The Payne Law Office, Chartered Legal Blog

In Illinois, there are many ways to ensure that your loved ones respect your wishes after you're gone. One such way is to include a "no-contest" clause in your trusts and wills. This particular clause has proven itself effective as an effective deterrent against trust...

Creating an estate plan in Illinois can seem like a daunting process. Many people do not like to think about or discuss the issues around estate planning, so one big hurdle is that they may not know the difference in estate planning, writing a will and creating a...

On average, estate plans should be updated every three to five years. Your estate's administration in Illinois is either done privately or in a public hearing. For these reasons, re-evaluating an estate plan now can prepare you. The risk of having your assets...

There is a formal procedure for every step of estate planning. At some point, the beneficiaries have to be formally notified when a will is ready. This does not occur automatically after a person dies. In Illinois, a beneficiary must learn what to look out for and...

Funding your Illinois trusts with annuities could create a tax haven for you. When trusts are irrevocable, their status signifies how their assets are handled. A revocable trust can, instead, be changed without issue, but this results in lesser hedges when sheltering...

People in Chicago, Illinois, can choose several estate planning tools. One popular tool that people use is a trust, which helps control where assets go. Trusts are either revocable or irrevocable and have their own benefits. Revocable trusts The grantor, or creator,...

Probate in Illinois is a transparent process that strives for an equitable disbursement of someone's assets. A loved one who dies soon has their estate administered through a probate trial. During this period, the assets of an estate are accounted for, and a public...

You don't need to own cryptocurrency or be a social media influencer to have digital assets in Illinois. Digital assets are records kept electronically that you either control, own, or license. If you don't make the necessary arrangements for these unique assets...

In Illinois, estate planning gives you the legal right to set up a power of attorney, or POA. Managing your estate may call for others to have equal authority over your business or finances, so granting others authority on your behalf is what a power of attorney does....

One of the most important steps Illinois residents make during the estate planning process is choosing an executor for their will. This is a vital decision because the individual chosen should be trustworthy with respect to following directions. Many testators will...