The Role of Advance Healthcare Directives: Ensuring Your Medical Wishes are Honored
Estate planning and healthcare directives may not be the most pleasant topic to ponder, but it's undoubtedly one of the most critical steps you can take to safeguard your family's future. While comprehensive estate planning [...]
Avoiding Family Disputes: The Benefits of Mediation in Estate Planning and Probate
Discussing estate planning with loved ones can be overwhelming, as it involves sensitive topics like finances, aging, and mortality. Having these conversations is crucial to ensure peace of mind for both you and your family. [...]
The A-Z of Estate Planning
Having an estate plan in place is an essential part of protecting your family and ensuring that you have control over your own future. Working with an experienced estate planning professional is the best way [...]
Small Estate Affidavits: What They Are and How They Work
We often hear about people who believe they don’t need to worry about estate planning because they have an estate that is on the smaller side. At the Law Offices of J. Jeltes, Ltd., we [...]
Estate Planning for Domestic Partners
Estate planning is the process of organizing and preparing for the distribution of your assets after your death. It’s an essential part of life, ensuring that your loved ones are taken care of and that [...]
What To Do When a Will is Lost
Processing the loss of a loved one can be a difficult and stressful time, emotionally and, unfortunately, administratively. The average person doesn’t deal with death, legal documentation, and probate court on a daily basis. So, [...]
Why Millennials Need an Estate Plan
If you were born between 1981 and 1996, you’re a millennial, part of the "most racially and ethnically diverse adult generation in the nation’s history,” according to the Pew Research Center. Members of this cohort [...]
How to Handle Testamentary Capacity Issues in Illinois
For a will and other estate planning documents to be deemed valid by a probate court, they must meet several litmus tests. One of these critical factors is what is known as the ‘testamentary capacity’ [...]
How to Encourage Your Loved Ones to Create an Estate Plan
When it comes to discussing estate planning, many people would rather avoid the topic than bring up the sensitive issues that come along with it. Conversations about finances can inspire uncomfortable emotions like fear and [...]
What Documents Should Be Included In My Estate Plan?
Estate planning is sometimes a difficult subject to discuss, but it’s vitally important to put your wishes in writing should anything happen to you. Creating a plan can ensure that your loved ones are cared [...]
How to Title Assets in Estate Planning
Creating an estate plan isn’t just about distributing assets — it’s about ensuring your loved ones are cared for, and their burdens minimized, should the unthinkable happen. A comprehensive estate plan is vital if you [...]
Planning Ahead for 2023: How a Family Attorney Can Help
Preparing to make a change in 2023? Studies show that in past years, about a third of all Americans have made new year’s resolutions, which might include important goals like saving more money, eating more [...]
Appraising Valuable Personal Property for Estate Planning: Why and How
If you have an artist’s eye and appreciate items of great worth, then this article is for you. When a person owns artwork, expensive jewelry, collectible antiques, and other prized possessions, they often think they [...]
What is the Safety Deposit Act and How Can I Access the Safe Deposit Box of a Deceased Loved One?
Since the mid-1800s, people have been using safety deposit boxes at their local bank or credit union to store important documents and valuables, like jewelry or rare collectibles. While some banks have scaled back or [...]
Why It’s More Important Than Ever To Have A Comprehensive Estate Plan
Many of us think of estate planning as a complex and unpleasant task to be put off whenever possible. However, in these uncertain times, estate planning is especially critical. Your estate plan provides certainty for [...]