Practice Areas

A Will is a legal document that controls a person’s property at death. To be valid in Illinois, it must be written by someone over the age of 18 and witnessed by two people. Additionally, you can nominate a guardian for your minor children or adult disabled children in your Will.

Trusts are agreements where you are the Grantor (creator of the trust) and Trustee (holds legal title to the property). A trustee holds and manages property for you and your beneficiaries. Trusts are private and can be used to manage your assets in the event you become disabled as well as after you have died.

One main difference between a Will and a Trust is that a Will goes into effect only after you die, while a Trust takes effect as soon as you create it. A Will disposes of property that is in your name alone when you die. It does not cover property held in joint tenancy or in a Trust. A Trust, on the other hand, covers only property that has been transferred to the Trust. A Will must be probated, meaning that it becomes a public record and a Court oversees its administration. A Trust on the other hand, passes outside of probate, so a Court does not need to oversee the process, which can save time and money. Unlike a Will, a Trust can remain private.

A Power of Attorney for property allows you as the principal to appoint an agent who has the authority to act on your behalf to manage your assets.

A Living Will is a declaration of how you prefer to be treated when death is imminent.

A Power of Attorney for Health Care is used when the principal cannot make any medical decisions due to a temporary or permanent condition. Conversely, a Living Will speaks only when your agent is not able to and only addresses your condition if you are terminally ill.

Taking care of a pet requires both physical and emotional care. You can name guardians for your pets in either your Will or Trust. Furthermore, you should consider leaving the guardian funds to help for the care (food, vet visits, etc.) of your furry friends!

In addition to caring for the Ward, a Guardian will need to make regular reports of the Ward’s condition to the Court.

A Guardian of the Estate is appointed by the Court for a person who cannot make responsible financial decisions (a disabled person or Ward). The Guardian controls everything a Ward owns, including real property, money, bank accounts, cars, etc. The Guardian has a duty to maintain, manage, and conservatively invest the Ward’s estate. The Ward’s assets must be kept completely separate from the Guardian’s. The Guardian has the obligation to keep detailed records of all transactions in and out of the Ward’s estate. Additionally, the Guardian is required to report to the Court about the Ward’s estate on a continuing basis – usually annually.

Guardianship of a minor is appropriate when the minor has a parent who is unable to make and carry out day-to-day child care decisions or when the minor has received significant funds from sources such as an inheritance or a lawsuit.

I understand that pursuing a guardianship to help protect the best interests of someone with a disability is often challenging and emotional. I do my best to make this process approachable and be as helpful as possible.

Testate means the person who died had a Will and named an Executor to handle the administration of the Will.

Intestate means the person died without a Will. The person approved by the Court to handle the administration is known as an Administrator.

The person named as Successor Trustee will manage your assets for your benefit. For example, the Successor Trustee will manage the Trust assets and make sure bills and expenses are paid.

Your Trust becomes irrevocable. The person named as Trustee will manage your Trust assets for your beneficiaries and according to the wishes you set forth in your Trust. The Trustee is required to file taxes on behalf of the Trust and provide Accountings of his or her actions to the beneficiaries.

This depends on how much you want to limit your legal liability, tax implications, costs for set-up and maintenance, flexibility of the various entities and your future needs. A CPA should also be consulted in selecting your business entity.

Using a form on the Internet is easy, cheap and free. But you also get what you pay for. You run the risk of: (1) selecting the wrong form; (2) omitting key provisions; (3) not tailoring it to your situation; (4) it containing law from another state; or (5) it just being plain bad!

A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol, and/or design that identifies and distinguishes goods of one party from another. A copyright protects an original work you have created, including but not limited to: books, songs, movies, artwork, etc.