Madison County Illinois Estate Planning Blog

Around 45 percent of people who are 55 or older don't have an estate plan in place. This puts their family members in a precarious position because they might not know what their loved one wants. Instead of leaving their final days and the disposition of their assets to chance, all Americans in this age group should take the time to create an estate plan.

When you don't have an estate plan in place, a few things happen. You won't have any say in what happens with your health care or finances in your final days. You also won't be able to decide who is going to get your assets when you pass away. As a general guideline, adults should have a plan for all of this in place by the time they are 50 years old.

A will is the most basic part of any estate plan. It forms the foundation of that plan, dividing assets and leaving them to specific heirs. It should, theoretically, get coupled with things like a legal power of attorney, an advance directive and a medical power of attorney.

As important as it is, most people do not have a will. Reports show that about 60 percent of people in the United States have failed to draft one.

When it is time to draft your will, you might be tempted to just grab a do-it-yourself kit and try to handle things at home. This usually isn't a good idea because it is difficult to condense complex estate planning objectives into a simple document like the ones offered in the kits. There is a chance that your DIY attempt might end up causing you a lot of stress. Ultimately, your will might not achieveo what you want it to accomplish.

You may think that any will is better than no will, but you should consider what might happen if someone contests your DIY will. Is it going to stand up to the challenge? Does it leave room for question about your intent?

There are sometimes several people involved with the creation of a will: The deceased, their attorney, their family members, and their friends or other loved ones. All of these people can contribute to making the will a relevant, legally enforceable document. Often, one of these people will play another very important role-- as the executor. 

Before making a will, many people are not aware of the necessity of an executor. But as you proceed with the estate planning process, you will find out just how important the executor can be for an estate. Here, we will discuss what you should know about executors of the will.