Madison County Legal Issues Blog

As most people here in Illinois and elsewhere know, love is a strange emotion. It can create the foundation for a relationship that will last forever, or it can become perverted by issues such as jealousy and inequality. In a marriage where the parties are not equal and trust issues permeate it, divorce could be inevitable.

For some Illinois residents, the feeling of being taken care of has a strong allure. Letting someone else handle everything makes such individuals feel safe -- until it does not. When one party in the relationship has all the power, the other party often begins to feel stifled, suffocated and trapped. Love is no longer enough to sustain the relationship, and the party with less power may want out of it if the balance of power fails to become more equal.

It is 2019, and gender roles within families are more blurred than they have been at any other point in the country's history. Despite this fact, when it comes to divorce, one factor increases the possibility of divorce by 33% -- who makes more money. Societal expectations continue to view the man as the primary breadwinner in the family whether couples live here in Illinois or elsewhere across the country.

Some men do not have an issue with their wives making more money than they do. It may bother others, but not enough to cause an irreparable rift in the marriage. Then there are men who feel as though they failed to live up to their obligations. Over time, the relationship falters and eventually ends. To be fair, some women cannot handle making more money than their husbands do, and they begin to view their husbands differently, which can also degrade the marital relationship. 

TV shows and movies in decades past often depicted close families who, even if they argued, always ended up presenting a united front with no sibling rivalry or other family squabbles. As many Illinois residents know, times have changed. While many families do remain close, some never quite see eye to eye, which could complicate the estate administration and probate process.

When it comes time for parents to create their estate plans, they may hesitate doing so because they know that no matter what decisions they make, someone is not going to be happy. The last thing they want is for all of their planning to be for nothing and their children to end up in litigation. There are ways to help limit this eventuality, if not eliminate it all together.

Many Illinois residents conclude that they need a trust to properly execute their plans for their surviving family members upon their deaths. A trust can simplify the estate administration process if everything goes according to plan. However, if an individual fails to take one crucial step -- funding the trust -- those plans could fail.

A trust document is only paper if an individual fails to transfer assets into it. A trust becomes the legal owner of some assets and the beneficiary of others. Which assets fall into a particular category depends on their type. Homes, cars and other tangible property require a transfer of title into the name of the trust, but retirement accounts and life insurance policies can list the trust as a beneficiary of the proceeds.