Pre-Nups and Divorce Estate Planning-Naperville

This morning, I spoke on Pre-Nups and Divorce Estate Planning. These were the critical points:
First, a pre-nup is important to protect one's assets in case of a divorce. Typically, upon a divorce, the spouse with more assets loses at least fifty (50) percent of those assets. With a pre-nup, you can protect your assets prior to marriage from the possibility of divorce. A key term is non-marital property and marital property. Non-marital property are assets owned prior to marriage and marital assets are assets earned during the marriage. In Illinois, both husband and wife may make their own definition of how to define their assets acquired during their marriage. It is important that you do not commingle your non-marital assets and marital assets with one another. Non-marital assets remain non-marital assets because you keep them seperate and divided from marital assets.

With an revocable living trust, a spendthrift provision enables parents to give their inheritance upon a death to their adult children and protect their adult children from divorce proceedings and alimony. This is important because a will does not contain a spendthrift provision. A spendthrift provision is a provision in a revocable living trust or otherwise known as "living trust" that protects the beneficiary(ies) from creditors such as divorcing spouses and alimony.

Sub-trusts are important for revocable living trust because you can require your adult children to maintain these trusts to keep their inheritance seperate from their marital assets. The topic of estate planning is crucial because seniors and middle class families should avoid family disputes and determine who is the best beneficiaries for their specific wills and trusts' needs.

Sean Robertson is an estate planning attorney concentrating in wills and trusts, advanced estate planning, and asset protection. Sean Robertson can be reached at (630) 364-2318 or (312) 498-6080. The Robertson Law Group, LLC is based in Naperville, Illinois and has a satellite office in Chicago, Illinois.

Wills and Trusts for Blended Families

I read an article last night that talked about how estate planning is difficult for married couples with blended families. I thought I would write quickly on this topic.

Wills for Blended Families

Wills are a way of distributing property, but often times, are not a good idea for married couples with blended families or step children. Wills are a bad idea because wills contribute to family disputes. Wills increase family disputes because probate court invites conflict. Probate court requires lawyers in Illinois to mail out certified mail notices to potential heirs notifying them of the case. With wills being public information, any attorney can scrutinize the will and find a challenge to the will. Any heir that receives a certified notice from an attorney automatically will be alarmed because of an official letter from an attorney. Most heirs or beneficiaries contact an attorney and ask their legal advice. This legal advice results in will contests and other disputes.

Living Trusts for Blended Families

In my opinion, living trusts are better than wills at avoiding family conflicts because living trusts do not involve court proceedings. Unlike wills, living trusts are a private document and it is between the beneficiaries and the Trustor or creator of the Trust. There is no requirement to mail out certified or any notices to disinherited heirs. This lessons the chance of any contest because the dispute or potential dispute is buried underneath the surface. A living trust also is a method of distributing your property quickly upon your death. A living trust is a flexible legal document and can provide for step children and the surviving spouse. A qualified estate planning attorney is important because inherit step parent and children conflicts can be properly managed if experienced guidance.

In conclusion, living trust are a great mechanism to transfer your assets upon death and avoid disputes with your blended family. Often times, there are normal conflicts with a blended family that can be minimized with proper and smart planning. A estate planning professional is important because we understand the natural conflicts, which occur especially after the married couple gives us background on their unique family dynamics.

Sean Robertson is an estate planning and asset protection attorney based in Naperville, Illinois. Sean Robertson has extensive experience counseling clients on their wills, living trusts, powers of attorney, living wills, and special needs' situations. Sean Robertson may be reached at (630) 364-2318 or (312) 498-6080.

Naperville Wills and Trusts

With the baby boomers getting older, seniors and elders need to pay more attention to wills and trusts. This weekend, I was speaking with my wife's grandma and grandpa and we were talking about wills and trusts. We were talking about all of the people and friends that they know that did not plan their estates correctly. In fact, grandma and grandpa stated that they attended several estate planning seminars and were surprised by living trusts were better than wills. Often times, the conventional wisdom is that wills are preferential to living trusts.

Living trusts are another method of distributing your estate similar to a will. Unlike a will, living trust do not go through probate court and are private documents. This weekend, grandma was talking about how she witnessed a neighbors will by going to the local courthouse. This surprised me because I did not think many seniors or elderly were aware that wills are public information. With a living trust, your neighbor or neighbors cannot view your will. Estate planning is critical because tomorrow is never promised or guaranteed.

In conclusion, Robertson Law Group, LLC is a wealth preservation law firm concentrating in wills and trusts, estate planning, advanced planning, and asset protection planning. We are based in Naperville and downtown Chicago and give Western Suburbs' residents expert legal advice at a reasonable costs. We also have the ability to travel to our senior and elderly clients. Sean Robertson is Principal and Attorney for Robertson Law Group, LLC. Sean Robertson may be reached at 312-498-6080 or 630-364-2318.

How to hire a wills and trusts attorney?

There are several factors to consider when you hire an estate planning or wills and trusts attorney. The first factor is experience. You want an attorney with sufficient legal experience in wills and trusts. Experience is important because it informs you of potential conflicts and whether an estate plan is realistic. With many lawyers, simple is not in our language. With estate planning, simple is important because most estate planning attorneys use too much legalese and their documents are too complex and long. Too complex and long means that you or your loved ones are more likely to litigate the definition of "is" instead of transferring your estate to your intended loved ones.

The second factor is costs. Obviously, experience is great but the typical middle class family wants somebody that is affordable. In today's economy, affordable is becoming increasingly important. In my experience, wills start around $350 and run as high as $750. A living trust along with powers of attorney typically start around $1,500 for a single person. For a married couple, a living trust along with powers of attorney ranges from $1,800 to $3,000. At our law firm, we provide trust documents for a single person for $500 and a couple is $700. This is comparable to the costs of the document assembly competitors online. Why charge so little even though we have experience? We have no overhead and we can make more profit by making our products and services to middle America.

The third factor is trust. Trust is essential in any attorney-client relationship. You must have somebody that you can trust to complete the job on time and as promised. The fourth factor is a common trait. This may be you live in the same city or from similar fraternities or sororities or same a similar educational institution as an alma mater. The fifth factor is customer service. Customer service is vital because will the attorney return phone calls promptly, complete the documents in a short time frame, or even respond to your concerns. Nowadays, many attorneys simply have their secretary or law clerk practicing law and a client never speaks with their attorney. This is unacceptable.

In conclusion, these five (5)factors determine who should be the best attorney or law firm for you. My name is Sean Robertson and we would be honored to assist you with your wills, trusts, and estate planning legal needs. We are experienced, customer service oriented, and cost-effective among many other traits.

We can be reached at 312-498-6080 or 630-364-2318.

Why Estate Planning Applies To Everybody and Not Just Seniors?

Estate planning is a topic that often gets ignored and delayed. A common obstacle is estate planning is not a priority. Unfortunately, in many cases, estate planning becomes important when your situation calls for it. Often times, estate planning is inadequate during these times.

If you pass away without a will or trust, the State of Illinois will decide who gets your assets. In Illinois, intestate succession is the state law that determines who will be your rightful beneficiaries of your assets. In Illinois, if you die without a will, your beneficiaries must undergo a court process called "probate". Probate is a court which determines who is the rightful beneficiaries of a deceased person's estate or assets. If you or your loved one dies without a will, probate court is frustrating because it is slow and expensive. Attorney's fees and costs add up along with surety bond fees, court fees, and many other fees. Often times, probate court involves family disputes because different beneficiaries may not like the outcome of the court proceedings.

There is a simple way to avoid probate court. No, it is not through a will. A will must undergo probate court and is subject to court supervision. In contrasts, a revocable living trust or otherwise, known as a "living trust" is a written agreement that distributes your property without court supervision. A living trust is cost-effective and may be set-up within one (1) to two (2) weeks. Your living trust will distribute your assets, provide assistance in case of an incapacity, and avoid real estate going through probate court.

Sean Robertson is an estate planning and estate and gift tax attorney concentrating in estate and advanced planning. Sean graduated from DePaul University College of Law in 2003 and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1997. Sean may be reached at 312-498-6080 or 630-364-2318 or via email at RobertsonLawGroup@gmail.com.