Probate occurs when…
Probate will be required when the Decedent leaves assets over $100,000 to be collected that does not name a beneficiary, a joint tenant or co-owner. Probate begins any time following death and will last for a minimum of six months. Probate can extend for many years based on the parties and the issues involved.
While the paperwork is vital, especially when family members disagree, family discussion can be even more important. Advance Directives should be part of a broader discussion, including how do you want to be cared for and by whom, where do you want to live and what do you want out of your final years?
Strohschein Law Group is dedicating the longest day of the year, June 21st, to provide awareness and help in the fight to end Alzheimer’s. Our staff will be available by appointment and walk-in to prepare your ~
Durable Powers of Attorney for Healthcare and Property FREE of charge
Friday, June 21st 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. at our office in St. Charles
To sweeten the deal, we will send you off with a root beer float to enjoy the first day of summer! All we ask is that you leave a donation for the Alzheimer’s Association.
Your estate plan is great for transitioning your financial wealth to the next generation, but your overall wealth is so much more. An Ethical Will includes your intellectual, spiritual and human assets. By helping you create an Ethical Will, you are protecting what matters – who you are and what is important to you.
Most of us spend a lot of time planning how to pay for a college education for our children, weddings, that car we always wanted and retirement. We all spend a significant amount of time planning for the long awaited vacation that will last only a few days of our lives. Some even have given thought to long term care planning. So, while planning for the BIG things and keeping our house in order, have you stopped to think about the steps to ensure that your legacy will be carried out?
While you read this you may think you don’t have an “estate” but if you have any combination of bank accounts, investments, real estate, business interests, life insurance policies, personal property, jewelry and collections of any sort, you will want to protect these things that really do matter. The cost of long term care without a plan could cost you and your loved ones. Simply put, a will isn’t enough!
As an estate planner, we have been telling clients for decades that once the scheduled changes took place, we would need to revisit their plan to ensure it still does what the clients wants it to do. Now the changes are resolved and are as permanent as they could be at this moment.
A trust is an agreement that you have with yourself that sets out the instructions for how your money will be managed both during your lifetime and after your passing. In many cases, individuals will benefit from having a trust, but not everyone needs to have one.
Planning ahead for your own death is a difficult step to take because no one wants to believe it can happen to them; but it will happen. By giving some careful thought to your goals for your beneficiaries, you will be confident that you are really protecting what matters.
As more and more of our lives are put online, estate planners are contending with how to advise clients to secure and transfer their virtual estates. The body of nontangible, digital assets people create and store on their computers and the internet is growing by leaps and bounds.