Kevin O'Flaherty of O'Flaherty Law explains everything you need to know about estate planning, including wills and trusts, special needs planning, estate tax avoidance, elder law and medicaid planning, and creditor avoidance.
In Illinois, a probate case is required if you pass away owning any real estate (even if there is a mortgage on your home or condo) or more than one-hundred thousand dollars of non-real estate assets outside of a trust.
One of the primary goals of a good estate plan is to avoid the necessity of a probate case. We want to avoid probate because probate can cost five to ten percent of the value of your estate in attorney fees and court costs; because probate cases take approximately one year, during which time your loved-ones will not have access to your assets; and because probate is extremely stressful for your loved ones.
In Estate Planning Explained, Illinois estate planning attorney will teach you how to avoid probate by transferring your major assets to a revocable living trust, which makes probate unnecessary.
