Successor Trustee and Agent changes are a few critical changes to note in 2025 for your estate planning.

Successor Trustee Changes

A Successor Trustee in your Living Trust takes over for you if you become incapacitated or at your death, keeping you and your estate out of Probate Court. They have many responsibilities and can easily handle them if you have planned and organized your estate. Our clients are given a list of Successor Trustee responsibilities. You can receive a complimentary copy in our Learning Center Toolkit.

Record Keeping

The Illinois Trust Code now requires that your Successor Trustee “shall maintain or cause to maintain to be maintained Trust records for a minimum of 7 years after the dissolution of the Trust.

Our client easily meets this requirement by using their private MyCase client portal, for which they have free lifetime access and extended for their Successor Trustee. Find out more about My Case and how you can benefit from it.

Search for Abandoned Property

Your Successor Trustee “shall conduct a reasonable search for any trust property that is presumptively abandoned or that has been reported and remitted to a state unclaimed property administrator.”

You can search your name for unclaimed property, including closed accounts with balances, rebates, refunds, etc. What you find will surprise you.

Agent for Financial Power of Attorney Changes

A Financial Durable Power of Attorney gives another person you choose the full legal authority to manage your financial affairs if you can no longer make these decisions yourself. A Power of Attorney is critical to efficiently handling your financial matters in an unfortunate occurrence.

Agent Affidavit

When your Agent acts under your Financial Power of Attorney, they must sign an affidavit. Click this link to download a complimentary affidavit to store with your Power of Attorney.

Consequently, changes to the Succession Trustee and Agent and a Power of Attorney document for financial affairs should be included in your comprehensive estate plan, starting with a living trust.

Living Trusts

If you have property, investments, or bank accounts in your name at the end of your life or incapacitation, they risk probate and cybercrime.

A Will = Probate. The rule is no one can legally sign your name. Therefore, at your death or incapacity, all assets in your name are subject to the complete Probate process, which averages 18 months and is costly.
Living Trust completely avoids Probate.
A Living Trust estate plan includes Health Care and Financial Power of Attorney documents and a Last Will and Testament for guardianship of minor children and to “pour over” any assets still in your name at your death out of Probate.
Your life insurance policies and deferred compensation accounts can name your Living Trust as beneficiary, subject to essential tax considerations.

Learn more about Tom Tuohy

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TomTuohy.com
312-559-8400
17W220 22nd Street
Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois, 60181

This blog entry is for information and planning purposes. Therefore, it is not legal advice. Please do not use this blog as legal advice, which turns on specific facts and laws in specific jurisdictions. No reader of this blog should act or refrain from acting based on any information included in, or accessible through, this blog without seeking the appropriate legal or other professional advice on the particular facts and circumstances at issue from a lawyer licensed in the reader’s state, country or other appropriate licensing jurisdiction.

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