Wheaton Estate Planning Lawyer

Your family is one of the most important things in your life. You want your loved ones to be as happy as possible, and you would do anything within your power to help them. But what can you do when you’re no longer in this world? That depends on what actions you take today.

With the help of a Wheaton estate planning lawyer from Wolfe & Stec, Ltd., you can arrange to provide for your family long after you’re gone. We make estate planning as simple and painless as possible and work with you to provide for your family as best you can.

Why Choose Us?

Experienced Wheaton Estate Planning Lawyers

At Wolfe & Stec, Ltd., we understand the challenges involved with estate planning. You want to provide for your loved ones, but you also need to ensure that you’re financially stable throughout your life. Estate planning can also take a lot of time. Our legal team has the knowledge and resources to help you face these and other challenges.

Foresight Based on Experience

Our estate planning lawyers have decades of experience in the field. We use this experience to foresee major obstacles or smaller potential issues that may arise after you’re gone. Our lawyers know how to address a wide variety of legal complications, which means your loved ones shouldn’t be caught up in troublesome litigation after your death. We’re available to assist your loved ones at all times, whether it’s by representing them in heated disputes or simply offering a listening ear.

Personalized Approach

One of the most important things to remember about estate planning is that it’s a deeply personal process. We’ll work directly with you to understand your unique situation, with the understanding that no two estates are the same.

You don’t need a Wheaton estate planning attorney who treats you like every other client — you need an estate planning lawyer who knows the names of your loved ones and has taken the time to understand exactly what kind of life you want for them.

Focus on the Future

While it’s true that your children and grandchildren are your future, that doesn’t mean your life is over just because you’ve produced the next generation. It’s just as important to plan for your later years as it is to prepare for the next generation after you’re gone. We take a balanced approach to estate planning that prioritizes your prosperity and comfort as much as the well-being of your heirs.

Typical Estate Planning Documents

More Than Just a Will

The easiest way to support your loved ones after you die is to prepare a will. If you die without a will, your heirs will have to deal with probate. This process is cumbersome and may result in the court’s making critical decisions about your estate. Hiring a qualified estate law attorney to help you create a valid will often resolves this problem.

However, a will is only one of many estate planning documents that may benefit you and your family. The following are other essential documents our estate planning lawyers in Wheaton can help you with.

Living Will

A living will is one of many types of advance directives you can use to protect your interests and see that your wishes are honored if you become incapacitated. It informs caregivers whether you want your life prolonged if you’re debilitated in some way. This prevents your loved ones from having to make difficult decisions and can also keep them from circumventing the decisions you make.

Our estate planning attorneys in Wheaton will not only help you draft a living will but also attest to the fact that you’re mentally capable of making this decision and aren’t under duress.

Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care

The main limitation of a living will is that it can cover only those situations you can predict, but life is rarely predictable. If you’re incapacitated and something happens that you didn’t plan for in your living will, you could end up in a situation where the person who makes decisions for you may not be someone you trust to respect your preferences.

By assigning durable power of attorney for health care to a willing party, you can choose who makes these decisions for you. This document can be combined with a living will to ensure that the right choices will be made no matter what might happen to you in the future.

Do you require professional estate planning assistance in Wheaton? Call 630-305-0222 today to schedule an appointment with an estate planning lawyer at Wolfe & Stec, Ltd.

Durable Power of Attorney for Finances

One thing that often confuses clients is that durable power of attorney doesn’t inherently cover both finances and health care decisions. Most people assume that if they’ve given someone power of attorney, that person can make decisions about all aspects of their life, health, and finances if they’re incapacitated. However, these duties are separated in Illinois.

You may grant control of your finances to the same person who has power over your medical care, but you also have the right to designate those duties to two distinct parties. This can be helpful if you have someone in mind that you know will respect your health care wishes but isn’t particularly good with finances or vice versa.

A durable power of attorney for finances is usually even more important than for health care, because finances can be so complicated. The person you give this power to will have to make decisions regarding your:

• Bills
• Bank accounts
• Businesses
• Investments
• Personal property.

However, there are limits to this power. For instance, if they don’t also have a durable power of attorney over your health care, they can’t refuse to pay the medical bills approved by whoever has that power.

FAQ

We expect everyone considering working with us to have questions for our Wheaton estate planning attorneys. We’re always happy to address these inquiries to help clients arrange their estates as effectively as possible. To this end, we’ve answered some of the more common questions we receive from clients.

Do all wills need to go through the probate process?

No. If you have a smaller estate, your heirs can avoid the complicated probate process in Illinois. When an estate is worth less than $100,000, your heirs can file a small estate affidavit to avoid probate. Our estate planning lawyers can help them take the necessary steps.

Should I create a trust?

Creating a trust can be useful for avoiding the probate process. This may help your beneficiaries avoid taxes, but it doesn’t necessarily eliminate the need for a will. It’s a good idea to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of establishing a trust with a trusted estate planning attorney before making any decisions.

Can a Wheaton estate planning lawyer help me challenge an estate plan?

If you think you’ve been treated unfairly in a will or estate plan, contact our firm as soon as possible. You can’t challenge a will just because you don’t like the decisions the deceased made. However, you can challenge it if you suspect some type of fraud or breach of contract.

For example, if you believe the trustee may be hiding assets, that’s a legitimate reason to challenge an estate plan. Our lawyers have extensive experience identifying fraud or other irregularities and can investigate the circumstances of your case.

Can estate planning lawyers in Wheaton help me update my will?

One mistake people often make when engaging in estate planning is drafting certain documents and then failing to update them. Since things can change over time, this is highly disadvantageous.

For example, you might make a will and later move into a new home. Your original will, however, would list the property you lived in when you created it rather than your current home. Similarly, if your children have children, you may want to add them to the will. We can help you update your will to reflect your current circumstances.

Estate planning is an important financial and legal undertaking with much potential for confusion. If we haven’t addressed your question here, feel free to schedule a consultation with one of our knowledgeable attorneys for more personalized guidance.

Contact a Wheaton Estate Planning Attorney for Help Getting Your Affairs in Order

Estate planning is the kind of responsibility many people feel like they can put off for years or even decades. However, you never know when something might happen that will change your life in an instant. Once it does, it will be too late to make any meaningful decisions. The sooner you act, the better you can protect your loved ones.

Don’t put off estate planning for another day. Contact Wolfe & Stec, Ltd., today at 630-305-0222 to take the first steps to protecting what you hold dear.