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Johnsburg, Illinois

Estate Planning Attorneys

Estate planning is a sadly under-emphasized element of preparing for your future – but we’re here to help you fix that.

At Diamond Estate Planning, our Johnsburg estate planning lawyers help you create an estate plan that works for you now and will grow with you as your family and estate grow.

Our estate planning team has kids (and grandkids!) of our own, so we know how important they are, as well as how hard it is to plan for everything. We don’t want to make you feel anxious about the future. Instead, when you finish signing your documents, you’ll feel good about the plan you’ve put into place.

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Understanding Estate Planning in Johnsburg, Illinois

If you were to pass away or become severely disabled where you could no longer make decisions for yourself, your estate plan provides your loved ones with instructions regarding tax issues, debts, and distributions of your assets.

You want to decide who will receive all these assets, what exactly they should receive, and when they should receive it.

An estate plan can also list out instructions for the care of your children and detail your burial preferences.

Are you worried about who gets your house if something happens to you? Will your family have to go to court or pay a bunch of extra fees to straighten out the title of your house?

Diamond Estate Planning is here to help. We want to make sure your kids, your property, and your legacy go to the loved ones you want.

It will give you peace of mind knowing that your family will be taken care of, no matter what happens in the future – including the unexpected.

Our Johnsburg Estate Planning Services

At Diamond Estate Planning, we take the time to understand your unique situation and guide you through the process, every step of the way. Our services include:

Advance Directive, also known as a Living Will

A living will is a document that tells your healthcare provider (or hospital) your end-of-life medical care if you become unable to communicate. For example, a living will clarifies whether  you want to be on life support, etc.

Asset Protection

A good estate plan and organizing everything in a good trust can protect assets from family disputes.

Estate Planning Resources For Professionals

As a professional, you have a lot of personal exposure because of the possibility of malpractice claims. For many professional licenses, you can never get rid of your liability for negligence or malpractice. If you have a claim that is either declined by your professional malpractice insurance or that exceeds the limits, a good estate plan can protect your assets. Things like a land trust with a bank or title company can keep your name out of the public records for your home.

Trusts

We create trusts that avoid probate (the process of your family going to court after you die). Our trusts clearly explain your wishes to your family and set up protections for minor children and family members on government assistance. Trusts can also direct your family to make charitable donations to causes you care about. Additionally, a trust can make sure specific items (like your grandmother’s wedding ring, a Gutenberg bible, your grandfather’s flag, the vintage Mustang) go to who you want to have them. A trust can spell out your wishes regarding who you want to take care of your children, and even your wishes for your pets. (Because we want to help you make sure Rover still gets his rubber Wall Street Journal every morning!)

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Wills

Wills spell out your wishes to your family. Like trusts, wills can make clear who you want to inherit what, as well as explaining your wishes for your children and your pets. Unlike trusts, however, your family still has to go to court after you die to access your money and distribute your property the way you wanted them to. Your will also becomes public record, whereas a trust does not.

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Wealth Preservation

Diamond Estate Planning can help with wealth preservation by making sure that when someone dies or becomes disabled, proper contingencies are in place. That way, you can control what will happen to your wealth and avoid possible loss or unnecessary legal expenses.

Power of Attorneys (POAs)

A power of attorney is a legal document that gives one or more persons the right to act on behalf of another person as their agent. A power of attorney is very useful if you become disabled because it can allow the person you choose to conduct your affairs. A power of attorney can give your agent the power to manage your property (real estate, investments, etc.) and your health care decisions. There are multiple types of POAs:

  • Health Care Power of Attorney: Spells out your wishes for your medical care, and end-of-life wishes in particular.
  • Power of Attorney for Property: Designates a person or people who can take care of your possessions, financial affairs, and real estate for you, if needed. This avoids needing a guardianship if you are temporarily incapacitated or disabled. Your power of attorney can conduct your affairs for you (write checks, pay bills, buy or sell real estate, etc.)

It’s important to note that these arrangements only work when you are alive. If you are your grandmother’s power of attorney and she passes away, you cannot do anything with her property (bank accounts, investment accounts and real estate) without either probating an estate or using a trust that she set up when she was alive.

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Health care power of attorney for minor children

Parents can set up a health care power of attorney for their children, giving someone other than themselves permission to take the child to the doctor or emergency room. One example could be if you are out of town for a long weekend or a long vacation without your child, or if your child is with a babysitter and you cannot get to the hospital or doctor to get them prompt treatment.

Contact Diamond Estate Planning in Johnsburg, Illinois

Are you ready to put a plan into place for your loved ones? Give us a call today at 779-704-5738 to schedule your first consultation with our team.

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