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 will is the foundation of almost every estate plan, and the single document that decides what happens to everything you own and everyone who depends on you. Done right, it names who inherits, who manages your estate, and — if you have children — who raises them. Done with a generic template, it often misses an Illinois signing requirement, ignores your real family situation, or leaves gaps that send your family into a longer, costlier probate. We draft wills that actually fit your life and hold up when they matter.
We prepare wills for individuals and families across DuPage County and the western suburbs, from a straightforward will for a young family to coordinated plans that work alongside a trust, powers of attorney, and beneficiary designations. You work directly with the attorney drafting your documents, we quote a flat fee before we start, and we handle the signing ceremony so the will is executed exactly the way Illinois law requires. The result is a plan you understand and a document your family can rely on.
Related reading: Will vs. Trust in Illinois and what happens if you die without a will in Illinois.
A well-drafted Illinois will addresses far more than just who gets what.
Name who will raise your minor children if both parents pass. Without this, the court decides.
Pass specific assets, heirlooms, real estate, business interests, to specific people.
Designate who will manage your estate through probate. Naming wisely matters.
Catch-all provisions so any asset not specifically named still passes as you intended.
Required Illinois language so your will is admitted to probate without witness testimony.
When life changes, we update your will properly, not by handwritten notes on the original.
We sit down, in person or by phone, and understand your family, assets, and concerns.
You get a clear price before we start drafting. No hourly billing surprises.
We draft your will, walk you through every clause in plain English, and revise until it’s right.
Proper Illinois signing with two witnesses and notary. Originals secured, copies to you.
Online templates often miss Illinois witness and notary requirements, invalid wills cost more than legal ones.
Blended families, special needs children, and small businesses need clauses templates don’t have.
We’ll tell you when a trust is better than a will, and when you genuinely just need a will.
Illinois has its own estate tax above the federal threshold. Smart drafting can save your heirs significant money.
Your will should work with your POA, beneficiary designations, and any trusts, not contradict them.
You’ll know exactly what your will costs before we start. Most families pay less than they expect.
If you die without a valid will in Illinois, the state’s intestacy statute decides who gets your property — not you. The law hands your estate to relatives in a fixed order, splitting it between a spouse and children in set shares, reaching out to parents, siblings, and more distant relatives if there is no immediate family, and ultimately to the state if none can be found. It makes no allowance for stepchildren you raised, an unmarried partner, a charity you cared about, or the fact that one child needs more help than another. A will is how you replace that default with your actual wishes.
Dying intestate also makes everything harder for the people you leave behind. The court appoints an administrator instead of the executor you would have chosen, often requires a surety bond, and supervises the estate more closely — all of which adds cost, delay, and friction at the worst possible time. If you have minor children, the absence of a will means a judge, not you, decides who raises them. A properly drafted will names your executor, nominates guardians, and routes your estate where you want it, sparing your family the expense and uncertainty the statute imposes.
From our Villa Park office, we represent clients across DuPage County and the western suburbs of Chicago.
Prefer to work with someone local? Visit our wills and estate planning page for Villa Park or our Downers Grove estate planning attorney page.
A simple Illinois will from our firm is a flat fee in the low hundreds. More complex wills, with trusts, business interests, or special needs planning, cost more. We give you exact pricing at your free consultation before any work begins.
Illinois intestacy laws decide everything: who gets your assets, who raises your minor children, and who administers your estate. Spouses don’t automatically get everything, children share with the surviving spouse. The court appoints an executor, not necessarily someone you’d choose.
Technically yes, but Illinois requires specific witness and notary procedures, and template language often misses important contingencies. Many DIY wills fail in probate or create disputes between family members. The cost of a proper will is almost always less than the cost of fixing a flawed one.
Review every 3-5 years and after any major life event: marriage, divorce, birth of a child, death of a beneficiary, major change in assets, or a move to a different state. Small changes can be made with a codicil; larger changes warrant a fresh will.
Yes. Each spouse needs an individual will, Illinois doesn’t recognize joint wills as a substitute. We typically draft mirror wills for spouses that reference each other but stand independently.
No, a will is the document used in probate. To avoid probate entirely, you need a living trust, properly titled assets, and beneficiary designations on accounts. We can help you set up that broader plan if appropriate.
Illinois law requires that the person making the will be at least 18 and of sound mind, that the will be in writing, and that it be signed by the will-maker and witnessed by two credible witnesses who sign in the maker’s presence. Handwritten or fill-in-the-blank wills frequently fail one of these requirements, and a will that is not executed correctly can be thrown out entirely, sending your estate through intestacy as if you had no will at all. We handle the drafting and the signing ceremony so the document holds up.
Usually yes. Even with a living trust, a short pour-over will catches any asset you did not transfer into the trust during your life and directs it where it belongs, and it is also where you nominate guardians for minor children, which a trust cannot do. We routinely pair the two and make sure they work together rather than contradict each other.
Most clients are surprised at how fast and affordable it is. A free 30-minute consultation tells you exactly what you need and what it costs.