Wills Lawyer Joliet, IL
If you’ve been putting off writing a will because it feels like something you can deal with later, you’re not alone. Most people do exactly that. The problem is that “later” has real consequences if it never comes.
Our Joliet, IL wills attorney at Kravets Law Group drafts last wills and testaments, pour-over wills, and codicils for individuals and families throughout Joliet and Will County. Founding attorney Daniel Kravets has been practicing since 2016, opened the firm in 2020, and handles all will matters himself. Flat-rate pricing is available for standalone wills and bundled will-and-trust packages. Free consultations are available.
Why Choose Kravets Law Group for Wills in Joliet, IL?
Experience Drafting Wills Across Real Family Situations
Daniel Kravets has drafted wills for Illinois families across nearly every configuration: single-owner estates where the priority was a clean, unambiguous document; blended households where distribution provisions had to account for children from multiple relationships without creating the conditions for a contested administration; multi-property owners where asset titling directly determined what the will could and couldn’t accomplish; and business owners who needed succession provisions built directly into their documents alongside their personal distribution wishes.
He earned his JD from Drexel University Law, is admitted in Illinois, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, and holds membership in the Chicago Bar Association. He is completing a forthcoming book on estate planning and speaks regularly at professional and community events throughout the greater Chicago area. As the estate planning lawyer in Joliet, IL at Kravets Law Group, he brings close to a decade of Illinois will drafting experience to every case.
A Will That Fits the Whole Plan
A will doesn’t operate in a vacuum. Retirement accounts, life insurance policies, jointly titled real estate, and transfer-on-death bank accounts all pass based on designations or titling, not will language. When those pieces aren’t aligned with what the will says, the result often isn’t what the client intended. We review how assets are held before drafting begins, so the document we produce fits the full picture rather than creating contradictions the family has to untangle later.
For clients pairing a will with a living trust, both documents need to be built together. A pour-over will that assumes a funded trust, without confirming the trust is actually funded, leaves gaps that surface at exactly the wrong moment.
Flat-Rate Pricing
Standalone wills and bundled will-and-trust packages at Kravets Law Group are priced on a flat-rate basis. You know what the work costs before anything is drafted. The number of questions you ask along the way doesn’t change the fee.
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“I have complete faith and trust in Daniel to handle my estate needs. Just like his website says, straightforward advice and dependable, talking with Daniel is stress-free and uncomplicated, which is what I want with something that’s so important. Highly recommend.” — Helena Gonzalez
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Types of Will Matters We Handle in Joliet
Illinois will planning varies considerably depending on your family structure, what you own, and how the rest of your estate is organized. These are the primary will-related matters we handle for Joliet families and individuals throughout Will County.
- Last will and testament. The foundation of most Illinois estate plans. Designates your executor, nominates guardians for minor children, and directs how property distributes at death. We draft documents for straightforward single-owner estates and more complex situations involving blended households, multiple properties, and business interests.
- Pour-over wills. A companion document to a revocable living trust, designed to route any assets left outside the trust at death into it through probate. Every trust plan we build for Joliet clients includes a pour-over will, and it must meet the same execution requirements as a standard will to be enforceable.
- Codicils. A formal amendment to an existing will. Used when a client’s circumstances have changed in a specific, targeted way and a full restatement isn’t warranted. Must be executed with the same formalities as the original document, including two qualified adult witnesses.
- Wills for blended families. Without deliberate drafting, a blended household can produce default distributions that unintentionally exclude children from a prior relationship. The provisions required to avoid that outcome are specific, and generic documents often don’t include them.
- Wills alongside trusts and broader planning. Some clients need a standalone will. Others are starting a larger conversation that also involves a living trust, powers of attorney, and beneficiary designation reviews. The will we draft accounts for whatever surrounds it.
- Probate after death. When a Joliet estate requires court administration, the will is the document that opens the process. We represent executors, administrators, and beneficiaries through every stage of Will County probate, from the initial filing through final distribution.
Illinois Legal Requirements for Wills
Under the Illinois Probate Act, 755 ILCS 5, a valid will requires the testator to be at least 18 years old and of sound mind at the time of signing. The will must be in writing, signed by the testator, and witnessed by two credible adults who are each at least 18. Both witnesses must be present at the signing. Illinois does not recognize holographic wills. A handwritten, unwitnessed document, no matter how clearly it states the decedent’s wishes, will not be admitted to probate.
Without a valid will, 755 ILCS 5/2-1 governs who inherits. For a married person with children, assets divide between the surviving spouse and children in proportions that frequently don’t reflect what the decedent would have chosen. For unmarried individuals, the priority order runs through parents, siblings, and more distant relatives. None of those defaults account for the specifics of your family.
For Joliet residents, wills are probated through the 12th Judicial Circuit Court in Will County. Estates over $4 million may face Illinois estate tax obligations administered by the Illinois Attorney General’s Office, alongside separate federal estate tax filing requirements for larger estates. Both are worth addressing during the will drafting process rather than leaving them for the administration.
Important Aspects of a Joliet Wills Case
Naming the Right Executor
The executor manages every step of the probate process from filing the will with Will County court through the final distribution to beneficiaries. That includes locating and inventorying all assets, notifying creditors, paying valid claims and taxes, and accounting for every dollar. It is a substantive legal and financial responsibility, and the wrong choice creates problems that affect every person waiting on a distribution. For estates with real estate in multiple locations, business interests, or family dynamics that could complicate a straightforward administration, the question of who serves is worth working through carefully. A co-executor arrangement or professional executor is sometimes the right answer, and we discuss those options with clients who need them.
Guardian Nominations for Minor Children
For parents with minor children, this is often the single most important provision in the entire document. In Illinois, a will is the only formal mechanism for nominating a guardian. Without one, a court makes that determination without any input from you. It’s also worth considering separately who should manage the child’s inherited assets versus who should raise them, because those roles often suit different people and combining them in one person isn’t always the right answer.
How Specific Bequests Can Create Problems
A will can direct particular assets, sums of money, or personal property to named individuals before the remainder of the estate distributes. Done well, this prevents ambiguity and conflict. Done poorly, vague or imprecise specific bequest language is among the more common causes of will contests in Illinois probate proceedings. We draft specific bequests with enough precision that the executor knows exactly what to do and beneficiaries have no room to dispute the intent.
What a Will Doesn’t Control
Retirement accounts, life insurance, jointly held real estate, and transfer-on-death accounts all transfer based on their own forms and designations, entirely outside the will. A well-drafted will accounts for this by confirming those designations align with the overall plan rather than contradicting it. Families who later want to look at avoiding probate altogether typically find that conversation starts with reviewing how assets are held, not just what the will says.
Keeping the Will Current
A will written before a second marriage, a new child, a significant property purchase, or the death of a named executor or guardian may no longer reflect what you’d want. These aren’t rare situations. They’re the ordinary events of a life, and each one is a reason to revisit the document. The trust funding and planning considerations that surround a will also need to keep pace, because outdated beneficiary designations and titling can undermine even a recently updated document.
Contact Kravets Law Group
Without a valid will, Illinois intestacy law determines who inherits your property and, if you have minor children, who raises them. Those aren’t decisions a court makes with any knowledge of your family or your wishes. Your estate passes through Will County probate court on the state’s schedule, and your family manages the filings and the timeline during an already difficult period.
Getting a will in place is one of the most straightforward things you can do to protect your family, and the process is more manageable than most people expect going in. We work with Joliet families at every stage of life, from first wills for new parents to full revisions after major life changes. Contact us to schedule a free consultation.