Estate Planning Attorney Naperville
Put Your Family’s Future in Order
Protect what you’ve built and make your wishes easier for your family to carry out
Your family, home, and financial assets deserve a plan that reflects what matters to you. Tuohy Law Offices helps Naperville families create clear estate plans designed to protect their assets and carry out their wishes.
Tuohy Law Offices
Why do Naperville families need an estate plan?
For many Naperville families, estate planning involves more than deciding who receives your property. A home, savings, investments, business interests, and other assets may need to be coordinated with your family circumstances and long-term goals.
An estate plan gives you a say in how your assets are managed during your lifetime and handled after your death. It can also outline who will make financial and healthcare decisions on your behalf if you become unable to do so.
A will can state how you want certain assets distributed, but it may not address every part of your estate plan. A living trust, powers of attorney, and other documents can address additional concerns, depending on your needs.
The right plan depends on what you own, who you want to protect, and how you want your affairs handled. Tuohy Law Offices helps Naperville families understand their options and put those decisions into a clear estate plan.
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How does property ownership affect estate planning in Naperville?
Your home may be one of your most valuable assets, so how you own it can affect how it fits into your estate plan. How a property is titled can affect what happens to the home after an owner dies or becomes unable to manage their affairs.
Some Naperville homeowners hold property jointly with a spouse or another person. Depending on the type of ownership and the circumstances, the property may pass directly to the surviving owner rather than through the deceased owner’s estate. Other ownership arrangements may require different planning.
What happens if a Naperville resident dies without an estate plan?
If you die without a valid estate plan, Illinois law determines how your estate is distributed. The process may not reflect your wishes, especially if you have a blended family, minor children, or specific plans for certain assets.
Without a clear plan, your family may also need to go through probate and estate administration to settle assets that don’t pass through another method. After your death, you may need to resolve questions about property, financial accounts, debts, and who should handle the estate.
Estate planning lets you make those decisions in advance. A will, living trust, powers of attorney, and other planning tools can address different parts of your financial and family circumstances.
What estate planning services does Tuohy Law Offices offer?
Tuohy Law Offices helps Naperville families create estate plans around their assets, family circumstances, and long-term goals. Depending on your needs, your plan may include several services that work together.
Living Trusts
A living trust can help you manage and transfer qualifying assets while outlining what happens if you can no longer manage them yourself. Properly funded trust assets may also pass to your beneficiaries without going through probate.
Wills
A will can explain how you want certain assets handled and name a guardian for minor children. It can also address assets that are not included in a living trust.
Power of Attorney
A power of attorney lets someone you trust handle financial matters on your behalf if you can’t. A healthcare power of attorney can give someone you choose authority to make healthcare decisions when you can’t make or communicate them.
Probate
When someone dies, their estate may need to be settled through probate or another administration process. Tuohy Law Offices can help families understand their responsibilities and work through the legal steps involved in settling an estate.
Why choose Tuohy Law Offices for estate planning?
Estate planning involves decisions about your family, your assets, and what happens when you can no longer make those decisions yourself. Tuohy Law Offices brings experience, personalized service, and a track record of helping families protect their assets and plan for the future.
- Over 40 years of experience: Since 1982, Tuohy Law Offices has helped families address estate planning decisions as their assets, family circumstances, and needs change over time. That experience gives Naperville families a legal team familiar with the many issues that can shape an estate plan.
- Thousands of living trust plans prepared: Tuohy Law Offices has prepared more than 8,000 living trust estate plans and helped preserve more than $2.5 billion in assets. For a Naperville family, that means working with a firm that has handled a wide range of trust-planning needs and understands how a trust fits into a broader estate plan.
- Accessible, personal service: Tuohy Law Offices is a boutique Chicago-area firm that focuses on responsive, personal service. Appointments are available outside traditional business hours when needed, and virtual consultations make it easier for Naperville families to meet with the firm.
- A recognized legal practice: Tom Tuohy holds a Martindale-Hubbell AV rating, and the firm maintains a highly rated Avvo profile. These recognitions provide additional information about the firm’s professional standing and client experience. In addition, the firm’s Service to Those Who Serve program provides one-third off estate planning fees for eligible first responders, teachers, military members, and others who serve their communities.
How does Tuohy Law Offices serve Naperville families?
Tuohy Law Offices serves Naperville families from its Oakbrook Terrace office, providing estate planning services to clients throughout the western suburbs and greater Chicago area. Naperville residents can meet with the firm in person or schedule a virtual consultation from home or work.
The firm also offers flexible appointment times, including outside traditional business hours when needed.
What Naperville clients say about Tuohy Law Offices
Choosing an estate planning attorney involves more than reviewing services and credentials. Client experiences can also help you understand what it is like to work with a law firm through important decisions about your family and assets. Read what clients have shared about their experiences with Tuohy Law Offices.
I am proud to state that Tom Tuohy has been my valued friend and legal counsel for more than 35 years. He has compassionately represented countless individuals and families throughout Illinois. I consider Tom Tuohy one of Illinois’ finest attorneys who can be relied on and trusted.
I have known of Tom Tuohy’s reputation for a long time through my responsibilities as Police Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department. When the time came to take care of my family business and my personal and business affairs, I knew exactly who I would retain.
Our experience with Tom Tuohy was five stars, from the moment that we walked into his office and meeting his staff and then talking to Tom it felt like we were with friends. My wife and I have been wanting to get our estate planning done for many years, and we were happy that we found Tuohy Law to have it completed finally. Thank You.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a living trust cost in Illinois?
The cost of creating a living trust varies based on your estate’s complexity and the planning involved. We can explain the fees involved after reviewing your circumstances and discussing what your estate plan needs.
Does Naperville’s location in DuPage and Will counties affect my estate plan?
It can. Naperville spans DuPage and Will counties, and the right court or county process may depend on where you live and how you structure your assets. An attorney can review your circumstances and explain which local considerations apply to your estate.
Do I need a special needs trust for my child or another family member?
A special needs trust may help families provide for a loved one with a disability while preserving access to certain benefits, depending on the person’s circumstances. Whether one is appropriate depends on factors such as the individual’s needs, existing benefits, and the assets being placed in the trust.
Do I need an estate plan if I do not have significant assets?
Yes. Estate planning can address more than your assets’ value. It can also establish who should make financial and healthcare decisions for you if you become unable to do so and provide instructions for your family after your death.
Ready to start your estate plan?
Your estate plan should reflect your family, your assets, and the decisions you want made for your future. Tuohy Law Offices can help you understand your options and create a plan that fits your circumstances.
Prefer to talk with someone directly? Call (312) 559-8400
