Best Estate Planning Attorneys in Evanston, IL

That is determined by the state you live in when you die. In Illinois, if you are married and have children, half the assets you own in your name go to your spouse and the other half go to your children. If your children are minors, their inheritance will probably be placed in a court guardianship and given to them in a lump sum when they are 18. Most 18-year-olds are not mature enough to manage a windfall, and taking this approach can result in serious negative consequences.

If your spouse wants me to prepare an estate plan for him/her, then yes, he/she has to come to the meeting. I cannot prepare an estate plan for a person without meeting face-to-face with him or her. If you want me to prepare an estate plan just for you, and you want my duty of confidentiality to exclude your spouse, then come by yourself.

With mediation, the people involved in the conflict determine the result, not an outside party. If you do not believe an outcome is fair or good for you, then do not agree to it. In mediation, you are not forced to agree.

That is your decision. Most of the time, you do not need a lawyer to be there with you, for two reasons. First, in mediation, the parties are trying to work together to solve their conflict, not trying to convince a judge or arbitrator of their point of view. Second, the rules in mediation are few and easy to understand. That said, if you need a lawyer with you to feel comfortable, then you can bring one.

Many cases can be resolved in one day. Divorce and custody issues often take many shorter sessions because there are so many issues to resolve and so much information the parties must consider.