Estate Planning · DuPage County, Illinois
Wills, trusts, and the planning that keeps your family in control and out of court, from the same DuPage County firm since 1990.
A trust is one of the most flexible tools in estate planning, and for many families the difference between a smooth transfer of assets and years tied up in probate court. A properly funded living trust lets your estate pass to the people you choose privately, without the cost, delay, and public record that probate brings. But a trust only works if it is drafted correctly and actually funded, and that is where do-it-yourself kits and rushed plans fall short. We design trusts that fit your assets, your family, and your goals, and we make sure they are set up to do what you intended.
We create and administer trusts for clients across DuPage County and the western suburbs — revocable living trusts, irrevocable trusts, special needs trusts, and trusts built into a larger plan alongside your will and powers of attorney. You work directly with the attorney designing your plan, we explain in plain language what each option does and does not do, and we handle the funding step that so many trusts are missing. The result is a plan that protects your assets and spares your family the probate process.
Related reading: Will vs. Trust in Illinois: which one do you need? Also see how to avoid probate in Illinois.
Different trusts solve different problems. We help you choose the right one, not the most expensive one.
Most common. You stay in control, can change it anytime, and assets in the trust skip Illinois probate. Best for most families.
More restrictive but powerful: removes assets from your taxable estate, protects from creditors, and qualifies for Medicaid planning.
Provides for a beneficiary with disabilities without disqualifying them from SSI or Medicaid benefits.
Distributes assets over time and protects beneficiaries from creditors, divorcing spouses, and their own poor judgment.
CRT, CLT, and charitable lead trusts, combine charitable giving with significant tax benefits.
Created within your will, takes effect after death. Useful for staged distributions to younger beneficiaries.
We understand your assets, family, and goals, then recommend the right trust structure for your situation.
Clear pricing based on trust complexity. You decide before we draft anything.
We draft the trust and pour-over will, walk you through every provision, and revise as needed.
Critical step most attorneys skip. We help retitle assets so the trust actually owns them.
Assets in a properly funded trust pass to beneficiaries without court involvement, saving time and money.
Probate is public record. Trust distributions stay private, your assets and beneficiaries aren’t published.
If you become incapacitated, your successor trustee takes over instantly, no guardianship court proceedings.
Avoid ancillary probate in every state where you own real estate.
Distribute to children at specific ages, or hold assets for special-needs beneficiaries indefinitely.
Properly structured trusts protect beneficiaries from their creditors and divorce.
The single most common estate-planning mistake we see is a trust that was drafted and signed but never funded. Creating the trust document is only half the job; the assets — your home, accounts, and investments — have to actually be retitled into the trust’s name or directed to it by beneficiary designation. A trust that owns nothing controls nothing, and the estate it was supposed to keep out of probate sails right into it. We do not hand you a binder and wish you luck. We handle the funding: preparing the deeds, coordinating account transfers, and confirming your beneficiary designations line up with the plan.
Funding is also not a one-time event. As you buy property, open accounts, or change banks, those assets need to be brought under the trust, and a plan that fit five years ago may not fit today. We talk through how to keep new assets aligned with your trust, and we are here to update the plan as your life changes, so the protection you paid for does not quietly erode over time.
From our Villa Park office, we represent clients across DuPage County and the western suburbs of Chicago.
A will goes through Illinois probate and only takes effect after death. A living trust avoids probate, takes effect immediately, and provides for you during incapacity as well as after death. Most families benefit from having both, a ‘pour-over will’ working with the trust as a safety net.
A standard revocable living trust package (trust, pour-over will, POAs, advance directives) is typically a flat fee. Costs depend on complexity, single trust vs joint, basic vs special-needs provisions, business or real estate involvement. We give exact pricing at your free consultation.
No. You serve as trustee while you’re alive and capable, can change or revoke the trust anytime, and use the assets exactly as you do now. Successor trustees only take over upon incapacity or death.
A trust only avoids probate for assets actually titled in the trust’s name. Many people sign trust documents but never retitle their accounts and real estate, those assets still go through probate. We walk you through funding so the trust actually does what it’s supposed to.
Most families use a revocable trust, full control, full flexibility, avoids probate. Irrevocable trusts make sense when you need asset protection from creditors, Medicaid planning, or estate tax reduction. We’ll tell you honestly which one your situation requires.
A standard revocable trust does not by itself avoid estate tax. Estate tax planning requires specific irrevocable trust structures combined with gifting strategies. For estates above the Illinois $4 million threshold, we offer dedicated tax planning.
A revocable living trust can be changed or revoked by you at any time during your life; you keep full control of the assets and use it mainly to avoid probate and to manage assets if you become incapacitated. An irrevocable trust generally cannot be changed once created, and in exchange it can offer benefits a revocable trust cannot, such as removing assets from your taxable estate or protecting them from certain creditors or long-term-care costs. Which one fits depends entirely on your goals, and we walk you through the trade-offs before you decide.
A properly drafted and fully funded trust keeps the assets it holds out of probate, which is its main advantage. The catch is funding: any asset left out of the trust and without a beneficiary designation can still go through probate. That is why we pair most trusts with a pour-over will as a backstop and take funding seriously. Done right, the great majority of your estate passes outside of probate, privately and without court delay.
A free consultation tells you which trust fits your situation, and whether you even need one. No pressure, no obligation.