Essential resource covering the issues that practitioners who represent guardians must consider before embarking on any estate planning on behalf of an adult with a disability or a minor.
Guardians of adults with disabilities and of minors are often dealing with wards that have limited testamentary capacity and reduced comprehension of complex financial matters. They may also be incapable of engaging in long-term planning or be at risk for exploitation by potential heirs or legatees. This is your guide through the thorny issues guardians face in protecting their wards, including managing resources and expenses to maintain the wards’ financial stability; minimizing estate taxes; drafting estate plan documents, including wills, codicils, and trusts; fixing problems in a will or trust; and postmortem planning. Editable forms include a petition to engage in estate planning and will and revocable trust provisions for both an adult with a disability and a minor, petitions to hire an heir searcher and to hire estate planning counsel, OBRA payback trust provisions, a petition for coguardians’ fees, and more.
Author: Margot Gordon, Of Counsel, Monahan Law Group, LLC, Chicago
Chapter 1 — Introduction
Chapter 2 — Guardian’s Authority to Estate Plan
Chapter 3 — Guardian’s Obligation to Estate Plan
Chapter 4 — Initial Work: Prelude to Planning
Chapter 5 — General Requirements for the Petition to the Court
Chapter 6 — Hearing on the Petition
Chapter 7 — Gifting
Chapter 8 — Estate Plan Documents
Chapter 9 — Planning Strategies
Chapter 10 — Related Considerations
Chapter 11 — Postmortem Planning
Chapter 12 — Will Contests in Guardianship Proceedings
Chapter 13 — Sample Forms and Provisions
