Our estate planning team has kids (and grandkids!) of our own, so we know how important it is to plan for their safety.
We don’t want to make you feel anxious about the future, rather Diamond Estate Planning wants to provide you with the necessary documents and tools to tackle what’s to come.
Whether it is deciding what happens to your children, what happens to you if you are unable to make major medical decisions, or who will be receiving your possessions, estate planning gives you the opportunity to make your wishes known.
Making note of those wishes and organizing them into a concrete plan is the bread and butter of estate planning. Our goal is to bring you peace of mind knowing that your family will be taken care of, no matter what happens in the future.
What can be helpful for people who are making their plan is knowing that planning should not be a one-and-done endeavor. Many significant changes in your life can justify changing your estate plan, so you must be ready to adapt to whatever life can throw at you if you want your estate to properly care for your family.
You may want to account for all possible occasions during your initial estate planning, but sometimes things happen that you can’t expect. In these unforeseen circumstances, our Wonder Lake, Illinois attorneys can help you update your estate plan.
We have a wide network of attorneys with a variety of knowledge, which is why the work that we do for you will even help prepare you for the unexpected. Our team approach helps make sure that all the details of your plan are correct, ensuring that multiple people understand your file and your needs so you don’t end up waiting endlessly for one attorney who’s stuck in court to call you back.
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.
A good estate plan and organizing everything in a good trust can protect assets from family disputes.
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.
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!)
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.
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.
A power of attorney designates a person you trust to make health care or financial decisions for you if you can’t do them yourself. You also designate additional, backup people to step in if you first choice is unavailable. There are multiple types of POAs.
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.
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.
You need to appoint someone you trust to take care of them, as well as a contingent if, for some reason, your first choice is unable to fulfill their obligations.
Guardianship is a huge undertaking that shouldn’t be agreed to lightly. You must discuss this with your desired guardian – and contingent guardian – beforehand so that they know what your wishes are.
Wills and trusts allow you to spell out the potential guardian(s) you have chosen for your children, as well as your wishes and desires for the children’s lives and futures.
Again, without an appointed guardian in place, the state will select one for you.
That’s why it is essential to have Diamond Estate Planning Law help you establish your choice of guardian in your will or trust.
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