Are you looking for an estate planning lawyer in Naperville, IL?
At Madden Law LLC, we are trusted estate planning counsel for families and business owners throughout Naperville.
If you need a will, a trust, or help settling a relative's estate in Naperville, an attorney can draft the documents and manage the court filings that follow. The right plan depends on what you own and who depends on you.
Madden Law LLC brings 16 years of estate planning work to that question, backed by more than two decades of practice across Illinois and Michigan. Our Naperville, IL estate planning lawyer will map your assets, flag what your current documents miss, and prepare a plan in plain language. Reach out to schedule a consultation.
Estate Planning Lawyer Naperville, IL
An estate planning attorney does two related jobs. The first is drafting, which means preparing the will, trust, and powers of attorney that state your decisions in a form Illinois recognizes. The second is administration, which means guiding the executor or trustee who carries those decisions out later.
Both halves depend on the same drafting choices. Vague language, an unfunded trust, or a beneficiary designation that contradicts the will creates work for the family and sometimes for the court. Our Naperville estate planning attorney writes with the second half in mind, so the person who eventually administers the plan is not left guessing.
Types of Estate Planning Cases We Handle in Naperville
No two estate plans look alike, because no two families hold the same assets or carry the same concerns. A retired couple with a paid off home needs something different from a business owner with partners. Madden Law LLC handles the following for clients in Naperville and across DuPage County.
- Wills. A will states who inherits property held in your own name and who becomes guardian of your minor children. We prepare new wills and correct older ones that no longer match a client's family or holdings.
- Trusts. A trust takes title to your assets and passes them to a successor trustee without court involvement. We draft revocable trusts for most clients and irrevocable structures where the circumstances call for one.
- Living wills. A living will tells your physician whether you want death delaying procedures if you reach a terminal condition. Illinois publishes a standard declaration form, and we adjust the language when a client wants something more specific.
- Health care powers of attorney. This document names the person who speaks for you on medical decisions when you cannot. Choosing that person carefully reduces the risk of disagreement among relatives later.
- Property powers of attorney. An agent named here can pay bills, manage accounts, and sign real estate documents if you lose capacity. Families without one often end up petitioning a court for guardianship instead.
- Trust administration. Stepping in as successor trustee brings duties most people have never handled before. We walk trustees through notice requirements, asset transfers, and the accounting beneficiaries are entitled to receive.
- Probate. Assets titled solely in a decedent's name generally pass through the circuit court. We open estates, publish the required notice, resolve creditor claims, and close the file.
- Estate plan reviews. Documents drafted years ago may name people who have since died or moved away. We review existing plans and revise the provisions that no longer work.
- Business succession. A closely held company needs written terms for retirement, disability, and death. We align those terms with the owner's personal plan so the two documents do not contradict each other.
Why Choose Madden Law LLC as my Estate Planning Lawyer in Naperville, IL?
Bar Admissions and Two Decades of Client Work
David Madden is admitted in Illinois and Michigan and before the federal district courts for the Northern and Central Districts of Illinois and the Eastern District of Wisconsin. He earned his law degree at DePaul College of Law in 2003 with a certificate in intellectual property law, and he holds the Certified Information Privacy Professional credential. Before founding the firm in 2025, he spent more than 20 years at national and regional firms advising corporations and high net worth clients. Sixteen of those years involved estate planning.
Fixed Fee Planning and DuPage County Roots
Planning work here is quoted as a flat package price rather than billed by the hour, and consultations cost nothing. Our Essential Estate Planning Package covers a will, a revocable living trust, a property power of attorney, a health care power of attorney, and a living will. Naperville sits mostly in DuPage County, and our office in Lisle is a short drive from downtown. David Madden belongs to the DuPage County Bar Association and Chamber630, and he serves on the Woodridge School District 68 Board of Education. As an estate planning lawyer in Naperville, IL, we handle the drafting and the administration that follows it. Our reviews come from individuals, families, and small business owners across the area.
Understanding Estate Planning Cases
Key Estate Planning Documents and What They Do
A plan is only as good as the documents inside it, and each one answers a different question. What follows is what each piece actually does.
- Will. Names heirs for property titled in your own name and nominates a guardian for children under 18.
- Revocable living trust. Takes title to assets during your lifetime so they transfer without a court proceeding.
- Property power of attorney. Gives a named agent authority over your finances if you lose capacity.
- Health care power of attorney. Gives a named agent authority over medical decisions on the same terms.
- Living will. Records your instruction about death delaying treatment in a terminal condition.
- Beneficiary designations. Govern retirement accounts and insurance proceeds independently of the will.
Most plans include both living wills and a health care power of attorney, since the two apply in different circumstances. Trust administration begins only after the person who created the trust dies or loses capacity, which is why the drafting stage deserves attention. Illinois has also revised its power of attorney rules, so older forms are worth a second look.
Important Aspects of an Estate Planning Case
Certain details decide whether a plan works when it is finally needed. They surface in almost every file we open.
- Trust funding. Assets have to be retitled into the trust, and a trust that was never funded controls nothing.
- Beneficiary conflicts. Designations on accounts override the will, so the two have to be reconciled.
- Capacity and timing. Documents signed after cognitive decline begins invite challenges, which is one reason every adult needs an estate plan well before it feels urgent.
- Trustee selection. Naming the wrong person creates problems, and the challenges facing a trustee are heavier than most families expect.
- Debt and solvency. Creditors reach estate assets before beneficiaries do, and clients carrying significant debt sometimes consult a Naperville, IL bankruptcy lawyer before finalizing a plan.
Estate Planning Case Timeline
Drafting usually takes weeks. Settling an estate takes considerably longer, and the two should not be confused.
- Consultation. We identify your assets, your family situation, and the outcome you want.
- Drafting. We prepare documents and revise them until the wording matches your instructions.
- Signing. Illinois requires witnesses for a will, and we handle the execution.
- Funding. Deeds, account retitling, and beneficiary updates move property into the trust.
- Revision. A marriage, a birth, a death, or a property purchase is reason to revisit the plan.
Probate administration after a death commonly runs from several months to more than a year, depending on the size of the estate and whether the beneficiaries agree.
What to Bring to Your Estate Planning Consultation
A first meeting goes further when you arrive with records in hand.
- A list of what you own. Include real estate, bank and brokerage accounts, retirement plans, and life insurance.
- Documents already signed. Bring any will, trust, or power of attorney, including ones executed in another state.
- Current beneficiary forms. Account statements show how each asset is titled and who is designated.
- Names you are considering. Be ready to discuss candidates for executor, trustee, agent, and guardian.
- There is no charge for the first meeting. You will leave knowing which documents your situation calls for and what the work involves.
Illinois Legal Resources for Estate Planning Cases
State and federal agencies publish the forms and reference material behind most estate planning questions. These sources are useful before a consultation and after the documents are signed.
- The Illinois Compiled Statutes database organizes state law by chapter and act.
- The DuPage County probate division lists local procedures for opening and closing an estate.
- The Illinois Department of Public Health publishes Illinois advance directive forms, including the standard living will declaration.
- The IRS estate tax guidance explains when a federal return is required after a death.
- The Social Security Administration outlines survivor benefits available to a spouse or dependent child.
These agencies publish procedure and forms. None of them can tell you which documents fit your circumstances.
Reach Out to Madden Law LLC to Schedule a Consultation
An estate plan takes less time to build than most people expect. Contact us to arrange a free consultation with a Naperville estate planning attorney. We will go through what you own, recommend the documents that fit, and give you a flat quote before drafting begins. Appointments are available on weekdays, Saturdays, and some evenings.