Covid-19 Executive Order and Estate Planning

                In an unprecedented action, Governor Pritzker signed Executive Order 2020-14 changing the way lawyers can offer assistance to those most vulnerable to Coronavirus. The virus is making in person “Execution Ceremonies” (signing the document) counter productive to the CDC’s recommendation of social distancing. The Executive Order states that during the Gubernatorial Disaster Proclamation, remote notarization and witnessing shall be allowed with the following stipulations:

1. The witnesses and notary must have audio and visual communication throughout the entire ceremony. 
2. The signatory must attest that they are physically located in Illinois. 
3. The video interaction must be recorded and the record must be preserved for three years. 
4. The signatory must transmit the document to the notary the same day (within 24 hours).
5. Witnesses may sign original within 30 days of the execution of the document.

If you have not completed your estate planning documents, most especially your powers of attorney, please contact The Law Office of Jonathan W. Cole at (708) 529-7794 to ensure you are protected.

Your bank won’t honor your Power of Attorney…Now What?

Over the years, I have some clients tell me that their bank didn’t honor their Power of Attorney and they don’t know what to do. The stories are consistent, an adult child was named the primary agent for their elderly Mom, since Dad had recently passed. Mom has become immobile so that the adult child must manage mom’s financial affairs and fulfil their agent role under the provisions of Mom’s Power of Attorney. This scenario is exactly what the Illinois Legislature had in mind when they drafted the Illinois Power of Attorney Act.

            The purpose of the act is to recognize that everyone has the right to appoint an agent to make property, financial, and personal decisions throughout the principal’s lifetime, including during periods of disability. It provides a principal with confidence that a third party, like a bank, would honor the agent’s authority at all times. Lawmakers wanted to give principals peace of mind knowing that their affairs would be efficiently handled, despite any present or future infirmity. However, banks, in their desire to limit their own liability, frequently refuse to honor a validly executed power of attorney. This defeats the desires of a principal, who is unable to manage their personal matters. How will the adult child in the above scenario, help their mother pay bills? How will the adult child convince the bank to honor their elderly mother’s power of attorney? This is where an experienced attorney can help.

            The Illinois Power of Attorney Act gives the mother and adult child the ability to use an attorney to put some teeth into the banks refusal to act upon a validly executed document. The best method to take a bite out of the bank is by utilizing an attorney to enforce the Illinois Power of Attorney Act, specifically, 755 ILCS45/2-8(d). The statute states:

(d) each person to whom a direction by the named agent in accordance with the terms of the copy of the document purporting to establish an agency is communicated shall comply with that direction, and any person who fails to comply arbitrarily or without reasonable cause shall be subject civil liability for any damages resulting from noncompliance.

            The financial institution and even the banker personally may be liable to the agent and principal for any losses or damages resulting from the bank refusal to comply with the directions of a validly executed Power of Attorney. Once a client has contacted our office, we will work quickly to ensure the bank’s compliance with the Illinois Power of Attorney Act and ensure that the adult child in the above scenario can act on their mother’s behalf in the most effective  manner available. The Law Office of Jonathan W. Cole has the knowledge and the power to ensure the bank’s compliance, either through a simple communication, or by litigation, if necessary. Give us a call at (708) 529-7794. We can resolve this issue. 

Chicago Estate Planning Attorney | Powers of Attorney

Many clients have been very confused about the meaning and usefulness of the documents called Powers of Attorney. This post will explain what these documents are and how you should use them. To begin there are two types of estate planning documents. One type is documents that have an effect while you are alive and the other type has an effect when you are dead. Powers of attorney have an effect while you are alive. For the most part, their power terminates at your death.

Now that we know when they are effective, what do they do?

There are two types of Powers of Attorney; 1) Power of Attorney for Property, 2) Power of Attorney for Health Care. In general, you as the "principal" designates a friend or family member to act as your "agent". That agent will then be able to make decisions and take actions on your behalf when you are unable to. These documents help individuals who can not take the appropriate actions that will promote their best interests. I know that the preceding sentence seems either confusing, or not applicable to you. I will show you that this type of situation will probably happen at some point during the course of your life.

You may need a power of attorney if ...

• you are in an accident and can not make medical decisions on your own behalf. 
• you are in an accident and you can't update the CD at the bank that came due.
• you are on vacation and you forgot that you had a closing on one of your properties.
• you are on vacation and your cell phone contract came due and you want to keep your plan.
• you have to be in two places at once to sign documents.
• you have mobility issues that makes getting to a location difficult.

As you can see, this is just a small sampling of times when a Power of Attorney can be either crucial or extremely convenient. If you would like to find out more about Powers of Attorney, you can contact my law office in Oak Lawn, Illinois at:

Law Office of Jonathan W. Cole

5013 W. 95th St.

Oak Lawn, IL 60453

(708) 529-7794

www.jwcolelaw.com

Oak Lawn Estate Planning | The Need to Follow Up

The problem with any plan is complacency. With the big three changes always happening, you can not rest on your estate plan forever. The big three being, 1) changes in the laws that effect your estate plan, 2) changes in your assets, and 3) changes in your family structure. In light of this obvious and inevitable change that will occur in the real world, people are stuck believing that their static plan for their assets will be good forever. It is like taking a picture today, only to be curious about why you do not look like this 20 years later.

 The excuses are endless. It costs too much money, it is impossible to know how many changes should prompt me to re-evaluate my plan. I don't have time to update my plan. The list goes on and on. I am always perplexed by the ignorance of people. Good intentions are not enough. You need to take action. If I could yell this any louder, I would lose my voice and my neighbors would be mad at me. You need to take action. If your estate plan provides for your darling two children, who are now both college graduates and getting married themselves, you are long past time. I will give you a rough guide to go by, for determining your re-evaluation period.

No major changes to the big three (see above) - every 7-10 years
A major change to any one of the big three (see above) - every 3-5 years
A major change to any two of the big three (see above) - every 1-3 years
A major change to all of the big three (see above) - see your attorney immediately

If you have a decent relationship with your lawyer, you can probably ask him or her to review your estate plan, and there will be no changes that need to be made or only a minor change. In most cases, this minor change will cost very little and you will now have a current estate plan. In most cases, you would not need to draft a new Will or Trust. All that will be needed is a codicil to your current Will. I can not stress enough how frustrating a stale Estate Plan can be. In some cases, a stale Will or Trust can frustrate the entire purpose that it was meant to support. Please keep you Wills current. As always if you would like to know more about the Will, Trust, and Power of Attorney Process contact:

Law Office of Jonathan W. Cole
5013 W. 95th St.
Oak Lawn, IL 60463
(708) 529-7794

Chicago Estate Planing | Meeting Your Attorney For The First Time

So after much thought and deliberation, you have decided you need an estate plan. You already know, from my previous post, not to ask "What does a Will Cost?"  The question is, what should you ask and what should you bring into your first meeting? If you have a good attorney, he or she should have already sent you some information. The information may consist of a letter, a questioner, and/ or a financial assessment. I personally send all three to a client before I meet the client for the first time. The letter that I send to a client helps the client know what to expect of the estate planning process. The questioner helps the client get into the frame of mind that is necessary to know who are potential people for testamentary gifts. It also helps the client know what property they have and know about, and what property they have and might have forgotten. It also helps a client understand that the title of property (i.e. the way your deed is titled) is important for estate planning purposes.

 So now you have the proper documentation for your first meeting with your attorney. What else should you have. I have found that the most satisfied clients bring with a small notebook and a pen and ask questions that they have prepared before the meeting and take down my answers. After the meeting with me, they look over their notes and the information I have told them can sink in. By having questions in advance, you can wait until I explain the process to you, and when my explanation is done you can ask any questions that I may have not addressed. Without those preset questions, you may be overwhelmed with other parts of the Estate Planning process and forget to ask some of the questions you wanted to know. Additionally, I usually cover some part of the Estate Planning process that my client never heard of before. By coming prepared with questions and have a notebook to jot down new concepts, you will feel better about your initial consultation and have a more pleasant estate planning process. I would love to hear from you about your estate planning needs in the comments below. If you need an estate plan, contact my office, The Law Office of Jonathan W. Cole, or learn more about Estate Planning on my offices estate planning page. Good luck with your estate plan.

 Jonathan W. Cole

Welcome to the Blog

I would like to welcome you to the first post of Chicago Estate Planning. This blog will focus on providing unique insight into the world of estate planning, how to choose an estate planning attorney, what to bring to your initial consultation, and other estate planning tidbits. If you would like to know more about me personally, please follow me here to see what I am up to personally and learn more about me. If you are here, you are probably interested in planning your estate and this blog will start you on your way to doing that. It will probably seem like a daunting task to get your estate plan in order. I assure you that this process will be made simpler by following the steps that I list here and reading some of my sage advice on this process. I look forward to leading you down an important path in your life and congratulate you on your first step in the process.