What Estate Planning Documents Should My Parents Have in Illinois?

If something happened to your mom or dad tomorrow, would you actually have the legal authority to help them? Here are the estate planning documents Illinois families should have in place before a crisis.

A woman recently asked me a question I hear often: “What documents should I make sure my parents have?”

Her parents were doing well. They owned their home. They had retirement accounts and savings. They were healthy, independent and certainly didn’t think of themselves as “old.” But she had started wondering: What would happen if Dad had a stroke? Could Mom access everything? What if Mom couldn’t make her own healthcare decisions? Could I step in or would I have to go to court? Where would we even start?

These are questions families often don’t ask until something happens. And unfortunately, that is usually the hardest time to start planning. If your parents live in Illinois, here are the documents I would want them to discuss with an estate planning attorney.

1. A Will

A will provides instructions for how certain assets should be distributed at death and names the person your parents want to serve as executor. But there is an important misconception: having a will does not automatically avoid probate court. A will is an important part of an estate plan, but depending on what your parents own, it may not be enough by itself.

2. A Revocable Living Trust

For parents who own a home, have accumulated significant assets, own additional real estate or simply want to make things easier for their family, a revocable living trust may be appropriate. A properly drafted and funded trust can allow assets held in the trust to be managed if a parent becomes incapacitated and administered after death without those assets going through the traditional probate process. It can also give parents much greater control over what happens to an inheritance after they’re gone. The key word is funded. Signing a trust and putting it in a binder isn’t the end of the process. Assets need to be coordinated with the estate plan.

3. Power of Attorney for Property

This may be one of the most important documents your parents ever sign. An Illinois Power of Attorney for Property allows your parent to choose someone to handle financial and property matters if necessary. Without appropriate authority in place, a family member doesn’t automatically get the legal right to manage another adult’s finances simply because they are the spouse or child. When a crisis occurs, discovering that nobody has authority to handle an important financial matter can create tremendous stress—and in some circumstances may lead to court involvement.

4. Power of Attorney for Health Care

Who should make medical decisions if your parent cannot communicate? An Illinois Power of Attorney for Health Care allows your parent to choose that person in advance. This isn’t just a document for someone who is sick. The best time to make these decisions is while your parents are healthy and fully able to tell you exactly what they want.

5. HIPAA Authorization

Families are often surprised by how difficult it can be to obtain medical information about another adult. A HIPAA authorization can identify the people your parents want to have access to protected medical information. It may seem like a small document—until you’re the person trying to help during an emergency.

“My Parents Already Have Wills. Is That Enough?”

Maybe. Maybe not. If your parents signed wills 15 or 20 years ago and haven’t looked at them since, I wouldn’t assume the plan still works the way they think it does.

Their assets may have changed. Their children are older. They may have grandchildren now. They may own different real estate. Their financial situation may be completely different. And the people they selected years ago to make financial or healthcare decisions may no longer be around or the people they would choose today. Estate planning isn’t something that should be signed once and forgotten forever. Sometimes an outdated estate plan causes the most problems for families.

The Conversation to Have With Your Parents Now

You don’t need to start by asking your parents how much money they have or who is getting what. Start with something simpler:

“If something happened to you tomorrow, would we know what to do?”

Do they have an estate plan? Where are the original documents? Who is their attorney? Who has been named to make financial and healthcare decisions? Are beneficiary designations current? Is their trust actually funded? Does the plan still reflect what they want?

Those questions can prevent an enormous amount of confusion later. The goal isn’t for children to take control of their parents’ affairs. It’s exactly the opposite.

Good estate planning allows your parents to decide now who they trust, what they want and how their affairs should be handled.

And it can spare their family from trying to figure everything out during a hospital stay, incapacity or loss.

Estate Planning for Parents in Illinois

At Marketti Law Firm, we help Illinois families create and update estate plans designed around their actual lives—their homes, retirement accounts, investments, businesses, children and grandchildren.

Whether your parents have nothing in place, signed a basic will years ago or have an older trust that hasn’t been reviewed in years, a good first step is simply making sure their plan still does what they think it does.

The best time to figure this out isn’t during an emergency. It’s before one.

Marketti Law Firm serves families in Frankfort, Mokena, New Lenox, Manhattan, Orland Park and surrounding Illinois communities.

This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.