It’s not too late: If you didn’t update your will – or make your 1st will – during the 1st wave of the COVID pandemic, it’s time to update your estate plan now. Cook, Will and DuPage Counties in Illinois are putting new restrictions and quarantine rules in place to deal with the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in our area. During this pandemic, protecting the health and safety of your loved ones is your priority – and ours.
You want to make smart decisions to protect the health and safety of your family and loved ones. We want to help you protect your family during these uncertain times. Estate planning can be complex and stressful under the best of times. Under times of fear and uncertainty, it’s important to work with an experienced estate planning attorney so that nothing is overlooked.
Our estate planning attorneys are working remotely and are available to advise you on creating, updating, or finalizing your estate plan by phone, email and video to make sure our clients have everything in place if the worst should happen. A new law initiated by Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker allows remote witnesses and remote notarization of documents, so you can now virtually execute a will or other estate planning document using 2-way audio-visual technology. The result is that residents of Illinois can now make binding estate planning legal documents like wills and trusts, powers of attorneys, guardianships or deed without having to meet face-to-face with an attorney, risk contracting the virus or violate social distancing state and local rules and recommendations.
An estate plan allows you to designate who will receive your assets and manage your financial obligations after your death or if you become incapacitated. If you die without a will it is called “intestate.” Illinois has “Intestacy Laws” to determine who will receive a deceased person’s assets in the absence of a valid will. An up-to-date will, trusts or other estate planning documents is the best way to tell your family and loved ones how you want your estate handled, and to legally make sure your wishes are carried out. But what happens if someone in Illinois dies without a will?
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Do you have questions about protecting your loved ones? Our experienced Illinois estate planning attorneys can advise you on the best options to protect your assets and loved ones after you are gone, or if you become incapacitated. To talk to an estate planning attorney contact the Estate & Probate Legal Group at 630-687-9100.
We provide legal services in Cook, Dupage, Kane, Lake, and Will counties.
