The purpose of estate planning is protect your family and to take control of what happens if you die or become incapacitated. If you do nothing and don’t have a plan, YOU’VE COMPLETELY LOST CONTROL and you’ve put your family at the whim of the courts and legislature.
If you die without a will, the State of Illinois has already created one for you. Let’s say you have a wife and three little kids. If you don’t have a will, when you die the probate court will give half of your property to your wife and the other half to your children.
Since your kids are minors, your wife will also have to go to court to be appointed as their financial guardian, so she can manage the gifts you generously “gave” to three children in grade school. The court and the attorneys will oversee your children’s finances until they become “adults.” The day your children reach age 18, they get their gifts outright, with no strings attached and no supervision.
Since you don’t have a Will, you will force your family to pay extra probate fees and expenses. Further, you haven’t taken the opportunity to minimize the amount of estate taxes due on your death.
If you become incapacitated and don’t have any estate planning, your family may be forced to have you declared “disabled” by the probate court. The decisions about your care and the management of your affairs will be decided by a judge in open court. You and your family will have lost any hope of privacy when dealing with the most personal of problems.