I often say this because I mean it – “A well-planned death is a wonderful gift to pass on to your loved ones after you die.” This list is meant to help you begin estate planning.  The list below is not dispositive.  There are other documents to address other legal and financial issues which might arise.  As I usually state in my blog posts, an attorney can help you create the best documents for you and your loved ones.

After I processed my absence in what must have been heart-breaking moments in my mother’s life; I realized that there might be more stories in this “bag o’ keys”.  I followed my curiosity with those keys and the stories, some of which will come later, helped me come to love my mother more than I already did.

I am writing this from a layman’s perspective.  For a more precise legal definition, there are a few good Illinois based law firms which have descriptions on their websites.  Search the web for “Probate in Illinois” and you will find some good legal resources.

In my own non-legalese, probate as a term either refers to the process of probating a will or Probate Court.  Probate court is a special state court, located in your county, which specifically deals with wills and estates.  Probate court is a way to settle a person’s estate through established state law. 

Careful planning will reduce the amount of time and effort spent by your loved ones after you die.  And when you die, the grief your loved ones will feel is all too real.  All the paperwork and effort needed to settle your estate comes when that grief is most acute.  Putting off estate planning can often be more painful for a loved one than preparing the way for them.

I would like this blog to be a resource for people who are thinking about estate planning, settling an estate, dealing with aging family members or are themselves aging. Sometimes I will post things that are more personal in nature – things I learned after my mother died.  Other times, I will add things that I learned from my estate planning work or my reading.  It may also include random things about how to deal with grief or links to other people’s articles or posts that I think may be helpful to others.