Wills and Trusts/Powers of Attorney

Winnebago County Wills and Trusts Lawyers

A clear understanding of your goals for yourself and family in the years ahead is essential to any estate plan. The assistance of an attorney experienced with effective estate planning tools such as a will, trusts and powers of attorney can ensure your wishes become the reality you intend.

Since 1974, the attorneys at the Rockford, Illinois, law firm of Howard, Hardyman & Worden, LLP has provided individuals and families throughout northern Illinois with trusted legal advice.

Take advantage of a combined 70 years of legal insight and expertise; contact us today about how we can help you with wills, trusts, powers of attorney and other asset preservation matters.

Create Wills and Trusts to Manage Assets Your Way

A Will controls the distribution of the assets of your estate. A Trust legally defines how money, investments, property and other assets are to be managed before and after your death, and who the beneficiaries are. While you may revoke or change a will prior to taking effect, if you die without one, assets may not be divided as you intend or their could be tax consequences. A Trust or Trusts can work as flexible tools in planning your estate. They can ensure a particular person is taken care of financially, they can help reduce potential taxes, they can help to minimize probate administration and they can fund gifts to a favored charity.

We help clients draft wills that can prevent surviving family member disputes, ensure young children are properly cared for or a family business remains so. We also assist clients in creating testamentary or living trusts-revocable or irrevocable-designed to provide for special needs, engage in charitable giving and facilitate asset transfers or avoid probate issues.

Our firm is also uniquely qualified to addresses the tax implications involved in a will or trust, offering you a more comprehensive approach to estate planning.

Powers of Attorney Protect Your Rights when You Cannot

A power of attorney authorizes someone to make legal decisions on your behalf. It may authorize someone to have access to your bank accounts to pay necessary bills, or as an advance medical directive (living will) it authorizes how specific medical decisions should be made in the event you are incapacitated. We offer knowledgeable legal advice for creating powers of attorney to address disability, loss of mental competence, health care directives, financial decisions and more.

Contact Us Today for Assistance

Our estate planning lawyers apply simple and complex methods to help you write wills, establish trusts, and protect yourself in ways that make sense today, and tomorrow.

Contact attorney Jeff Hardyman at the Rockford office of Howard, Hardyman and Worden to discuss how we can help you with your estate planning or estate administration needs.