SO YOU HAVE A WILL….BUT WHERE IS IT?
You took the time to create and properly execute a Will. But what if your family doesn’t know about your Will, or if your Will cannot be found, or is hidden or destroyed, after your death? Any of these will make your carefully thought-out Will useless. This could result in the wrong people inheriting your assets and administering your estate, the wrong people being appointed as guardians of your children (both for their care and for the management of finances for them), and unnecessary expenses being incurred.
If you want to avoid this outcome, be sure that you keep your original Will in a safe and secure location, and that your family members (and named executor and successor executors) know where it is and can access it after your death.
Note — In Illinois, willfully secreting a Will for a period of 30 days after the testator’s death is a Class 3 felony. That is, a person who has a testator’s Will in his possession is required to file the Will in a proper county, whether or not it is necessary to open a probate estate. A filed Will becomes public record.
In addition to a Will, you may wish to consider creating a Revocable Living Trust, and then funding your trust with your assets during your life. Having a funded Living Trust will make it easier for your wishes to be carried out after your death, because your accounts and property titles will specifically refer to the document which provides for the disposition of these accounts and property upon your death. Additionally, your wishes will remain private, known only to those beneficiaries named in your trust, rather than becoming public as is the case with a Will.
Should you have any questions about Wills or any other law and or to schedule a no-charge initial consultation with one of our experienced estate planning attorneys, please contact Waltz, Palmer & Dawson, LLC at (847) 253-8800 or contact us online.
Waltz, Palmer & Dawson, LLC is a full-service law firm with various areas of service to assist your business, including: Employment Law, Intellectual Property, Commercial Real Estate, Litigation and general Business Law services. Individual services include Estate Planning, Wills and Trusts, Probate, Guardianship, Divorce and Family Law, Collaborative Divorce & Mediation.
This article constitutes attorney advertising. The material is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
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Waltz, Palmer & Dawson, LLC
3701 Algonquin Rd. Suite 300
Rolling Meadows, Illinois 60008
Phone: (847) 253-8800
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