, having a second household income reduces the remarried parent’s financial burdens and gives them more disposable income to provide for the children.
Can I Change My Attorney During a Divorce in Illinois?
Although getting divorced is never easy, the divorce process can quickly become a nightmare if your attorney has become non-responsive or shows up to meetings unprepared. Besides the expense of hiring an unhelpful attorney, you may now be faced with the additional burden of finding and hiring someone else.
But before you decide to change your divorce attorney, it is important to set clear expectations so you know what could change and what will likely stay the same. There are certain things you can expect of your attorney, but some frustrations with the divorce process are natural and will happen no matter how great your lawyer is.
When is Hiring a New Attorney a Good Idea?
Although anyone can generally fire their attorney for any reason or no reason at all, you will be more likely to experience a smooth transition if you take certain steps first. Firing your attorney without having a new attorney already may lead to delays in your case and difficulty getting information transferred to your new lawyer.
When Should I Update My Estate Plan?
If you have already created estate planning documents, but it has been years since you looked at or thought about them, it might be time to speak to an estate planning attorney about updating them. You may find that your circumstances or wishes have changed substantially since the last time you looked at your will, trust, or healthcare planning documents. Even if you are confident that your estate planning documents still accurately reflect your wishes, laws change over time that may affect your estate. It is always a good idea to periodically review your estate plan with an attorney’s help to ensure everything is in order.
When is it Time to Review my Estate Plan With a Lawyer?
A variety of life changes may trigger you to want to update your will or trust, or other documents like your Healthcare Power of Attorney and Advance Directives. It may be time to see an attorney about your estate plan when any of the following changes occur:
Mediation vs. Collaborative Divorce: Is There a Difference?
If you are getting divorced but the thought of spending hours in court negotiating with your spouse makes you queasy, there are other options. In fact, only a small percentage of Illinois divorces are actually litigated in court because the alternatives to litigation have so many advantages.
This article looks at the two primary alternatives to divorce litigation: mediation and collaborative divorce. Although they are similar, mediation and collaborative divorce are not the same, and it is important to understand their differences, so you know whether one of these options is right for you.
What is Mediation?
In an Illinois divorce, mediation is a negotiation process involving two spouses and an impartial third-party mediator. Mediators are trained professionals who can guide spouses through negotiations about important issues such as the division of marital property, parenting time, and spousal support. Mediators are skilled in conflict resolution and can help spouses keep hostility to a minimum. Although each spouse usually still has an attorney, the attorneys are not a part of the mediation process.
Estate Planning With High-Value or Complex Assets
While estate planning is important for everyone, it is especially so for high-net-worth individuals. If you own high-value or complex assets, a number of estate planning tools are available to ensure that your wealth is distributed according to your wishes while minimizing your Illinois Estate and Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax liability. The greater the value of your estate, the greater the potential liabilities. An experienced attorney can craft an estate plan designed to preserve your wealth.
Minimizing Taxes During Estate Distribution
Generally, trusts are favored over wills. Trusts serve one very important purpose-- avoiding probate. Probate can be costly and complicated, and it significantly diminishes your estate’s value. There are two types of trusts: revocable and irrevocable. Often, both are used to hold different assets and to serve different purposes.
Parenting Tips for a Successful School Year After Divorce
Getting used to parenting with your kids in two separate households is a difficult but necessary task for many families adjusting to life after divorce. The start of a new school year puts additional responsibilities on parents as they try to arrange schedules, buy supplies, and manage expenses.
Thinking ahead is crucial for creating an adequate parenting plan. Having a plan in place can help a family transition into the academic year much more smoothly. Whether you have been divorced for years or are still going through a divorce, here are some things to consider addressing in your parenting plan as your children start school.
Share Unexpected Expenses
Child support is generally expected to cover a child’s cost of living at one home, but school can add extra unanticipated expenses. Extracurricular activities, books, and fees for tests and college-level courses can add up quickly.
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