In this article and videoblog, our DuPage trust lawyers explain how trusts can be used in your estate plan to:

• appoint loved ones to fiduciary positions; 
• arrange for the distribution of your assets according to your wishes after you pass; 
• avoid a costly and time-consuming probate case when you pass; 
• avoid costly guardianship proceedings if you become mentally incompetent;  and 
• relieve the emotional burden on your loved ones for end-of-life decisions.

Revocable and irrevocable trusts are also critical for accomplishing focused goals which you can read about in the full article by our DuPage trust attorneys.

In this article, our DuPage County trust attorneys explain how trusts can be used to avoid costly probate cases.

Probate is a court case that is generally necessary in Illinois whenever an individual passes owning any real estate outside of a trust or more than $100,000.00 of non-real estate assets outside of a trust. Probate cases last approximately a year and tend to cost 5% to 10% of the value of the estate in attorney fees and court costs. While the probate case is ongoing, your loved ones will not have access to the assets that you wish them to inherit. Our DuPage County trust attorneys can assist you in creating a trust and transferring your major assets into the trust so that when you pass, your loved ones can administer your estate immediately and without the need to hire an attorney. 

Read the full article by our DuPage County trust lawyers about how estate planning with revocable living trusts can allow your estate to avoid probate. 

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In this article, our DuPage County trust attorneys explain how to effectively use wills, trusts and a specifically tailored estate plan to avoid estate tax.  We explain the estate tax exemption for both Illinois taxes and federal taxes as well as when you should be thinking about minimizing estate tax.  We next explain some of the tools that our DuPage County trust attorneys use to minimize estate tax, including AB Trusts, Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts, and Grantor-Retained Annuity Trusts.

Read the full article by our DuPage County trust attorneys about how to use trusts to minimize or avoid estate tax.