When planning your estate and drafting a will, sometimes it will be necessary to create a power of attorney as well. How do you know when it is needed or whom you should choose? Although you may be doing well now, there may come a time as you get older or face unexpected medical issues that you will no longer be able to take care of your own bills and properties, and you may not be able to make decisions about your own personal care. At that time, it will be of utmost importance to have someone you trust to take care of these things for you.

What Does a Power of Attorney Do?

A power of attorney can be vital in protecting you and your assets. When you create a power of attorney agreement, you will name an agent who is authorized to make decisions for you, but your agent will only have as much power as you have laid out for him or her. In other words, you can choose for your agent to simply take care of your bills and property if you are somehow incapacitated, or you can opt for him or her to have more power, such as the authorization to give gifts or set up trusts on your behalf. 

You may also select a power of attorney to take care of your healthcare needs. Adults may create a power of attorney to name an agent who can manage their medical care and personal needs if they become incapacitated or unable to make their own healthcare decisions. As with a power of attorney for property, a power of attorney for healthcare can limit the decisions your agent can make or provide them with general authority to meet your needs.

Divorce comes with a long, long list of things that you need to do and items that you need to give consideration to. If you are getting divorced, one of the things that you should be thinking about is your estate plan and what the end of your marriage means for that plan. You are most likely going to need to change some things in your estate plan, but what should you be looking for? Here are three things that you should review and update following your divorce:

1. Power of Attorney

A power of attorney for finances allows another person to manage your affairs if you are unable to do so yourself. You and your spouse probably have executed a power of attorney at some point, but you should revoke this as soon as possible, as it may give your spouse access to your assets. This can be particularly important if the divorce is not going to be a smooth one. In addition, you may have executed a power of attorney for healthcare which named your spouse as a health care proxy, authorizing them to make healthcare-related decisions for you if you are unable to do so. You will likely want to revoke this authority as well following your divorce.

When someone dies and leaves a will, that will is probably going to end up going through probate, the legal process of proving, settling, and finalizing the will. The vast majority of wills go through probate without incident, but every once in a while, a will is contested for its validity. Typically, the person who is contesting the will is unhappy with the will in some way and attempts to have the will thrown out. 

Who Can Contest a Will?

In Illinois, a person must have “standing” to contest a will, meaning that they must be affected in some way by the will. The person must have a direct, financial, and existing interest that would be negatively affected if the will were to be accepted by the court.

According to the Illinois Probate Act, those wishing to contest a will must file a petition with the court within six months of the will being admitted to probate in order to have their petition heard. Any petitions filed after the six-month period will not be considered.

Nobody wants to think about their death. It is not an enjoyable idea to consider, and it is even less pleasant to discuss. Even though the topic is never fun, it is important that you begin planning for your family’s financial future as early as possible. Having a sound and solid estate plan can help you and your family have peace of mind by knowing that the future is well planned for. Here are some common estate planning mistakes that people make:

1. Not Having an Estate Plan

Statistics show that more than half of Americans have not made a will or plans for their finances after they die. Estate planning is not just financial planning--you are also planning for your own health and well-being. It also means that you are providing your loved ones with an organized inheritance and less stress when your time comes.

Most people do not know a lot about probate until a loved one dies, and the ones that do know about it think that it is a long and frustrating process. While the probate process can indeed be lengthy, it does not have to be frustrating or complicated. 

What Is the Probate Process?

Probate is the legal process that a deceased person’s estate goes through to be properly distributed to heirs and designated beneficiaries. Typically, a person’s property is distributed according to the deceased person’s last will and testament, but if there is no will, property is distributed according to state law. During the probate process, the following steps are taken:

1. File the Will in Probate Court and Notify Beneficiaries

The probate process begins when a petition is filed in the local probate court to place the will into probate and appoint an executor of the estate. If the deceased person did not have a will, the petition will ask the court to appoint a person as an administrator for the estate. The notice of the hearing must be given to all beneficiaries, which allows them to contest the will in court if they object to the terms of the will. The notice should also be published in a newspaper in the county in which the petition was filed. 

Nearly half of Americans do not have a will, and even less than that have an estate plan. It is not hard to see why, since nobody wants to think about what will happen when they die. However, it is important to plan for your family’s financial future. Almost everyone can benefit from having a will, but if you are not sure if you need an estate plan, here are some things to consider:

1. Children

If you have a child, it is important to decide what will happen to them in the event that you and your spouse die. In a will, you can name a guardian to take care of your child, but you should also state what assets the child might inherit and who is to take care of those assets until the child is old enough to gain access to them.

If you need something more extensive than a will, a trust might be the best option. A trust allows another person to hold assets on behalf of the person receiving them, and it can minimize estate taxes.