Virtual Witnessing during COVID-19

While the country continues to adjust to the "new normal," of stay at home orders and social distancing, the State of Illinois is quickly adapting to remote witnessing of estate plan documents. These measures are only temporary implementations, but they allow people to safely create estate planning and other documents to ensure that their assets are protected.

While the new executive orders are only temporary, they allow a process as critical as the Estate Plan process to continue during these uncertain times. Estate Planning is often an afterthought for most people until a significant event occurs which motivates individuals to get their affairs in order. Consequently, the COVID-19 pandemic has motivated thousands across the country to draft or update important estate plan documents like Powers of Attorney for Healthcare to ensure that they are delegating their power to make healthcare-related decisions on their behalf to the correct people. 

Therefore, these estate planning documents have become more critical than ever before. Thanks to new executive orders and regulations in Illinois, there is no need for a signatory, witness, and notary to all be in the same room during the signing process. In fact, so long as certain guidelines are closely adhered to, a signatory can effectively execute all of their estate plan documents in the comfort of their own home, miles away from their witnesses.

In order to safely notarize and witness documents while remaining in compliance with the new Illinois regulations, there are a few guidelines that must be followed;

• The remote notarization must be conducted on a two-way, real-time audio-video communication that allows for direct interaction. The picture on the communication must be clear so that the State ID/credentials of the notary are visible to the signatory. While it may differ in other states, standard video conferencing servicing applications such as Google Hangouts, Zoom, and Skype for Business are permitted methods of conferencing the signing in Illinois.

• The entire virtual signing must be recorded. Additionally, the recording must be kept for at least three years after the date of signing. 

• Before the witnessing commences, witnesses and notaries must affirmatively state on record their name, and that they are currently located in the state of Illinois.

• The signatory must show the notary and witness every page of the estate plan document. This must be the case for every document, including Wills, Trusts, Durable Financial Powers of Attorney, Powers of Attorney for Healthcare, and any other document a signatory may be executing in front of the witnesses. 

• The signatory must transmit, either electronically or by fax, a legible copy of the entire signed document directly to the witness no later than twenty-four hours after the document is signed The witness must sign the transmitted copy of the document and transmit the signed copy of the document back either electronically or via fax to the signatory within 24 hours of receipt.

• If necessary, the witness may sign the original signed document as of the date of the original execution by the signatory provided that the witness receives the original signed document together with the electronically witnessed copy within thirty days from the date of the remote witnessing. 

Moreover, trust and estate laws have not often been prone to change and modification. While time will tell whether these orders become modified further to include electronic signature applications such as Docusign, Adobe EchoSign and HelloSign, the allowance of any act of witnessing to be completed remotely by two-way audio-video communication technology is a necessary progress to ensure that individuals can safely and securely distribute their assets.

If you have any questions about tax and estate planning, please feel free to contact Glick and Trostin, LLC at 312-346-8258.

Disclaimer: The materials on this website are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice.  Transmission of the information is not intended to create, and receipt does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship between any attorney and any other person, group or entity. No representations or warranties whatsoever, express or implied are given as to the accuracy or applicability of the information contained herein.  No one should rely upon the information contained herein as constituting legal advice.  The information may be modified or rendered incorrect by future legislative or judicial developments and may not be applicable to any individual reader's facts and circumstances.

Simple Steps to Ensure That Your Assets are Protected During this Uncertain Time

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, our country and society as a whole seems to be facing more uncertainty than ever before. The virus has significantly disrupted nearly everyone’s daily routine. We are left to remain in our homes and contemplate the circumstances, which often causes more worry.

Though an uncomfortable topic, it is especially important during these uncertain times to ensure that your assets are protected. If something were to happen to you, would your assets be distributed to the people you would want them to be distributed to? In the event you are incapacitated, would the individual best suited to speak on your behalf be empowered to do so? Will your personal and real property be taken care of? Developing a comprehensive estate plan is a quick and cost-effective way to ease some of these burdens. The following documents are common tools utilized in an estate plan:

A Basic Will: A Will is the instrument that passes your personal assets to the individual or individuals who you wish to receive your assets. This instrument also allows you to name a Guardian for your children. Unlike a Trust, a Will is a public document that is typically filed with your local Clerk of Court Office. A Will is an especially important instrument because if you were to pass without a Will, your entire Estate would be distributed through the laws of intestacy, which can lead to probate. Probate arises when there is a dispute as to where a particular asset or assets should be distributed. Probate issues can lead to unwanted costs such as attorneys' fees and court costs.

Declaration of Trust: While a basic Will is a public document that can be seen by anyone who inquires, a Declaration of Trust is a private instrument that is not recorded. While being private, a Declaration of Trust (a so-called “living trust”) has the advantage of avoiding probate with respect to the assets which are transferred to the Trust during your lifetime.  In other words, assets which you transfer to your Declaration of Trust during your lifetime will continue to be held by the Trust after death and, in turn, will be distributed in accordance with the provisions of the Trust.  In this way, those assets will “by-pass” probate while still being distributed in a manner consistent with your estate plan.  In addition, a funded Declaration of Trust enables you to provide for the management of your assets should you become disabled.  For income tax purposes, so long as you are alive, your Declaration of Trust is “transparent” and you will be taxed (as owning directly) any assets transferred to the Trust.  This means that you can transfer assets into your Trust without any effect on your current income taxes.

Power of Attorney for Healthcare: The Health Care Power of Attorney enables you to select an agent to make health care decisions for you (and includes provisions regarding life-sustaining machines and anatomical gifts).  Although typically effective upon execution, this Power of Attorney is designed to facilitate the handling of your health care decisions should you be unable to.  

Power of Attorney for Property ("Durable Power of Attorney"): Similar to the Power of Attorney for Healthcare, a Power of Attorney for Property is an instrument that enables you to select an individual to make decisions on your behalf should you be unable to. However, this particular Power of Attorney allows your elected agent to make financial decisions on your behalf, as opposed to decisions related to your medical treatment and healthcare. These financial decisions can be as broad or narrow as you would like. From handling tax matters to Social Security or employment matters, to simply dealing with one single property, the Power of Attorney for Property is an extremely powerful but flexible estate planning instrument. 

Before signing estate planning documents, it is extremely important to have a preliminary discussion with the people closest to you about what should happen to your assets once you have passed. While this may be a difficult and emotional conversation, this is critical to the estate planning process. It is also important to keep in mind that these documents can be (and typically are) often modified throughout your lifetime. During times of uncertainty and worry, having one less burden to worry about can make a significant difference. 

If you have any questions about preparing an estate planning, please feel free to contact Glick and Trostin, LLC at 312-346-8258.

Disclaimer: The materials on this website are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Transmission of the information is not intended to create, and receipt does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship between any attorney and any other person, group or entity. No representations or warranties whatsoever, express or implied are given as to the accuracy or applicability of the information contained herein. No one should rely upon the information contained herein as constituting legal advice. The information may be modified or rendered incorrect by future legislative or judicial developments and may not be applicable to any individual reader's facts and circumstances.

Avoiding Potential Scams during the Coronavirus COVID-19 Pandemic

      It is no secret that con artists, scammers, and other nefarious actors prey on fear and vulnerability. The outbreak of COVID-19 has been no exception. The sudden and rapid spread of COVID-19 has allowed con artists and scammers across the United States to take advantage of nervous and vulnerable families. These scams have ranged from selling counterfeit vaccinations for COVID-19 itself to impersonating members of the CDC or WHO in order to obtain personal information. Unfortunately, scammers are mindful of the fact that COVID-19 has been affecting the elderly most significantly, and often use this to their advantage.

    There is also reportedly a rapid increase of credit card scams as scammers are calling panicked and vulnerable people every day fraudulently stating that they can receive $1,000 per each adult household member and$500 for each child household member if they simply relay their credit card information over the phone.

        

    Tax season has also given scammers another outlet into obtaining personal information. Scammers are increasingly using tax season to obtain bank information from susceptible individuals. An increasingly common scam involves impersonating a bank employee and asking unsuspecting people for personal information such as Social Security numbers and other information in order to steal their identities.

    There have also been reports of scammers impersonating Human Resource Department managers and requesting W-2 forms from dozens of employees at a time in an attempt to fraudulently obtain financial information.

   In order to combat these increasing dangers, it is important to exercise extreme caution when dealing with solicitations and emails:

• Be mindful of any “Miracle Drug” that someone claims can immediately cure or treat COVID-19. There remains no vaccine for this new virus, so any claims of a vaccine are fraudulent.

• Take notice of who is sending you a solicitation via email. An email address can often look suspicious on its face, but others can look like one being sent from an employer or a source that you trust. To examine further, try performing a Google search on the sender’s email address. This will likely bring up any scams that the particular email address has performed in the past.

• Any solicitation that requires urgent action will typically be fraudulent. If you receive a phone call that claims a “limited time offer” or email with the subject that reads “URGENT” it will likely be a scam.

• Install an antivirus program on your device, which will effectively protect you against suspicious emails and solicitations.

• If you receive a suspicious phone call and you may suspect it is a scam, hang up immediately. The longer they have you on the line, the more likely they are to obtain your personal information.

   If you feel that the authenticity of a solicitation can be questioned, you can report suspicious solicitations by calling (312) 814-2595. For COVID-19 related scams, Illinois residents can call the state’s consumer fraud hotline at 1 (800) 243-0618.

   If you have any questions about tax and estate planning, please feel free to contact Glick and Trostin, LLC at 312-346-8258.

Disclaimer: The materials on this website are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice.  Transmission of the information is not intended to create, and receipt does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship between any attorney and any other person, group or entity. No representations or warranties whatsoever, express or implied are given as to the accuracy or applicability of the information contained herein.  No one should rely upon the information contained herein as constituting legal advice.  The information may be modified or rendered incorrect by future legislative or judicial developments and may not be applicable to any individual reader's facts and circumstances.