Living Trust Attorney in Chicago
A living trust is one of the most effective estate planning tools available, offering benefits that a will alone simply cannot provide. It allows you to transfer your assets into a trust during your lifetime, maintain full control as the trustee, and ensure that your assets pass directly to your beneficiaries upon your death — completely avoiding the probate process. Attorney Brian Tierney creates customized living trusts for families throughout Chicago and Northern Illinois.
Why Chicago Families Choose Living Trusts
Probate in Illinois is a court-supervised process that can take 6 to 12 months or longer, costs thousands of dollars, and makes your financial affairs public record. A properly funded living trust eliminates all of these drawbacks — your successor trustee can begin distributing assets immediately after your death, without court involvement, without public disclosure, and without the delays and expenses of probate.
Incapacity Protection for You & Your Family
A living trust also provides critical incapacity planning that a will cannot. If you become unable to manage your own affairs due to illness, injury, or cognitive decline, your successor trustee can step in immediately to manage your financial matters — paying bills, managing investments, and handling property — without the need for a court-appointed guardian or conservator.
How Attorney Brian Tierney Creates Your Living Trust
Brian handles every aspect of the process: drafting the trust document with provisions specific to your family, preparing a pour-over will that works in conjunction with your trust, creating powers of attorney and healthcare directives, and — critically — funding the trust by retitling your assets into the trust name. An unfunded trust provides no benefit, which is why Brian walks you through the funding process step by step.
Special Circumstances & Ongoing Support
For families with special circumstances — such as beneficiaries with special needs, blended families, or concerns about a beneficiary's ability to manage an inheritance — Brian incorporates specific trust provisions. He coordinates with your financial advisor and CPA, and provides ongoing review services to keep your trust current. Contact Attorney Tierney today for a free living trust consultation at his Chicago office.