Economy and Estate Planning

Today, I was speaking with a fellow attorney from downtown Chicago. This attorney msde a comment that he would not attempt to counsel or draft a trust or a will. Why is this? Estate planning and wills often times involve real estate and tax issues and unfortunately, most attorneys are ill equipped to understand when your matter may be simple or more complex.

For example, I recently had a client that was married but her husband was disabled and unable to make decisions for himself. This simple situation is more complex because the estate planning attorney must understand medicaid eligibility and elder law. Thus, it is important to hire an attorney that has the proper qualifications because a simple mistake may costs you thousands of dollars.

In my conversation with this attorney, we discussed that the economy is getting better. I have personally witnessed estate planning increasing because the economy is getting better. For many individuals and families, estate planning is a serious but often neglected conversation. Estate planning is crucial because if you die with a will or without a will there are serious negative consequences.

If you die without a will, the State of Illinois will determine who should inherit your property. Furthermore, doing nothing will costs your family more money in the long-run. Often times, an accident can occur and you and your family are ill-prepared for an incapacity or family death. Combining the family death with the legal proceedings creates a difficult time period for your family members. This is further worsened because an ill-prepared estate plan causes severe family fights. These fights commonly occur with blended families such as step parents and children. There are natural conflicts which exist and inheritance and money matters threaten family harmony. These conflicts result in hurt feelings and thousands of dollars in legal fees and court proceedings that last years and longer.

Sean Robertson is an estate planning attorney that concentrates in estates and trusts, advanced estate planning, and asset protection. Sean can counsel you and your family on how to properly set up a realistic but effective estate plan. Sean Robertson can be reached at 312-498-6080.

Robertson Law Group, LLc
(312) 498-6080 or (630) 364-2318
Email: RobertsonLawGroup@gmail.com
www.RobertsonLawGroup.com

Why most attorneys fail to make good estate plans?

Today, I was at a client's house and an another non-estate planning attorney drafted a will for my client. The will was a pretty good document, but it did not address her practical concerns such as how her husband who has dementia would be cared for in case of her death. Secondly, her brother has a spending problem and she wants to leave an inheritance to him, but he will blow all the money. A solution is a living trust versus a will. With this living trust, we will empower the trustee to purchase an annuity, which will give the brother a guaranteed income for the rest of his life (upon her death). Third, her neighbor is a beneficiary of her six-flat building and has no relationship to her family. One of the concerns is that he would sell the building and her husband would have no where to go. She assumed that the husband would live with the neighbor at a new home. Instead, we have set up her trust where her husband can remain living in his house for the rest of his life. Furthermore, we are setting up a special needs trust for her husband's benefit. The non-estate planning attorney also did not think about qualifying her husband for medicaid. These are simple examples of why it is important to hire an attorney experienced with wills, trusts, estate planning, advanced estate planning, and asset protection.

Sean Robertson, Attorney at Law
Robertson Law Group, LLC
(312) 498-6080
RobertsonLawGroup@gmail.com