Money & Debt

A program to prepare a Transfer on Death Instrument to give residential property to your loved ones after your death.

Learn the steps to transfer real estate through a Transfer on Death Instrument without going through the probate process.

Explains how an estate is divided if a person dies without a will.

Steps on how to create and use a small estate affidavit.

A program to help you complete forms to give someone access to or control over your money and property in Illinois.

Explains collecting and distributing property after someone dies by filing probate or using small estate procedures.

A program to help you transfer someone's personal property worth up to $100,000 after their death.

Explains when a small estate affidavit can be used to transfer your property after death without going to court.

You can use a Small Estate Affidavit (SEA) to transfer a car, but you must go through the Secretary of State.

Question and answer column with John Roska

Learn more about Transfer on Death Instruments and how you can use it to transfer a house to someone after you die.

Learn how to create a Power of Attorney, select a trusted agent, and understand their responsibilities.

Defines the power of attorney and describes what a person with this power can do.

Explains the possible negative consequences of utilizing an affidavit for a small estate

Describes wills, how to write, change, and revoke one and what happens if you die without one.

Steps to create a power of attorney for property.

Learn more about a Transfer on Death Instrument, how it can transfer property like a house after the owner's death, and how it fits in estate planning.

A will is followed upon a person's death and a portion of the person's estate goes to their spouse even if not listed

You can use this form to revoke a real estate Transfer on Death Instrument that you have filed with a county Recorder of Deeds.

Learn more about how to cancel or revoke a Transfer on Death Instrument after it has been recorded.

A webpage that explains how to use a living trust as your primary estate-planning tool.

Manual on planning for spouses and descendants, marital deduction and credit shelter provisions, tax aspects, and more. 2023 edition

Manual on the inner workings of wills, trusts, and guardianship. 2023 edition

Information on representing elderly clients on issues such as estate and tax planning, Medicare, and elder abuse. 2023 edition

Manual on estate planning that defines the minimum size of an estate, who should participate in estate planning, etc. 2023 edition

A lawyer resource on estate administration focusing on managing a decedent's business and related federal and Illinois estate and income tax issues.

Advanced legal content. Manual for guardians on behalf of wards. 2023 edition

Explains and provides sample forms for estate planning. Includes: power of attorney for property, Illinois advance health care directives, premarital agreements, and guardianships. 2022 edition.

A guide for attorneys throughout the probate process, including filing the will, funeral arrangements, the initial meeting with the decedent’s family, life insurance, and social security and Veterans Administration benefits. Also extensively covered are the steps of opening the estate in courts.

Manual on common oversights in estate planning. 2023 edition.

Manual on postmortem estate planning including minimizing income, generation-skipping transfers, estate taxes, and more. 2023 edition.

Includes naming a trust as a beneficiary, charitable giving, creditor protection, and postmortem planning. 2023 edition.

Manual on drafting an estate plan that avoids reductions of potential government benefits for the special needs child. 2024 edition

Manual on creation of trust, role of trustee, liability, record-keeping, allocation of principal and income, and more. 2023 edition

Comprehensive estate planning resource for attorneys: Access key forms and in-depth commentary on Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts (ILITs) to help clients protect assets, minimize tax liability, and ensure strategic wealth transfer

Explains grounds for a cause of action in probate. Includes: challenges to taking, breach of fiduciary duty, challenges to wills, citation to recover assets, and more. 2024 edition.