Frequently Asked Questions

Best practice is to meet with an attorney experienced in wills and estate plans. The attorney at the Palley Law Office will review your assets and family situation and get an understanding from you of your goals in distributing your property at death. The attorney will then draft a will that accomplishes those goals.

Because many assets do not pass through your will, for example life insurance benefits and jointly titled property, the attorney may also suggest options that can help reduce or eliminate the need for probate of your estate.

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You put your estate and your beneficiaries at risk by doing so. Online providers of fill-in-the-blank legal templates, while offering slick websites, are not law firms, are not licensed, and assume no liability if something goes wrong.

As the saying goes, you don't know what you don't know. It is easy to make mistakes without even realizing it by using self-help tools. Such mistakes often lead to substantial and unnecessary expense and family strife down the line. 

Retain an experienced attorney to counsel you on the best way to navigate complex estate law, plan and execute your estate. You've accumulated a lot over your lifetime. Spend the money for professional advice. Make an appointment here.

Power of attorney, also known as a durable power of attorney is given by a principal to an agent by the principal's executing a power of attorney instrument. Under a power of attorney, a person, the “principal,” gives another person, the “agent,” authority to act on his or her behalf. The person giving this power to an agent must initiate the request to do so. Have the person wanting to name an agent call the Palley Law Office. The attorney will develop what powers the principal wants to give the agent such as medical decision making or finances and draft the required documents. Powers of attorney must be witnessed, and powers of attorney for finances must be signed in front of a notary public. Make an appointment here.

Trusts are complex legal instruments-- you should always meet with an attorney to discuss what you hope to accomplish by establishing a trust. The attorney at Palley Law Office will review your assets and family situation, and recommend options based on your goals. If a trust is the best way to achieve those goals, the attorney will draft the documents and instruct you on how to transfer assets to the trust, and provide instruction on trust administration going forward. Make an appointment here.

A trust is a legal arrangement under which the creator of the trust, the “grantor,” transfers title to property to a trustee. The trustee then manages the property for the benefit of the beneficiary of the trust.

A common example of a trust is one created within your will to create trusts for minor children if both parents pre-decease the children before the children are of age.

A living trust, also known as a revocable living trust, is one you create while you are alive, usually naming yourself as the trustee. You transfer your property into the trust and retain control over the property and any income from it. Upon your death, the property is transferred to the beneficiaries you name in the trust, without having to go through probate. Make an appointment here.

An irrevocable trust, as the name suggests, is one that cannot be changed or revoked once created. Because they can’t be changed, irrevocable trusts are used only for very specific applications within estate planning, usually in the context of reducing the amount of the taxable estate or where the beneficiary of the trust has special needs to keep assets from counting against eligibility for public benefits such as Medicaid. Please contact an attorney at the Palley Law Office if you are considering an irrevocable trust. Make an appointment here.

Children's trusts can be established in a number of ways. Probably most common is to set up a trust in your will funded with assets that pass through the will as well as other assets such as life insurance proceeds. In establishing a trust, you name a trustee to manage the trust's income for the benefit of your children until they reach adulthood, along with distribution of the trust principal at the age you specify in the trust. Make an appointment here to learn more.

Probate is the judicial process under which assets passing through your will are distributed to your beneficiaries, or if there is no will, then according to the distribution provided for in Illinois intestacy law. Probate courts in Illinois require that the executor be represented by an attorney, and the proceedings usually take about a year but can go longer. Make an appointment here.

Palley Law Office offers prospective clients an initial consultation at no charge and flat fees for most services. For details please see the fees by clicking here.