Adoption
Adoption laws vary from state to state. For adopting a child who is not related to the adoptive parent or parents, there generally are two types of adoptions: agency adoptions and private adoptions.
Alimony (Maintenance/Spousal Support)
Alimony or maintenance–sometimes also referred to as “spousal support”–is money paid
from one spouse to another for day-to-day support of the spouse with fewer financial resources.
Annulment
An annulment is a court ruling that a supposed marriage was never valid.
Common Law Marriage
In times past, particularly the frontier days, it was common for states to consider a woman and man to be married if they lived together for a certain length of time, had sexual intercourse, and held themselves out as husband and wife, even though they never went through a marriage ceremony. Today, only about one-fourth of the states recognize common-law marriages. In order for there to be a legal common-law marriage, the couple must clearly represent themselves to others as being husband and wife; merely living together is not enough to create a marriage.
Community Property
Marital or community property is defined somewhat differently by different states, but it generally includes property and income acquired during the marriage.
Divorce (Dissolution of Marriage)
A divorce–referred to in some states as a “dissolution of marriage”–is a decree by a court that a valid marriage no longer exists.
Guardian ad litem
In some cases, the judge may appoint a mental health professional, such as a psychiatrist, psychologist, or social worker, to talk to the child and report to the court.
Legal Custody
Joint legal custody refers to both parents sharing in major decisions affecting the child. The custody order may describe the issues on which the parents must share decisions.
Marital Property
Marital or community property is defined somewhat differently by different states, but it generally includes property and income acquired during the marriage.
Marital Settlement Agreement
It usually provides for division of property and makes arrangements for child custody and support.
No- Fault Divorce
It is a divorce in which neither person blames the other for breakdown of the marriage.
Parenting Plan
A parenting plan is a document that says who will make decisions for a child and how those decisions will be made.
Parenting Time
Joint physical custody refers to the time the child spends with each parent. The amount of time is flexible.
Paternity Suit
If he does not admit to being the father, the mother may file a paternity suit against him. If this civil action succeeds, the court will require the father to provide support.
Prenuptial Agreement
A premarital or antenuptial agreement is a contract entered into by a man and woman before they marry. The agreement usually describes what each party’s rights will be if they divorce or when one of them dies.
Visitation Rights
A common amount of visitation, however, is: every other weekend (Friday evening through Sunday); a weeknight (for dinner); half of the child’s and winter and spring breaks; alternate major holidays; and several weeks in the summer.
Anatomical Gifts
Every adult (and emancipated minor) is qualified to make an anatomical gift for the purposes set forth in the Illinois Anatomical Gift Act, which include education, research, transplanting organs, or the advancement of science.
Power of Attorney
The Power of Attorney for Health Care provides that the principal allows the agent to make anatomical gifts of any organ or specific organs.
List the priority of who may make gifts in absence of written instructions
a. the decedent’s agent under a power of attorney for healthcare;
b. the guardian of the decedent’s person;
c. the decedent’s spouse or civil union partner;
d. an adult child of the decedent;
e. either of the decedent’s parents;
f. an adult brother or sister of the decedent;
g. an adult grandchild of the decedent;
h. a grandparent of the decedent;
i. a close friend of the decedent;
j. the guardian of the decedent’s estate; and
k. any person authorized or under legal obligation to dispose of the body. 755 ILCS 50/5 5(b).
List the 6 steps in the probate process
a. The original will is filed with the court together with documents to open the estate. The executor or administrator must sign some of the documents in the presence of a notary public.
b. If the will contains a self-proving attestation clause, then, in some counties, it will be admitted to probate without the need for a hearing. Check your local rules.
c. Within two weeks of the opening of the probate estate, the executor or administrator must send notices to the legatees named in the will and to heirs who would inherit if the will is proven invalid. The notices advise the legatees and heirs of their right to contest the proceedings and to request that independent administration of the estate be terminated and that supervised administration be required.
d. A claims notice is published in the newspaper once a week for three consecutive weeks. Claims of unknown creditors are barred six months after the first date of publication. Written notice should be given to known creditors, who then have three months to file a claim.
e. After the six-month claims period has run, if no estate tax return is required to be filed, then the assets of the estate may be distributed, the probate estate may be closed, and the executor or administrator may be discharged.
f. If an estate tax return is required to be filed, then the estate will likely remain open for at least 18 months.
https://www.iicle.com/iicleonline/Detail/35060?itemId=201658&s=wills%20and%20trusts#201691
American College of Trust & Estate Counsel
ACTEC is the premiere trust and estate planning fellowship in the U.S., comprised of leading lawyers in all 50 states and 16 countries.
Probate Act of 1975
The Probate Act of 1975, 755 ILCS 5/1 1, et seq., was updated in 2017 to provide an award to the surviving spouse of at least $5,000 for nine months of support for each adult child of the decedent who is likely to become a public charge and was financially dependent on the decedent and resided with the surviving spouse at the time of the decedent’s death.
Custodial Claims
A statutory custodial claim may be made by family members who lived with and cared for a decedent with a disability for at least three years.
Estate Tax Apportionment
If an estate tax will be due, then the attorney should check the decedent’s will and revocable trust, if any, to determine whether jointly held assets will be required to pay a portion of the estate tax.
