Planning for the future takes on a heightened importance if you are the parent of a child with special needs. As a parent, you undoubtedly want to provide for your child, both while you are here and after you are gone. Doing so, however, takes careful planning when your child has special needs because consideration must be given to your child’s continued eligibility for state and federal assistance programs. The key to ensuring that your child will benefit from both your assets and the assistance of programs such as Medicaid and Supplemental Security Insurance (SSI) is to work with a [Read more…]
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How to Choose the Right Trustee for Your Waukegan Trust Administration
One of the most popular, and versatile, estate planning tools is a trust. A trust can help you achieve numerous estate planning goals, including asset protection, incapacity planning, probate avoidance, and long-term care planning, among others. No matter which type of trust you choose to include in your estate plan, you will need to appoint someone as the Trustee to administer the trust. Because your choice of Trustee will greatly contribute to the success, or failure, of your trust, you may find the following advice on choosing the right Trustee for your Waukegan trust administration helpful. What Is Involved in [Read more…]
Probate Attorneys Explain a No Contest Clause
If you have a Last Will and Testament in place, you undoubtedly executed your Will as a way to ensure that your wishes with regard to the disposition of your estate assets would be honored after you are gone. Unfortunately, even a flawlessly drafted and properly executed Will cannot ensure that loved ones won’t challenge your Will. There are, however, some steps you can take to decrease the likelihood of litigation during the probate of your estate. Including a no contest clause in your Will is a simple, yet often effective, option. The probate attorneys at Hedeker Law, Ltd. explain [Read more…]
Lincolnshire Estate Planning Lawyers Explain How a Life Insurance Trust Can Help
Although every estate plan is as unique as the person who creates the plan, there are some estate planning tools and strategies that are commonly found in an estate plan. A trust is at the top of that list. Although once used almost exclusively by very wealthy families as a way to pass down the family fortune without paying taxes on the transfer, both the law and trusts have evolved over time to the point where the average person can benefit from including a trust in his/her estate plan. One specific type of trust, a life insurance trust, can be [Read more…]
Children with Special Needs Sparkled at the 4th Annual “Night to Shine” Prom
If you are the parent of a child with special needs you are undoubtedly familiar with both the unguarded joy they bring to a family as well as the struggles they frequently face trying to figure out where they fit in with their peers. High school can be particularly difficult for a child with special needs when physical and/or mental disabilities prevent them from taking part in common teenage rights of passage. Prom night used to be a perfect example; however, thanks to the efforts of the Tim Tebow Foundation, along with thousands of volunteers, teenagers (14 and older) with [Read more…]
What Estate Planning Attorneys Want You to Know
When asked, most people will admit to understanding the importance of having an estate plan in place as well as understanding the purpose of an estate plan. Despite this, over half of all Americans do not have a plan in place. One of the most commonly given reasons for the lack of planning boils down to the simple fact that estate planning is a rather mysterious concept that can be intimidating for the uninitiated. In an effort to encourage more people to get started with their estate plan by taking some of the mystery out of the process, the estate [Read more…]
Lincolnshire Probate Attorneys Explain Probate Avoidance Strategies
Although every person who creates an estate plan has a unique set of needs and objectives in mind, a common estate planning goal is probate avoidance. There are several reasons why avoiding probate is so desirable, including the desire to save both time and money as well as a wish to keep the details of your estate plan private. If probate avoidance is one of your estate planning goals, the Lincolnshire probate attorneys at Hedeker Law, Ltd. explain some common strategies to help you better understand how you can reach that goal. What Is Probate and Why Might I Want [Read more…]
Step by Step Guide by Probate Attorneys
The odds are very good that you will be required to oversee the probate of an estate at some point in your life. If that time is now because someone close to you recently passed away, and you have never before served as a Personal Representative, you are likely feeling a little intimidated by the prospect. In addition, if you are still grieving the loss of your loved one it can be difficult to focus on your job as Personal Representative. To help you get started and provide some direction, the probate attorneys at Hedeker Law, Ltd. have put together [Read more…]
Waukegan Trust Administration Attorneys Warn against Pitfalls
Because of the numerous and varied estate planning goals a trust can help achieve, it is very common to see at least one trust agreement in the average estate plan. One thing that all trusts have in common is the need for a Trustee to administer the trust. The Trustee is appointed by the Settlor (the creator of the trust) at the time the trust is established. If you have been appointed the Trustee of a trust, and have never before served as a Trustee, you will soon find that a Trustee has a wide range of duties and responsibilities. [Read more…]
Trust Administration and the Testamentary Trust
Most people choose to execute a Last Will and Testament as the foundation for their estate plan. As they build on that plan they add additional estate planning tools and strategies to the plan. One of the most common additions to a comprehensive estate plan is a trust agreement. If you are the parent of a minor child, for example, you may wish to add a testamentary trust to your plan as a way to protect your minor child’s inheritance in the event something happens to you before your child reaches adulthood. If you do decide to include a testamentary [Read more…]
