Posted on October 10, 2022 in Estate Planning

Yorkville and Oswego IL Estate Planning Attorneys

What is a Last Will and Testament?

A Last Will and Testament is a written, legal document that expresses a person’s wishes as to how their property (known as their estate) should be distributed after they pass. A Last Will and Testament also designates a person (known as the Executor) to manage the estate until it is fully distributed. When the creator of the Will dies, the Will must then go through a time-consuming and often costly process called probate court.

What is Probate Court?

Probate is the legal process that a person’s estate must go through when they die either with a Last Will and Testament or when they have no legal estate planning documents stating how they wish their estate to be distributed (this is called intestate). Probate court oversees the transfer of the estate’s property to the deceased person’s heirs, according to state law. When a deceased person does have a Will, the court must first authenticate the Will and then authorize the Executor of the Will to pay any leftover expenses from the estate and then distribute remaining estate property according to the terms of the Will.

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 Posted on October 07, 2022 in Trust Administration

What is a Trust?

A Trust is a legal instrument, which holds title to property, subject to certain obligations, rights, and restrictions placed on the property. A Trust is fiduciary relationship in which a party (Trust Maker) establishes a Trust that gives another party (Trustee) the right to manage property that the Trust owns.

What is a Trustee?

A Trustee is a person or entity that is appointed by the Trust Maker (the person or couple that created the Trust) to manage their assets and property. Generally, the Trustee is the same person(s) that creates the Trust for their benefit for estate planning purposes. The Trust instrument or otherwise known as the "Trust Agreement" creates the Trust until they (the creators of the Trust and Trustees of the Trust) are unable to fulfill the role of Trustee. The Trust Agreement will typically pass trust administration to a person(s) or entity upon the Trust Maker’s incapacity or death.

At the time of incapacity or death, the role of administration changes to a Successor Trustee. A Successor Trustee is by and large a trusted family member or friend. The Successor Trustee administers the instructions outlined by the Trust Agreement. The Trust Agreement is a legal document created by the persons wishing estate planning for their family. The goal of the Trust is to avoid probate court and create a smooth transition upon a death or incapacity. People create trust because they want their loved ones to have an easy process if something happens to them.

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 Posted on October 04, 2022 in Estate Planning

When we think about what goes in a Will or Trust we usually think about physical assets, such as property and family heirlooms. However, as time goes on and technology advances, more and more of our assets become digital. Before learning why digital assets are so important to put in your Will or Trust, you need to know what qualifies as a digital asset.

What Is a Digital Asset?

Digital assets are all assets that exist online. These digital assets may have tangible financial value, but they also may not.  Some examples of digital assets may include: 

• any of your social media accounts, 

• pictures or music you may have online or in another digital form, 

• online investment accounts,

• online bank accounts, 

• funds you are owed by an online business (such as Amazon or Etsy), 

• any type of virtual currency (bitcoin or other), 

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