by Lauren Jackson | Jul 12, 2024 | Attorney, Estate Planning, Lawyer, Living will, Power of Attorney, Wills
Recently I recorded an episode on the Your Life, Your Money Podcast with financial advisor Scott Sierens. During this episode we went through the fundamental aspects of estate planning, addressing common misconceptions and highlighting why having a solid estate plan...
by Lauren Jackson | Jul 8, 2024 | Attorney, Beneficiary, Estate Planning, executor, Joint Trust, Lawyer, Probate, Trusts, Wills
A question during the probate process evolves around what happens to debt after your parents die. Are the children responsible for their parents’ debt? In most cases, children are not personally responsible for parents’ debt when they die. However,...
by Lauren Jackson | Apr 24, 2024 | Attorney, Estate Planning, Guardian, Lawyer, Power of Attorney, Trustee, Trusts, Wills
Choosing a guardian for your children might be the hardest question to answer when completing your estate plan. Determining who the guardian of your child is is a significant life decision but also a deeply personal one. There are many considerations to think of when...
by Lauren Jackson | Mar 19, 2024 | Attorney, buying a home, Lawyer, owner's title policy, Real Estate, real estate closing, Real Estate Inspection, selling a home
Your dreams have come true and you just purchased a home. Everything was great until you moved in. After the first rainfall, your basement floods, or your roof leaks and your home has sustained water damage. You suspect that this is not the first time this house has...
by Lauren Jackson | Feb 29, 2024 | Attorney, Estate Planning, executor, Lawyer, Probate
If you are involved in a probate process and serve as the executor or administrator of an estate you know how time-consuming, difficult, and stressful a task it can be for you. Acting as executor/administrator is often a thankless job that can quickly turn...
by Lauren Jackson | Feb 15, 2024 | Attorney, Beneficiaries, Estate Planning, Lawyer, Living will, Power of Attorney, Retirement, Revocable living trust, Trusts, Wills
Whether you want to think about it or not, there comes a time in everyone’s life when it is too late to complete an estate plan. Waiting until the last minute, or until a significant life event occurs, can lead to complications and potential limitations. Being an...
by Lauren Jackson | Feb 1, 2024 | Attorney, Estate Planning, financial advisor, Lawyer, Limited Liability Company, Retirement, Small Business
One of the most important things we can do for our families, and our future selves, is to save money in retirement accounts. I’ve noticed a common client misconception that all money in retirement accounts (IRA, 401K, 457, etc.) is protected and untouchable by...
by Lauren Jackson | Jan 25, 2024 | Attorney, buying a home, Lawyer, Mechanic Lien, mortgage, owner's title policy, Real Estate, selling a home
If you make your living in real estate, an instrument you should know is the mechanic lien. Also known as a construction lien or a contractor’s lien, a mechanic lien is a legal claim that a contractor or other construction professional (carpenter, architect, plumber,...
by Lauren Jackson | Jan 12, 2024 | Attorney, Beneficiaries, Estate Planning, executor, Irrevocable trust, Lawyer, Revocable living trust, Trusts, Wills
Throughout the years, we have helped clients who believed that they were not getting their fair share of an estate or their family’s personal belongings. Unfortunately, even dealing with family, sometimes especially when dealing with family, when money or...
by Lauren Jackson | Dec 27, 2023 | Attorney, buying a home, Elgin, Lawyer, lender's title policy, owner's title policy, Real Estate, real estate closing, selling a home, St. Charles
Two common questions we get from our selling real estate clients are: how do we get our money and when do we get our money? In northern Illinois, we use title insurance companies to handle the disbursement of monies in real estate transactions. By using a title...
