A revocable living trust is a legal arrangement that holds your property during your life and passes it to the people you choose afterward. You can change or end it at any time while you have capacity, and you usually serve as your own trustee at first.

You set up a living trust by working with an attorney to design it, sign it, and move your assets into it. Here is how to set up a trust in Illinois with us: we list what you own and who you want to name, your attorney designs and drafts the trust with the documents that work alongside it, you sign at a guided signing, and we help you fund it. Most plans are completed within 30 to 45 days.

A will is enough for some families, and a living trust fits others better. A trust usually makes more sense if you own a home or other real estate, have children under 18, want privacy, or want a plan that works if you can’t manage your affairs. A Chicago trust lawyer can look at your assets and tell you which fits.

At The Higher Law Firm, trust-based planning starts at $4,500 with the Legacy Plan, and your attorney confirms your price before any work begins. Larger or more complex estates may call for the Elevated Plan, starting at $8,500. See the plans section above for the details

The 5 by 5 rule is a trust provision that lets a beneficiary withdraw the greater of $5,000 or 5% of the trust’s value each year. It applies only if it is written into the trust, and it is most often used so a surviving spouse can reach some of the trust’s principal. It ties to a federal tax rule: if a withdrawal right goes unused, only the part above that amount is treated as a taxable gift. Whether it belongs in your trust depends on your family and your estate, so your attorney would go over it with you.

A living trust is designed to help avoid probate for the assets you place in it. Assets left out of the trust may still have to go through probate. Our guide on how to avoid probate in Illinois walks through funding step by step.