Simply, no, they are interrelated but each has a different focus. A financial plan is intended to analyze your savings, income, goals (savings, education costs for either yourself or children, retirement planning, etc.), and attempt to balance these goals with how best to invest to achieve them. An Estate Plan seeks to incorporate these financial goals in to a coherent plan for caring for those you love – partner, spouse, children, other family – should you pass before some, or all, of them. Not having an Estate Plan decided upon by yourself leaves these decisions, possibly, to what Illinois Law decides, which may not be what you want. Please contact me to discuss setting up an effective, cost effective plan made for YOUR needs. If you are not sure if this is a right path for you, read the testimonials from my clients and maybe your opinion will change after reading it.
While there is no legal requirement in Illinois that a Lawyer has to be hired by a home seller, as a practicality it is nearly impossible and certainly ill-advised to represent oneself. There are many documents that need to be drafted, almost all of them fairly complex and detailed. Additionally, the negotiations that often occur […]
When I meet with prospective Estate Planning clients for the first time, it is very common for most people to believe that an effective Estate Plan must be complicated. This is generally not the case. A well drafted document – whether it is a Will or a Living Trust – should be not only legally […]
This unfortunately happens far too often. As people age, sometimes their ability to safeguard their assets diminishes. Fortunately there are laws to protect senior citizens, and each case of potential financial abuse is unique based on the facts at work. Parents, aunts/uncles or close friends who are seniors may often be reluctant to share information […]
If you have a living trust in place, it can probably be amended. It is, however, completely dependent on whether it is what is known as a Revocable Trust. The majority of Trusts are revocable in nature, which is the legal wording used to also indicate that they are amendable, or can be changed. This […]