I. What is a living trust? Basically, a Living Trust (also known as revocable trust, declaration of trust, grantor trust, and many other names) is a trust in which the same individual is simultaneously the creator, or "settlor", of the trust, the initial trustee and the initial beneficiary. Such "one party" trusts are valid in Illinois and most other states. To create a valid Living Trust, your intention to establish the trust must be clear ... Read More
How Does The Amendment To The Illinois Wage Payment And Collection Act Affect Employers’ Reimbursement Policies?
By: Brad McCann The Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act ("Act") was recently amended to take effect on January 1, 2019 and continue for years thereafter. 820 ILCS 260/10. The amendment to the Act requires employers to reimburse employees for “all necessary expenses that are incurred by the employee within the employee’s scope of employment and that are directly related to services performed for the employer.” Employers may draft ... Read More
Deadhand Divorce: The Do’s and Don’ts of Will and Trust conditions that require the dissolution of marriage
By: Jonathan W. Powell and Christian G. Spesia In Illinois, wills and trusts that encourage their beneficiaries to get a divorce are generally considered invalid because they run contrary to the public policies of our State. However, this rule, like any good rule of law, has exceptions. It is important to know what these exceptions are, as the alternative is to risk creating a facially invalid will or trust agreement. Over the course of ... Read More
Spesia & Taylor prevents a murderer from obtaining nearly a half-a-million dollars of wife’s assets
By: Jacob E. Gancarczyk A Crest Hill man killed his wife, a mother of three children from a prior marriage. Following the tragic event the family hired the law firm of Spesia & Taylor to assist the family in handling legal matters as a result of her death. Within days following the murder, attorneys John Spesia, Brad McCann, and Jacob Gancarczyk contacted the victim’s pension plan, life insurance, and banks, successfully freezing assets ... Read More
Appointing a standby guardian for the estate of disabled adult children
Parents often serve as the Guardian of the Estate and Person for their disabled adult children. As the parents get older, they often contemplate who will serve as their successor Guardian for the disabled adult child. Often, the parents have other children who can serve, but sometimes, the parents do not have that “go to” person whom they can identify. A Guardian of the Estate and/or the Guardian of the Person can nominate a Standby Guardian ... Read More
