Naperville Estate Planning Attorney
Wills, Living Trusts, and Powers of Attorney for Illinois Families
I am Robert J. Varak, a Naperville estate planning attorney helping individuals and families create wills, living trusts, powers of attorney, and healthcare directives. I work with clients throughout Chicagoland, including Cook, DuPage, Will, Kane, Kendall, and Lake Counties.
A thoughtful estate plan addresses three essential questions: Who should receive your assets? Who should manage your affairs if you cannot? And how can you make the process easier for the people who depend on you?
I help you answer those questions with a plan tailored to your family, property, and priorities. As a solo attorney, I work directly with you, explain your options in plain language, and offer daytime and evening appointments, including consultations and document signings in the comfort of your home.
What Does an Illinois Estate Plan Include?
An estate plan commonly includes a will, powers of attorney for property and healthcare, and related healthcare documents. Depending on your circumstances, it may also include a revocable living trust or more specialized trust planning.
Your documents should work together with the way you own your property and the beneficiaries named on your retirement accounts, life insurance, and other assets. I help you understand those connections so your plan can accomplish what you intend.
Last Will and Testament
A will directs how assets passing through your estate should be distributed after your death. It also allows you to nominate an executor to settle your estate and a guardian for your minor children, subject to court approval.
A will is important, but it has limits:
A will does not avoid probate. Whether probate is necessary depends on your assets, how they are owned, and other circumstances.
A will does not authorize someone to manage your finances during your lifetime. Powers of attorney and, when appropriate, a living trust address that need.
A will generally does not control assets with valid beneficiary designations or survivorship arrangements. Those assets usually pass according to their ownership or beneficiary terms.
If you die without a will, Illinois intestacy law generally determines who receives assets passing through your probate estate. Those rules may differ significantly from your wishes, particularly if you have a blended family, an unmarried partner, or other people you want to provide for.
I can help you prepare a new will or review whether your existing will needs updating.
Revocable Living Trusts
A revocable living trust allows you to establish instructions for managing and distributing property during your lifetime, during incapacity, and after your death. You can generally serve as your own trustee, retain control of your assets, and amend or revoke the trust while you have the capacity to do so.
A properly prepared and funded living trust can help you:
Avoid probate for assets held in the trust.
Arrange for a successor trustee to manage trust property if you become incapacitated.
Provide continuing management of an inheritance for children or other beneficiaries.
Address the needs of blended families.
Coordinate estate tax planning when appropriate.
Creating a trust is only part of the process. Assets must be appropriately transferred to it or otherwise coordinated with your plan. I explain the funding steps and beneficiary-designation issues that apply to your circumstances.
A living trust does not guarantee immediate distributions after death. Your successor trustee may need to address debts, expenses, taxes, and other administration duties before distributing assets. A revocable trust also generally does not protect your own assets from your creditors during your lifetime.
Specialized Trust and Estate Tax Planning
Some families need planning beyond a basic will or living trust. Depending on your goals, I can help you evaluate:
Estate tax planning: Coordinating trusts, asset ownership, and beneficiary designations to address potential Illinois or federal estate taxes.
Special needs trusts: Providing for a loved one with a disability while considering eligibility for means-tested benefits.
Irrevocable trusts: Addressing particular tax, insurance, charitable, or beneficiary-protection goals.
Trusts for beneficiaries: Establishing how and when an inheritance is available, rather than requiring an outright distribution.
Different trusts serve different purposes. I explain the benefits, limitations, and responsibilities before recommending an approach.
Durable Power of Attorney for Property
A power of attorney for property authorizes a person you choose, called your agent, to handle financial and legal matters within the authority granted by the document. That authority may include paying bills, managing accounts, handling insurance, and completing property transactions.
A durable power of attorney can remain effective if you become incapacitated. It is an important part of planning even if you have a living trust, because some assets and decisions may fall outside your trustee’s authority.
Your power of attorney should identify an appropriate agent and backups, explain their authority, and reflect your current wishes. It does not need to be replaced annually simply because it is older, but it should be reviewed when your circumstances, chosen agents, or planning needs change.
Healthcare Power of Attorney, Living Will, and HIPAA Authorization
Healthcare planning allows you to identify who should speak for you and communicate your treatment preferences if you cannot speak for yourself.
These documents serve related but distinct purposes:
Healthcare power of attorney: Names an agent to make healthcare decisions when you cannot make them yourself and allows you to provide instructions.
Living will: Expresses your wishes about death-delaying procedures under the terminal-condition circumstances addressed by Illinois law.
HIPAA authorization: Permits designated people to receive protected medical information within the authorization’s terms.
I help you coordinate these documents and discuss your wishes with the people you select.
When Should You Review Your Estate Plan?
An estate plan should be reviewed when important parts of your life change. Common reasons include:
Marriage, divorce, or the death of a spouse.
The birth or adoption of a child or grandchild.
Changes in your beneficiaries’ needs or circumstances.
The death, incapacity, or unavailability of a trustee, executor, or agent.
Significant changes in your assets or ownership of property.
A move to Illinois from another state.
Changes in tax law or concerns about whether your trust has been funded.
If you already have documents, I can help you determine what still works and what may need revision.
Estate Planning at Your Home and Around Your Schedule
Estate planning should fit into your life. I offer in-home consultations and document signings, along with daytime, evening, and virtual meeting options.
You work directly with me throughout the process. I explain fees before you commit, answer your questions, and provide guidance on the asset transfers and beneficiary arrangements needed to put your plan into effect.
Learn more about my at-home estate planning services.
Schedule a Complimentary Estate Planning Call
Whether you need your first estate plan or want to review existing documents, start with a complimentary 20-minute phone call. I will learn about your needs, answer your initial questions, and explain the next steps.