Legal Question in Family Law in Illinois

Re: trust vs. wills

In a nutshell:

A will tells the Court to take the money that belonged to a recently deceased person and then divide it according to the will among the various heirs. This is called probate.

A trust is a way to avoid probate. The deceased basically gives all of his assets to a trust which is a separate entity (with the ability to own property just like another person). The deceased has died but the trust is still alive and so does not have to go through probate. The way a trust is set up, when the original beneficiary (the deceased) dies, then the new beneficiaries (the heirs) are paid whatever property was in the trust according to a plan similar to how a will would work.

If you are thinking about putting together an estate plan, you should definitely contact an attorney. Please feel free to call us if you have any questions.