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Recent Blog Posts
Who Is Austin Fleming?
The Chicago Estate Planning Council, which has been around since 1938, is comprised of attorneys, financial planners, trust officers, chartered life underwriters, etc. Every year, they present the Austin Fleming award to an estate planner who has helped improve estate planning practices in Chicago and the surrounding counties.
But this brings about the question of who Austin Fleming was, in relation to estate planning. Austin Fleming started making a legal name for himself back in 1929, when he co-authored an article in the Michigan Law Review, debating whether a judgment concludes non-partners of whose interests the plaintiff had no notice. Fleming wrote articles pertaining to many legal aspects up until his death in 1979, touching on topics that are still important today (apportionment of estate taxes and the varying standards of prudence applicable to fiduciaries, for example).
Things You Should Do Before Asking for that Divorce
In an article for My Care 1, Suzanne Cramer, a certified credit counselor, offered financial tips for people who are getting ready to ask their spouse for a divorce. Cramer says it's important to begin to "protect yourself from losing things that are rightfully yours and falling into a financial black hole."
Cramer advises people to withdraw half the funds from any savings account and deposit the money into an individual account. The money shouldn't be touched until the final divorce division is determined by the court. She advises people not to touch the funds in a joint checking account, since these funds may be used to pay household bills and withdrawing money could cause checks to bounce and late payment penalties to add up.
She also recommends saving your money for future expenses, such as security deposits in case you have to move.
All credit card limits should be canceled or reduced. This protects you if your spouse decides to go on a spending spree once they learn of the impending divorce. This is also a good time to begin building up your own credit, in your own name.
Probate and Ways to Avoid Probate
When people die with wills there are still accounts to settle. Probate is a court process which distributes and manages your estate according to your terms. It sounds like it should be an easy transition but in reality probate can take anywhere between 3 months to 2 years.
There are also costs associated with probate proceedings. The list of costs comprises; appraisal fees, bond premiums, attorney and accountant fees, executor's fees, publication costs for legal notices, and court costs. In Illinois, there are numerous options available to make this transition easier for your loved ones by avoiding probate altogether.
Living trusts offer a way to avoid probate for nearly every asset. It requires a trust document which is similar to a will. This document names a trustee who will be responsible for transferring your estate to your beneficiaries and avoid probate.
Top Reasons to Seek a Divorce
There are many reasons to seek a divorce ranging from physical to emotional. The most commonly cited reasons include lack of commitment, arguing too much and infidelity. That is according to a survey conducted by researchers at the National Fatherhood Initiative.
The survey found that 73% of respondents cited lack of commitment as the reason they become divorced. When things get tough, one spouse decides that it is not worth working through. That is apparent considering that 62% of respondents said that they wished their spouse would've worked harder to save their marriage. 35% of men wished they had personally tried harder compared to 21% of women.
The second reason to divorce is arguing too much. Any relationship will have disagreements, but arguing about everything makes it harder to say that it's worth it. It becomes even harder when the arguments don't have any resolution. It is a sign that both partners are being one-sided and failing to think of the other's perspective.
Study Shows That Heavy Drinking Leads to Divorce
The LA Times is reporting that a new study that looked at data collected from almost 20,000 married couples in Norway concluded that alcohol consumption by each spouse directly affects the divorce rate of the couple. More specifically, couples who had about the same levels of alcohol consumption were less likely to divorce than those couples with one spouse who was a heavy drinker, and especially if the heavy drinker happened to be the wife. Likewise, couples who consumed more alcohol in general were more likely to divorce than those couples who considered themselves to be lighter drinkers.
The Norwegian Institute of Public Health researchers found that divorce was statistically more common among couples who had high rates of alcohol consumption, with a divorce rate of 17.2%. However, the highest divorce rate of 26.8% was found in marriages in which the wife reported being the heavy drinker, as opposed to a divorce rate of 13.1% for couples in which the husband was reported to be the heavy drinker. At the other end of the spectrum, couples in which both spouses were light drinkers had only a 5.8% divorce rate.
The Importance of a Health Care Proxy
Most people do not like to consider decisions that may need to be made later on in life when in comes to the failing health of themselves or even a loved one. This apprehension sometimes leads to the actual avoidance of any advanced planning. A report in the South Coast Today stresses the necessity of having a health care proxy in place.
One of the things that can be especially frustrating is when a doctor does not agree to follow the patient's wishes. One instance of this kind of thing taking place is when invoking a health care proxy. A health care proxy is a process that designates a person to make decisions that are medical in nature when the patient is no longer able to do so. The patient being cared for has to be deemed incompetent by the heath care professional before the proxy can be invoked.
Deeming whether or not someone incompetent is especially difficult when the person is still awake and somewhat coherent. When a doctor does not agree that the patient is incompetent, what options does the family have? There are several options that can be exercised before going straight for the legal option. One option is to ask the patient if it is okay for the family to take part in medical discussions with the staff. This, of course, should be done in the presence of the attending physician or other legal personnel. The other option is to have a HIPPA release signed. While this does not give the family the right to take part in medical decisions, it will assist the family in keeping up to date and informed with everything that is going on.
The Basics of A Living Will | Illinois Estate Planning Lawyer
Estate planning can be daunting, even to the most seasoned money-maker and mover. Setting up an estate plan is admitting mortality, and many people shy away from it solely because they fear what it implies. Yet having an estate plan shouldn't be looked at as preparation for death—it's preparation for the lives of your loved ones after you're gone. There are several aspects of estate planning, and each step of the way can be a complicated one. The most important first step is to contact an estate planning attorney who can walk you through the process.
One aspect of estate planning is a living will or a health-care proxy, which, according to CNN Money Magazine, is also known as an advance medical directive. A living will is a "statement of your wishes for the kind of life-sustaining medical intervention you want, or don't want, in the even that you become terminally ill and unable to communicate," according to CNN Money Magazine. Many people fear becoming so ill that their lives are only sustained by artificial means such as life support, and would rather check out, so to speak, than breath through an apparatus. Others would rather hold out hope until the very end. The only way to let your loved ones know legally which you'd prefer is through a living will.
Bad Communication Leads to Divorce
The idea that communication is key to happiness in marriage is pretty conventional, and the fact that a couple must be able to communicate well is a given. According to Dr. John Gottman of the University of Washington and reported in Psychology Today, communication is by far the most important aspect of a marriage—and this includes not just what's said, but how things are said. The best predictor of a failed marriage, states Gottman, "is when one of both partners show contempt in the relationship."
Contempt, or disrespect, "is often expressed via negative judgment, criticism, or sarcasm regarding the worth of an individual," according to Psychology Today. Gottman believes that there are four major types of communication that (intentionally or not) show contempt to a partner. Knowing how this attitude is conveyed is the first step to avoiding it, and having an understanding of what can break apart a marriage is important both in marriage and divorce.
Celebrating Divorce
While divorce is becoming more and more common these days, people are beginning to have a celebration for it. The actual technical term for these so-called celebration parties is "unbridled showers." They are similar to a bridal shower but for after the divorce, instead. Whatever your ex took from your house would be the gifts that people would bring you at the unbridled shower, just like a bride getting new things for her home.
A recent divorcee had one of these parties and gave an interview with The New York Times about his experience. Mr. Carling said that the party gave him a feeling that he would be able to move past his divorce with the help of his close and intimate friends.
While you cannot necessarily register for your divorce party, you can hire a planner. And planners of high-end parties have said that there has been a greater increase of people calling to celebrate the end of their marriage. There are even specialists in divorce-party planning and even a website where you can "celebrate your new freedom." People, however, don't pinpoint them as divorce parties but as a party to celebrate their new life.
How to Amend a Will
If you have executed a document as your last will and testament correctly, it will last through to the time you die, unless you choose to revoke or amend the will by a properly drafted and executed codicil.
A codicil does not replace, but merely edits a will. It is typically used when certain parts of the will must be changed. It can be used to add or take out parts of a will; any part that is not changed or removed by a codicil will remain in effect until death.
Most often, codicils are used to change relatively small and specific portions of the will. For an example, if a diamond ring is left to a daughter, but then the individual chooses, instead, to leave it to her granddaughter, then a properly executed codicil can be used to complete that request. If that individual loses or sells the ring after drafting the will, the gift of the ring will simply be void and unenforceable at the time of death. A codicil helps an individual to avoid spending the time and money to execute a new will for these small changes.
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