A Last Will and Testament is a legally binding document establishing the distribution of your assets at your death.  In the Will, you name your beneficiaries and their share of your estate. Wills are as descriptive and as detailed as you wish. 

Your Will must be signed in front of two witnesses who have no interest in your estate and can testify that you are of sound mind and memory. It is also advisable to have your Will signed and Witnessed in front of a Notary for it to be “Self-Proving.”

If you become incapacitated and when you die, your estate is subject to Probate. Probate is a court system that handles every person’s estate with assets in their name. And the system also supervises the administration and distribution of your estate at your death.

An Executor is a person you choose to:

• File your Will in Probate 
• Open your estate and pay the filing fees
• Secure an insurance bond and pay the policy premiums to protect your estate during administration
• Obtain court approval to act on behalf of your estate
• Notify your heirs and beneficiaries
• Prepare your property for sale 
• Consolidate your assets 
• Prepare an accounting for your beneficiaries
• File a public notification of your estate administration and pay to publish it 
• Notify all creditors 
• Pay all your debts 
• Distribute your assets to your chosen beneficiaries or heirs
• Obtain court approval for a Guardian for any minor children (under age 18) 
• Create a Testamentary Trust on behalf of any minor beneficiary for court approval to hold and administer for the minors until their eighteenth birthday  
• Prepare and file a final tax return for your estate
• Prepare a Final Report to present to Probate Court for approval and signature of all beneficiaries 
• Obtain a court order to close your estate.

If you die without any formal estate plan, the Probate Court will decide who handles your estate and who receives your assets based on who is determined to be related to you. 

Of course, if you have a fully-funded Living Trust, your estate is handled privately outside of Probate Court.

This type of Will is part of your Living Trust estate plan documents. Its purpose is to capture and ‘pour over’ any assets titled in your name when you die and transfer them to your Living Trust. 

A Pour-Over Will can accomplish post-death asset transfer to your Living Trust if the collective value of your assets is less than $100,000, the current Probate limit in Illinois.

Since assets with a collective value of over $100,000 must go through the Probate process, you should title all assets in your Living Trust name before your death.

Finally, a Pour-Over Will will name the chosen Guardian of your minor children.

This legal document transfers all assets with a collective value of less than $100,000 to the beneficiaries of your Will or your heirs if you do not have a Will.  The Executor attaches your Will to the affidavit and presents it to financial institutions where you have accounts.

Since your estate is below the Probate limit, the estate doesn’t need to go through the Probate process.

The beneficiary in your Pour-Over Will is your Living Trust. 

Unless you provide otherwise, your Executor can petition the court for payment of time and reimbursement of costs.

That depends on whether your estate is contested or has creditors or a complicated financial or family situation. 

After the first court hearing, the court admits your Will to Probate.

The average time for the estate to complete Probate is 18 months from an admission of the Will. The most prolonged Probate process our office experienced was 18 years.

Probate is a difficult process for your family.

Yes, if you are married, your spouse also obtains a Will. Your spouse will be your primary beneficiary at your death.  If you are no longer married at your death, your successor beneficiaries will receive your estate.