Posted on March 14, 2018 in Estate Planning

For many, estate planning is similar to doing your taxes. You know you should do it, but you put it off or procrastinate. Estate planning is especially difficult because it forces you to face your own mortality and have what can be uncomfortable conversations with loved ones about a time when you are not around anymore. Creating a comprehensive estate plan is critical to ensuring that your property and assets are distributed according to your wishes and that the end of your life is how you intend it to be.

Unfortunately, only four in 10 American adults have a will or living trust. The other 60 percent will have significantly less control regarding their property and final wishes than those who plan ahead. Luckily, there is no wrong time to start planning for the future, and there are estate planning steps that you can take at each stage of your life.

In Your 40s and 50s

When most people reach age 40, they have a significantly more complicated life than they did at 20 or 30. In addition to creating a will and/or living trust, people in their 40s should also pay close attention to their taxes. A licensed CPA can help you maximize your deductions and minimize your expenses. Some people choose to set up a Health Savings Account at this point in their lives. These types of accounts allow people to use pretax money to pay for healthcare expenses, which can end up saving a significant amount of money.

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 Posted on March 12, 2018 in Divorce

Marriage is hard work, and it requires spouses to form a committed partnership and work together, treating each other with respect and making an effort to put their family’s best interests first. Unfortunately, there are many situations in which one spouse takes advantage of the other and commits acts of abuse designed to give them control in the relationship. While many people are aware of the signs of physical abuse, emotional abuse is often harder to recognize, but it can also be very damaging. If you are unhappy in your relationship, you may want to consider divorce if you are experiencing any of the following signs of emotional abuse:

• Oversensitivity - Abused people are often in constant fear of upsetting their partner or feel that they need to be careful of what they say to avoid provoking anger.
• Criticism - Emotionally abusive people will often tear down their victims in a variety of ways, including blaming them for things that are not their fault, making them feel like they cannot do anything right, making disparaging statements while claiming that they are joking, or offering backhanded compliments.

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 Posted on March 08, 2018 in Family Law

Today, families in the United States come in all varieties. More single parents and unmarried parents are raising children than in the past. Same-sex couples are also raising more children than they did twenty years ago. Families are often blended, with children from several relationships living together under one roof. Grandparents are also increasingly taking the place of biological parents in children’s lives.

Voluntary Relinquishment

There are several ways that grandparents can get custody of their grandchildren. The first way is through petitioning the court for custody of the grandchildren. Both parents of the child must voluntarily relinquish their parental rights to the child unless there is another issue like abuse. Parents may give up the rights to their children for many deeply personal reasons. Sometimes addiction issues or mental health concerns make a parent unable to raise their child. Other times, very young parents relinquish their parental rights so that a grandparent or grandparents can adopt the child.

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 Posted on March 06, 2018 in Estate Planning

It is never too soon to start planning for your future. At every age, there is an opportunity to make estate planning decisions and preparations that will benefit you and your family in the future. The most financially successful individuals among us will tell you that it did not happen by accident. It is important to be aware of your financial situation and to be intentional about the way your plan for the future. At every stage of life, there are some estate planning steps that you should take in order to minimize complications or expense in the future.

Over the next few weeks, we will discuss how you can consider the future, no matter how old you are right now.

In Your 20s

If you have just graduated college or have just entered the workforce, you may think that there is no point in making any financial plans for your future. After all, you may not even have a spouse or children to worry about providing for at this point in your life. However, those who learn to budget their money and effectively manage income and expenses while they are young gain a skill which will last a lifetime.

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 Posted on March 05, 2018 in Divorce

When a couple decides to end their marriage and get divorced, there are a wide variety of legal issues that must be resolved. Determining how to divide marital property is often one of the most complicated aspects of a divorce, especially when spouses own a home together.

In some cases, a couple may decide to sell their home and divide the proceeds, but often, one spouse wishes to retain ownership of the home, especially when they want their children to continue living in a familiar environment and avoid having to transfer to a new school district. If a spouse does not have the financial resources to purchase their former partner’s share of the home, they may want to consider a divorce lien.

Understanding Divorce Liens

When couples utilize a divorce lien, the spouse who will not be living in the house signs a deed conveying the title to the property to the other spouse. The spouse who remains in the house will sign a payable note and a deed of trust to their former partner. This note is known as a divorce lien. The note will specify how the spouse remaining in the home will repay the other spouse. Payment could be made in a lump sum at a future date or through an ongoing installment plan.

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 Posted on March 01, 2018 in Divorce

There is some confusion in the general public as to the extent that a spouse’s adultery can affect a divorce case. Television and movies often show an enraged husband or wife discovering that their partner is having an affair and yelling about how they are going to take the house and have full custody of their children. Although adultery is still frowned upon by society, it is usually irrelevant to divorce proceedings.

No-Fault State

Since the beginning of 2016, Illinois has been what is called a “pure no-fault state.” A no-fault state is one which does not require divorcing couples to report the reason or “grounds” that they are seeking the divorce. In the past, things like mental cruelty or adultery could be reported as the official reason that the marriage ended. Today, all divorcing couples in Illinois as assumed to be divorcing on the grounds of “irreconcilable differences.” More specifically, a divorce will only be granted when “irreconcilable differences have caused the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage and the court determines that efforts at reconciliation have failed or that future attempts at reconciliation would be impracticable and not in the best interests of the family.”

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 Posted on February 27, 2018 in Estate Planning

Imagine this scenario: Your elderly grandmother has lived with a caretaker for several years. She passes away and upon reading her will, you find that your grandmother has left all of her assets and belongings to the caretaker and none to her children or grandchildren. For many people, this would raise red flags. There are countless scenarios like this which lead to families contesting the validity of a loved one’s will.

When Should a Will Be Contested?

If you think that your loved one’s will does not accurately reflect his or her final wishes, you should contest it. Contesting the will means that you are asking the courts to deem the will invalid. Probate courts in Illinois can invalidate a will for several specific reasons. Firstly, a will can be thrown out if can be shown that the deceased person, or the decedent, was unduly influenced by someone during the will's creation. For example, in the hypothetical scenario above, the caretaker could have coerced the elderly grandmother to leave her property to him instead of her family.

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 Posted on February 22, 2018 in Divorce

No matter how old or young you are, if you are married, there is the possibility that you could get divorced. Most people, however, tend to think of divorce as a reality that mostly affects couples who are relatively older. These notions may be linked to movies and television where a wandering eye or a mid-life crisis drives spouses apart when they are in their early forties or older. Divorce, however, can also become necessary for couples who are far younger, and those who get divorced in their 20s may face years of potential complications. This is especially true for 20-somethings with children.

Finding a Niche

Human beings are social creatures, and most of us derive a sense of belonging when we find a peer group where we feel comfortable. If you are recently divorced with no children, it may be relatively easy to socialize with other younger singles. If you have children, however, you may feel stuck in the middle. On one hand, our parental responsibilities may not allow to you enjoy the spontaneous, carefree lifestyle of single people your age. On the other hand, you may not feel very comfortable among other parents, especially those who might be a bit older or whose marriage is still intact. It is, however, important to avoid cutting yourself off completely from social situations. Find a sitter every now and again, and go out and a have a good time.

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 Posted on February 22, 2018 in Divorce

When parents of minor children decide to divorce, they will often put a great deal of thought into how the end of their marriage will affect their children and do everything they can to ease children’s transition into a new situation in which they live in two separate households. However, parents should realize that their divorce can also make a big difference in the lives of their adult children. Even though parental responsibility, parenting time, and child support may not be an issue for parents of children who have moved out of their childhood home and begun to support themselves, it is still important to understand how divorce affects adult children.

Protecting Adult Children of Divorce

After their parents’ divorce, adults are often reluctant to make commitments in their own relationships, or they may stay in a bad relationship in hopes that they can avoid repeating their parents’ mistakes. If you are the parent of adult children, you can help them deal with your divorce by following these tips:

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 Posted on February 21, 2018 in Estate Planning

When you hear or read the phrase “estate planning,” what comes to mind? If you are like most people, you probably think about wills or maybe trusts that are used to protect a person’s property and distribute it to the person’s heirs upon his or her death. While the protection and transfer of assets are certainly a major focus of estate planning, there are other elements that deal with the quality of a person’s life as he or she gets older. Unfortunately, many of these important subjects are uncomfortable or difficult for many people to talk about, leading to assumptions and misunderstandings that can create serious problems in the future.

Deciding on a Caregiver

Most of us are hesitant to consider a time when we are no longer able get by on our own. The reality, however, is that many of us will need someone to help us with the activities of daily living, especially as we get older. A large number of American adults assume that their children will step into the role of caregiver when the time comes. In fact, according to at least one survey, about three-fourths of parents expect at least one of their children to provide physical or financial help as they get older, and 60 percent of those parents expect to be their daughter.

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