Trusts and Wills Lawyer – Bates Law Office – 501 Jackson Avenue – Charleston, IL – Call 217-512-1847

Trusts

When it comes to considering your future and plans to protect your loved ones, you’ve probably heard about trusts. Trusts are a popular tool for estate planning in Illinois. When established properly, a trust will provide with control over how your assets will be distributed after you die. Additionally, a trust can allow some of your properties to pass on to your loved ones directly without any oversight from a probate court. This helps to streamline the slow and often expensive probate process, which helps make a challenging time in their lives less stressful. Trusts can be utilized to help safeguard your family’s privacy while providing support for minor age children or adult family members with special needs. Trusts are a versatile planning tool that can help you fulfill your goals in a variety of circumstances.

Call our law office to speak with an attorney about how creating a trust can be a very useful part of your estate plan.

Wills

A will is essentially a legal document which instructs how want distribution of your assets to proceed after you pass away. Note that a will is “fluid” in that it does not take effect until after your death. You can make changes to your will at any time. However, for a will to be valid, it has to be in compliance with the requirements of Illinois law.

A will generally will include specific instructions regarding how you want to distribute your estate. This
includes making provisions for personal properties you own like vehicles, jewelry or furniture, for example. You can also name someone to serve as a guardian for your children if they are minors. Your will can indicate what resources will be utilized to pay remaining debts and taxes and name an executor to oversee settlement of your estate.

To consult with a wills and trusts attorney at our law office, call 217-512-1847.