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Not long ago, my husband and I had the conversation about setting up last wills. Now that we have a family, we realize it’s become more important now than ever to have a plan in place should either or both of us die while our children are still minors. Regardless of your age, it’s important to draw up a last will and testament and instruct the executor to handle your final wishes and disbursement of your assets. If you or your spouse should die before these legal documents are written and verified, you or your family could experience any number of problems with regards to inheritance of your property.

A review of recent Illinois legislation creating convenience bank accounts in Illinois. A comparison with use of joint tenancy bank accounts is examined.

The words “personal representative”, “executor” and “administrator” all refer to the same individual: the person or company responsible for administering your estate when you pass away. In Oregon, we refer to this individual as the “personal representative”. Naming a personal representative in a will can oftentimes be a difficult decision because the client does not know what the personal representative is responsible for doing. We are frequently asked by clients that we’re drafting wills for “what does the personal representative, executor or administrator do?” The same question is asked by the individual appointed as personal representative, executor or administrator.

Proper estate planning involving living trusts can help avoid the necessity of probate. “Probate” is a legal procedure in which a deceased person’s will (if they have one) is validated and his estate is administered.

Huguette Clark, the daughter of William Andrews Clark, Sr. an American politician and entrepreneur of New York’s Gilded Age, died with an estate of $400 million. Two wills executed within six weeks have appeared. Two lessons are to be learned from Huguette Clark’s estate plan according to Mark W. Bidwell, Attorney in Irvine, California.

Estate planning is one of the most important things you can do for your loved ones. Don’t leave your estate planning until it is too late. Make those important decisions now, and be sure to have your documentation complete.

Are you or a family member in need of an elder care law professional to handle present and future finances, wills and trusts? Find out what to look for in elder care law lawyers.

Acting as a power of attorney for a person requires strict adherence to certain ethical rules. Two recent Illinois cases have highlighted issues relating to presumably fraudulent action taken by a power of attorney. In both cases, an agent acting as power of attorney took action to re-title an asset for the benefit of the power of attorney.

Probate law basically refers to that section of law that involves issues related to estate management when an elder person of a family passes away and there are plenty of internal disputes because of inheritance. This law ensures that all the creditors or debt collectors are appropriately paid and the leftover assets are handled over to the rightful heirs of the deceased. In case you’re a citizen of New York and you’re stuck up in one such situation, you should be familiar with New York Probate laws.

Florida has a new law governing the Durable Power of Attorney. Any Florida Durable Power of Attorney signed on or after October 1, 2011, must conform to the new requirements. The new requirements are designed to discourage financial fraud by overreaching agents. However, any Durable Power of Attorney signed before Oct. 1, 2011 that is otherwise valid, will remain so and need not be revised at this time.