PLEASE NOTE: Johnson, Johnson & Nolan will remain open and available to serve you during the COVID-19 crisis. We are offering our clients the ability to meet with us in person, via Telephone or Video Conference. Please call our office to discuss your options.

Five Generations Of Legal Excellence - One Client At A Time
Divorce
Family Law
Estate Planning
Probate And Estate
Administration
Business Law

Estate planning tips for new parents

On Behalf of | May 4, 2021 | Blog |

Our Practice Areas

The birth of a child is generally a good reason to review your estate plan. If you don’t have one already in place, becoming a parent will likely provide the incentive needed to create a will, trust or other plan documents. Doing so can help to ensure that your son or daughter’s future doesn’t depend solely on the decisions made by an Illinois judge.

Why create a will or trust?

Creating a will or trust allows you to name a guardian for your kids, leave property to your offspring and take other steps to provide for their future needs. It’s important to note that a trust takes effect as soon as it’s executed, which means that your children might also be taken care of if you become incapacitated for any reason. Furthermore, it can be used to manage property for your dependents if they have not yet reached the age of majority at the time of your death.

Review your beneficiary designations

In most cases, a retirement account, life insurance death benefit or other financial assets will go to your spouse upon your death. If you aren’t married, they will likely be transferred to another family member. However, you can also choose to designate your son or daughter as a secondary beneficiary, and it may also be possible to name your trust as the recipient of any financial resources that are meant to be used to provide for your child. An estate planning attorney may be able to help you create, review or revise such a form.

Ideally, you will review your estate plan after any type of major life event. At a minimum, it may be a good idea to review a will, trust or other documents once a year. An attorney might be able to assist in the process of doing so.

Categories

Archives

FindLaw Network