630-665-2500
128D S. County Farm Road, Wheaton, IL 60187
Recent Blog Posts
Home Sales Post-Divorce
According to The American Institute of Stress and the Holmes-Rahe Stress Inventory, divorce is the second-most stressful thing a person can go through; second only to the death of a spouse. Marital separation is third on the list of the most stressful things a person can go through. Not far down on the list (#28) is a "major change in living condition," which, incidentally, usually happens during a divorce. Selling a home during or after a divorce, then, is one of the most stressful and difficult things a person can go through—especially if there are children involved. Oftentimes, more often if the divorcing couple has kids, people will opt to keep the home of un-wedded un-bliss, despite the emotional baggage it may carry.
If one member of the couple decides to keep the house, it can be an easier situation. In many divorces, as Deborah Innocenti, a real estate agent in New Jersey told the Chicago Tribune, "listing the home becomes another huge symbol of their losses," which can lead to not only increased emotional stress but financial stress as well. Yet many couples cannot afford to pay a mortgage on a house intended to be paid by two working adults; thus selling the house is the only option.
Including Pets in Your Estate Plans
Including your pets in your estate plan is a very important concept that can help to protect your furry family members if something happens to you. In Texas recently, two dogs were spotted roaming the streets for several months after their owner died. The dogs were seen by one community member, Geri Alexander, who finally took the dogs, named Ellie and Hannah, into her home to provide care. Alexander found the dogs emaciated near a discount store and took them to a local veterinarian, where she discovered that the micro chipped pets belonged to a now-deceased owner. The dogs had been in the woman's backyard when she passed away from a heart attack at a local hospital.
A comprehensive estate plan may include a will, trusts, medical directives, and powers of attorney. Including plans for pets, however, is something that many individuals don't think about. Determining where your pets fit into your estate plans can be discussed with your DuPage County attorney, and it can include ideas as simple as carrying around a card with the names of and details about your pets. If someone uncovers this information and something has happened to you, your pets may get some attention and comfort much more quickly. Those who wish to include more specific details should consider setting up a specific trust to fund the care of the animals.
Divorce Unhealthy For Men
There have been many studies linking health and relationship status. One such study, reported by Forbes earlier this year, found that marriage could be linked to success in the business world. "Leading a company," reports Forbes, "takes vision and major commitment, not unlike marriage—and being happily married translates very well into the boardroom." This is fueled in part because marriage has long been linked to living longer, and living longer means that "you can accomplish more goals." Marriage, found researchers at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, can also have a significant impact on mortality rates: "non-married women," reports Forbes, "have a 50 percent higher mortality rate than married women while non-married men have a remarkable 250 percent higher mortality rate than married men." Which brings up an obvious quandary: is divorce unhealthy?
Should I Use An Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust?
It's very likely that during a conversation about estate planning that life insurance has come up as a topic. As a tool for planning for your family, life insurance can be a cornerstone of your financial plan, giving your family a sense of security in case something happens to you. When chosen properly and combined with an irrevocable life insurance trust drafted by your attorney, you can ensure that your family will remain safe and protected in the future.
An irrevocable life insurance trust is one way to protect the proceeds from any life insurance policies you own at death being included in your estate. If the policy owner was able to withdraw cash value and alter the beneficiary, then the IRS views this as "incidents of ownership" and state taxing authorities and the IRS can step in to tax proceeds at death.
This specific type of trust is designed entirely for life insurance policies. You can transfer the ownership of the life insurance policies to the Trustee of your ILIT, therefore giving up "incidents of ownership" and protecting the proceeds from your policies from being taxed.
Family Mediation
When a couple decides to get divorced, it tends not to be because they are getting along great together. Along with the emotional and financial turmoil that must be dealt with, the couple is also forced to come together to decide what will be best for the children. If that cannot be accomplished, a mediator can help to help them resolve their issues and come up with a plan before proceeding to court.
When the couple goes to meet with the mediator, each person gets a chance to speak about what he or she would like as an outcome of the session. The mediator then, simply, facilitates the discussion between the parties until they have a accomplished a compromise on everything that needed deciding.
When couples go to mediation, it is usually one session that is ordered by the court. Both parties must be there for the entire length of time that it may take to formalize an agreement. That may be anywhere from two to three hours.
Illinois Marital Settlement Agreements
A previous blog touched on the importance of prenuptial agreements in facilitating property division during a divorce. However, it is also true that many couples do not execute prenuptial agreements, leaving property division to the judicial process.
Once couples decide to file for divorce, property division is usually the most contentious issue second to child custody. Illinois contains specific guidelines that a judge must consider in determining how to divide the marital estate. The crux of this determination focuses on defining the marital estate and how to divide said estate.
However, the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act allows (encourages) couples to reach out-of-court agreements that divide the property. Parties find these out-of-court settlements appealing because they tend to avoid protracted litigation and allow them to reach an agreement that is more agreeable than a court-mandated distribution. A settlement agreement also allows the parties to focus on forging a normal post-divorce relationship instead of harboring rancor that usually follows a court-mandated property division.
Trusts, Estate Tax, and Exemptions: The Basics
The term "estate planning" throws some people off because of its association with the very wealthy. Yet estate planning is just as important for families without large financial reserves. According to CNN Money, "such a plan ensures that your family and financial goals are met after you die"—and that's something every family can get behind. CNN Money cites that an estate plan is made up of three major elements: a will, the choosing of a power of attorney, and a living will (sometimes called a medical power of attorney). Every person's estate plan will be different, depending on individual needs, and this is why it's important to work with a qualified attorney to find out what's best for you and your family.
Sometimes a trust, "legal mechanisms that let you put conditions on how and when your assets will be distributed upon your death," is an important addition to estate planning because they allow the reduction of your estate and gift taxes. Trustees will exact the trust. According to the Illinois Trusts and Trustees Act, a trustee can be "appointed by or pursuant to the instrument creating the trust, by order of court or otherwise, and includes an individual and a corporation qualified to administer trusts in this State." The trustee will have access to all processes regarding the estate and estate plan, upon death or incapacitation of the trust's owner.
Siblings Linked to Lower Divorce Rate
There are many non-obvious or secondary factors that contribute to divorce. Several studies have linked divorce to all sorts of personality traits, pre-marriage behavior, and family situations. One such study, conducted by the University of Minnesota and reported upon by the Huffington Post, even went as far as to suggest that women who carry designer handbags are less likely to experience their husband cheating. The study's co-researcher Yajin Wang explained it this way to the Huffington Post: "a woman who is wearing luxury items and designer brands is perceived to have a more devoted partner and as a result other women are less likely to flirt with him." Wang went on to say that when a woman feels threatened by another women, she's likely to want to flash luxury items as a means of establishing her dominance. Not all studies are quite this dependent on external factors, however.
Special Needs Trusts
Many people do not think about planning for their estate until they reach middle-age, but life is different for people with disabilities. Many people create trusts in their older age to clearly state what will be done with their money, assets and other belongings, along with funeral and death arrangements.
Special needs trusts provide for the needs of disabled people without creating a situation in which the disabled person loses government benefits such as Social Security and Medicaid. Special needs trusts appoint a trustee, just like any other trust, to be in charge of making sure everything goes correctly as stated in the trust.
The World institute on Disability has also helped to clarify a concern of many people who have a disabled family member. The government says that disabled people who receive government benefits cannot have trusts, however, a special needs trust does not belong to the special needs person.
The special needs person is only nominated as a beneficiary of the trust by the trustee, who establishes and administers the trust.
Conservation Easements as an Estate Planning Option
A conservation easement is a legal agreement between a property owner and a conservation land trust or a government agency that specifies certain restrictions about the use or development of that land. Landowners are still permitted to use the land and are also allowed to sell or bequeath to their heirs. In addition to protecting wildlife, conservation easements can be a valuable estate planning option as well.
Conservation easements are flexible documents and can be drafted to satisfy both the property owner's needs and the wildlife protection. And the easements are permanent, meaning they stay in place even when/if the land is sold.
According to the Land Trust Alliance, there are many tax benefits, including real estate taxes and income tax deductions, associated with conservation easements.
- Property taxes - The value of the easement is calculated by taking the difference between the present value of the property and what the value of the land would be if developed. This can reduce the value of the property by 30 to 90 percent, depending on the location. This reduction in the value of the property can mean a significant savings in property taxes.
Contact Our Firm
The use of the Internet or this form for communication with the firm or any individual member of the firm does not establish an attorney-client relationship. Confidential or time-sensitive information should not be sent through this form.
I have read and understand the Disclaimer and Privacy Policy.
