There are several ways to give assets away before and after you die. Some common methods are:

• An outright gift of property or money during your lifetime
• Placing assets in a trust for the benefit of another person
• Naming beneficiaries of life insurance policies and retirement accounts
• Naming a payable on death beneficiary of a financial account
• Giving property and money through a will

Make a list of your assets, including life insurance policies and retirement accounts, and determine which items you will give through your will. Assets passed through your will must go through probate unless your estate is small enough to be administered with a small estate affidavit.

A will lets you choose who will get your money and property after you die. You can give a specific item to one person or money to another. Your beneficiaries can include organizations like schools or charities. If you give assets to a school or charity, ask their planned giving or fundraising personnel what types of gifts they can accept.

A court will follow your will’s instructions as long as they are not illegal or impossible to carry out. If you want to disinherit a spouse or child, you should consult with an estate planning attorney because Illinois has provisions in its laws to provide for spouses and children who are left out of wills.

Choosing an executor is an important decision. You should choose a primary executor and one or more alternates in case your first choice is unable to serve.

Your executor will oversee your probate assets after you die, so they must be responsible and trustworthy. Your executor should be willing to serve and understand what their responsibilities will be. Some of the executor’s responsibilities are:

• Presenting your will to the court for probate
• Identifying your probate assets
• Notifying your beneficiaries and creditors about the probate process
• Paying bills and taxes for your estate
• Distributing your assets to devisees in accordance with your will

The above tasks can be difficult, but your executor can use funds from the estate to hire professionals, such as attorneys and accountants, to help them manage the estate and probate process.

You can name your preference for a guardian for your minor children in your will. A court must approve your choice, but they will honor a parent’s wishes unless the proposed guardian is unfit or not in a child’s best interests. You should also name alternate guardians who can care for your children if your first choice cannot serve.

Your child’s guardian will make choices about your child’s education, health, and welfare and will have legal custody of your child. You should speak with your prospective guardian to ensure they want the responsibility of raising your child. Questions to ask when choosing a guardian are:

• Do they have a good relationship with your children?
• Are they physically capable to raise your children?
• Do they have the time and resources to meet your children’s needs?
• Do they live far away, and will your children be forced to move?
• Do they share your values?

When planning for your children’s future, you should try to leave assets to support them and to take pressure off their guardian. A revocable living trust is a good way to leave children assets because a trust gives you more control than a will over how and when your children will receive your assets. In your trust, you can name a trustee to manage your child’s assets. Like an executor, your trustee should be responsible with money and trustworthy.

You must execute your will in compliance with Illinois law. Illinois requires every will to be witnessed by two adult witnesses. You also must sign your will or have another person in your presence sign for you. Your witnesses should not be heirs or beneficiaries of your will.

It is helpful to include an attestation clause for your witnesses to sign under penalty of perjury. Unless the court has proof of fraud, forgery, or other improper conduct, it will admit a will with an attestation clause without requiring witnesses to testify. The requirements for an attestation clause are included in the Illinois Statutes.

Your will is useless if you lose it because it is difficult to convince a court to accept a copy of a will in Illinois. Keep your original will in a safe place. Some law firms store originals for clients, but you need to know what the firm’s plan is if it goes out of business. You also can keep it in a safe place in your home or a safe deposit box. However, safe deposit boxes can be difficult to access, so you will need to talk to your bank about its policies for opening a safe deposit box.

You should let your executor and family members or friends you trust know where your will is stored. Do not reveal your will’s location to anyone you think might destroy or hide the will.

Any time you have a major life change, such as a marriage or birth of a child, you should review your will because you likely will need to revise it or create a new one. You also should review your will every few years to make sure it still meets your needs. You can ask an Illinois estate planning attorney to review your will for you if your family or financial situations have changed.