In this article, our Elmhurst trust attorneys explain how revocable living trusts allow you to avoid a costly and stressful probate case. In the state of Illinois, if you own $100,000 of non-real estate assets and real estate outside of a trust, probate is mandatory. Probate court can end up costing you 5% to 10% of the estate in attorneys fees and court costs. Not only is it costly, but it is time-consuming. Probate cases take up to a year or more to complete before distributing your inheritance. 

Using a revocable living trust will allow easy passage of assets to your loved ones when you pass. This document is made to aid you in avoiding the stressful, lengthy, and costly process of probate. 

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In this article, our Elmhurst trust attorneys explain what trusts and wills are and what they can accomplish for you. These two documents are intended for the purpose of transferring assets when you pass. Revocable living trusts will help you avoid a probate case that can end up costing you a lot of money.  They also serve the purpose of outlining the inheritances that you will give to your minor children. Wills serve the purpose of naming a guardian for minor children.

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In this article, our Elmhurst trust attorneys explain ways to minimize and reduce estate tax. The article goes over AB trusts. AB trusts allow married couples to use each other's estate tax exemptions. We also discuss irrevocable life insurance trusts, which are designed to remove the death benefit of your life insurance policies from your taxable estate. Finally, we explain grantor retained annuity trusts, grantor retained income trusts, and grantor retained unitrusts. These allow assets to accumulate in value without that value being included in your taxable estate.

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