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Illinois Estate Law, 4422 N Ravenswood Avenue, Ste 212, Chicago, IL (2026)

10/09/2026

Closing Day BINGO 🏡 How many squares did you get at your last closing?

✔️ Signed your name. Again. And again.
✔️ "Is this the last page?" (It's not.)
✔️ The pen dies mid-signature
✔️ Your keys, plus 3 mystery keys nobody can explain

But there's one square you never want to mark: an email that says "our wiring instructions have changed."

That message is a classic closing-day scam. Fraudsters watch for real estate deals, copy the look of a real title company or law firm email, and send "updated" wiring details right before closing. Once the money is wired, getting it back can be very hard.

Before you wire a dime:
◆ Call to confirm the instructions, using a phone number you already know is real
◆ Never use the phone number or link in that email
◆ Ask your attorney. We'll gladly double-check, every time.

At Illinois Estate Law, our real estate closings are flat-fee: one price, quoted up front, so the only surprise on closing day is how many keys you get.

Buying or selling in Illinois? Book a free consultation → illinoisestatelaw.com
📞 (312) 373-0731 | Attorney Mary Liberty

Comment your bingo count below 👇

General information, not legal advice.

10/08/2026

Your lender's title policy doesn't cover you.

At most Illinois closings there are two title insurance policies, and they do very different jobs:

◆ The lender's policy protects the bank's loan. If you have a mortgage, your lender requires it. Its coverage tracks the loan balance, and it ends when the loan is paid off.
◆ The owner's policy protects you. It's a one-time premium, paid at closing. It covers you for as long as you own the home, and it typically goes on protecting your heirs if they inherit it.

Why it matters: sometimes a problem turns up years later. An old lien nobody released. A forged signature somewhere in the chain of title. An heir nobody knew about. If it's a covered defect, the owner's policy is what defends your title and pays covered losses. The lender's policy only protects the lender.

Who pays for the owner's policy is set in your purchase contract. By local custom it's often the seller, but that varies, so confirm it before attorney review ends.

Reviewing your title commitment is part of every flat-fee closing we handle. You get one price, quoted up front, and no hourly surprises.

Buying or selling a home in Illinois? Book a free consultation → illinoisestatelaw.com
(312) 373-0731 | Attorney Mary Liberty

General information, not legal advice.

10/07/2026

Naming a trustee? It's not just about who you trust most.

Illinois law doesn't require your trustee to be a family member — and it doesn't require a bank, either. It just has to be someone (or some institution) capable of doing the job well.

A few things worth weighing before you decide:
• A family member or friend already knows you and your family — but may need help with taxes, investments, or the paperwork side of the role.
• A corporate or professional trustee brings experience and neutrality, which can matter if family dynamics are tense — but charges an ongoing fee and won't know your family the way a relative would.
• Many people land on a hybrid: a trusted relative serving as trustee, with a professional advisor helping along the way.

There's no single right answer — only the right fit for your family and your assets. That's exactly the kind of decision we help clients work through, for a flat fee you know upfront.

Book a free consultation → illinoisestatelaw.com or call (312) 373-0731.

General information, not legal advice.

10/06/2026

Someone named you as successor trustee. Now what? First, a little-known fact: you're allowed to say no. ✋

Being asked is an honor, and it's also a real job: managing property, keeping records, communicating with beneficiaries, sometimes for years. Under the Illinois Trust Code, saying yes is a choice, not an obligation.

Here's how it works in plain English:

🔹 You can decline. If you don't accept within 120 days after you're notified that you've been named, the law treats that as a "no."
🔹 You can help without signing up. While you decline, you can still take short-term steps to protect trust property (like securing a vacant house) without becoming trustee.
🔹 You can step down later. A trustee who's already serving can resign by giving proper notice to the right people, or with court approval. One catch: resigning doesn't erase responsibility for anything done while you were in charge.

Not sure whether to accept? That's exactly the right time to talk it through. We can walk you through what the job involves for this particular trust, before you take on a single duty.

And if you do say yes, Illinois Estate Law handles trust administration for a flat fee, quoted up front. No hourly meter running while you learn the ropes.

Book a free consultation → illinoisestatelaw.com
📞 (312) 373-0731 | Attorney Mary Liberty

General information, not legal advice.

10/05/2026

Your dog can't inherit a dime. (He's taking it pretty well.)

Under Illinois law, a pet can't be left money directly the way a person can. What Illinois does allow is a trust set up for the care of your pet, and it can last as long as the animals it covers.

Here's how it works in plain English:

◆ A trustee holds the money and pays for food, vet visits, grooming and boarding.
◆ A caregiver you choose does the daily part: walks, meals, and a spot on the couch. It can be the same person or two different people.
◆ You can name someone to check that the money is actually spent on your pet, and nothing else.
◆ When your pet passes, whatever is left goes where your trust says, so there's no guessing.

If your plan right now is "my sister will probably take him," a pet trust turns that into something your sister, your pet, and your bank account can count on.

We set up and administer trusts, pet trusts included, for a flat fee quoted up front. You won't get surprise hourly bills.

Who's the pet you're planning for? Tell us their name in the comments.

Book a free consultation → illinoisestatelaw.com
Attorney Mary Liberty · (312) 373-0731

General information, not legal advice.

10/02/2026

Booked your first estate planning meeting? Here's what to bring. It's less than you think.

A lot of people put off that first appointment because they think they need a perfect binder of paperwork first. You don't. A rough list is plenty.

01 · YOUR PEOPLE
Full names of your spouse or partner and your children. Who you'd trust to handle things as executor or trustee, plus a backup. A guardian for any minor kids.

02 · WHAT YOU OWN
Your home and any other real estate. Bank, retirement and brokerage accounts. Life insurance policies. Ballpark values are fine, no statements required.

03 · ANYTHING ALREADY SIGNED
An old will, trust or power of attorney. The deed to your home, if it's handy. Beneficiary forms on your accounts. Photos on your phone work fine.

04 · YOUR QUESTIONS
This is the part that matters most. Write down what's on your mind, even if it feels small.

Missing a few pieces? Come anyway. Filling in the gaps is our job, not your homework. And your estate plan is a flat fee, quoted before we start, so there's no hourly meter running while we sort it out.

Book a free consultation → illinoisestatelaw.com
(312) 373-0731 | Attorney Mary Liberty

What's the one question you'd bring to your first meeting? Tell us in the comments.

General information, not legal advice.

10/01/2026

Most people picture probate as one long court process. In Illinois, there are really two tracks.

TRACK 1: INDEPENDENT ADMINISTRATION
The executor handles the estate (selling property, paying bills, settling claims) without going back to a judge for permission at each step. Heirs get a copy of the inventory, and at the end the executor files a final report they can object to. Independent is the default when no one asks for supervision and the will doesn't rule it out.

TRACK 2: SUPERVISED ADMINISTRATION
The court watches more closely. Inventories and accountings are filed with the court, and major moves need a judge's approval before they happen. That can make sense when there's conflict or a lot at stake, but it usually means more hearings, more time, and more cost.

WHO PICKS THE TRACK?
Your will gets a say. It can call for independent administration or rule it out. Any heir can still ask the court to supervise, but if your will chose independent administration, they'll need good cause to change it.

Whichever track an estate ends up on, we handle Illinois probate for a flat fee, quoted up front before anything is filed. No hourly surprises.

Planning your will, or just named executor? Book a free consultation → illinoisestatelaw.com
(312) 373-0731 | Attorney Mary Liberty

General information, not legal advice.

09/29/2026

The house gets divided up fine. It's the jewelry box that starts the war.

We see this a lot: siblings can agree on splitting real estate down the middle. What actually starts the fight is Mom's ring, Dad's watch, the photo albums — the stuff with no price tag and a lot of memory attached.

Without a plan, Illinois' default rules decide who gets what. Not the conversation you had in the kitchen. Not what someone "always said" they wanted. Just the law, filling in blanks nobody meant to leave open.

The fix is simpler than people expect. A basic plan lets you name specific people for specific items, in writing — so nobody's left arguing about a promise only one person remembers.

We handle this on one flat, upfront fee, quoted before we start, so it's done before it ever becomes a fight.

Want to get ahead of this before the holidays make it worse? Book a free consultation → illinoisestatelaw.com
(312) 373-0731

General information, not legal advice.

09/29/2026

Please join us in welcoming Gina Kondraros to the Illinois Estate Law team!

Gina is joining us as our new law clerk. She'll be working alongside our attorneys on real estate closings, trust administration, probate, and estate planning matters, helping us keep every client's file moving and every question answered.

We're so glad to have her on board. If you're working with us, you may see Gina's name in your inbox soon. Say hello!

Welcome to the team, Gina.

Illinois Estate Law | illinoisestatelaw.com | (312) 373-0731

09/28/2026

Getting divorced in Illinois doesn't just end a marriage. It quietly rewrites three documents you probably haven't touched since the wedding — and leaves one alone.

Your will. The moment your divorce judgment is entered, Illinois automatically revokes every gift, every power of appointment, and every fiduciary role — executor, guardian, agent — your will gave to your former spouse. The rest of the will stands; it's read as if your ex died before you did. (755 ILCS 5/4-7(b))

Your revocable trust. Same rule, same automatic effect, for any provision naming your former spouse that you could have changed yourself. Unless the trust or the divorce judgment says otherwise, it's treated the same way. (760 ILCS 35/1)

Your life insurance. Since 2019, Illinois has automatically canceled a former spouse's beneficiary designation on a life insurance policy too — unless your divorce judgment specifically names them as beneficiary, you redesignate them afterward, or they're named to hold the proceeds in trust for a child. (750 ILCS 5/503(b-5))

Here's the one the statute skips on purpose. Employer retirement plans — 401(k)s, pensions, most group life insurance — are federal ERISA plans, and the Illinois law says so: it doesn't apply to them. If your ex is still on that beneficiary form, they stay on it. Divorce alone doesn't take them off. You have to file the change yourself, with the plan administrator, on their form. IRAs work the same way in practice — the custodian's form controls, not the divorce judgment.

Three documents Illinois already fixed for you. One you still have to fix yourself.

If you've been divorced for a while and can't remember the last time you looked at a beneficiary form, that's a five-minute task worth doing this week.

We help clients get the whole plan — will, trust, and beneficiary forms — actually consistent after a major life change, on a flat, upfront fee, quoted before we start.

Book a free consultation → illinoisestatelaw.com
(312) 373-0731

General information, not legal advice.

Illinois Estate Law

10/09/2026

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