A recent Florida court case illustrates what can result from a poorly drafted Will. The case describes how a woman wrote a Will using an “EZ-Legal Form.” Her Will contained a very specific list of her real estate and bank accounts and left that property to her sister and brother. The Will did not contain what is known as…read more →
The Illinois legislature recently passed a bill allowing a homeowner to name a beneficiary who will receive the property when the owner dies. The hope was that this new type of real estate deed would simplify estate planning for people with smaller estates. Unfortunately, it may create more problems than it solves.The bill will become law on January 1, 2012….read more →
Landlords in Illinois will be required next year to change or “rekey” the locks before a new tenant moves in. Here is link to the new lock changing law. http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/97/PDF/097-0470.pdf There are only limited exceptions to this law including rooming houses and buildings with four or fewer units where the owner lives in one of the units. If the landlord…read more →
Will your Trust work the way you intend it. Many people have created Revocable Trusts, which are also known as Living Trusts. They have done so for a number of reasons (avoiding probate, avoiding court guardianship, tax planning). But if your Trust is not funded it may not work the way you want.A recent post on an trust and estate…read more →
There is another challenge for buyers and sellers of condominiums in Chicago. According to a Chicago Tribune article titled Condo deals die in shadows of financially distressed buildings lenders are refusing to make loans in buildings that have a high number of renters, a large percentage of past due assessments or foreclosures. This another reason to carefully research a condominium association…read more →
While a Will is an important part of any estate plan, there are other things that should be considered too.Beneficiary designations and joint tenancy property should be considered when reviewing your estate plan. Your bank accounts, stock brokerage accounts, retirement accounts may have beneficiaries that you named to receive the assets in those accounts. These accounts might also be held…read more →
A properly drafted Will can save your beneficiaries costs in many different ways. One of those ways that people don’t ordinarily think about is the cost of a bond.A Will can contain a provision that waives the requirement that the executor post a bond. If your Will does not have this provision or if you don’t have a Will then…read more →
Paying your mortgage on time apparently now isn’t good enough for one of the country’s largest mortgage lenders-GMAC. Surprisingly, with all the problems mortgage lenders have with loans that are not being paid GMAC has time to make threatening collection calls to its borrowers who are paying on time.The standard residential loan and mortgage state that payments are due on…read more →
Our elected officials in Springfield apparently believe in the Fountain of Youth when they passed the residential property tax law that requires senior citizens to re-apply every year for the senior citizen exemption. Thats right when you turn 65 and apply for your senior citizen property tax exemption, you will need to re-apply for the next year. Using normal arithmetic,…read more →
Do condominium associations need Worker’s Compensation? For a large high rise with 24 hour security, building engineers and janitors the answer is obviously yes, since all these people are full time employees of the association. For smaller condominium associations the answer is less obvious. Recently the board treasurer of a 16 unit condominium association asked me about whether his condominium…read more →