Stephanie Sexauer

Ms. Sexauer focuses her practice on probate matters, including: elder law, guardianship, estate planning, wills, trusts, and will contests. She is a member of the Chicago Bar Association and the Illinois State Bar Association. Stephanie speaks Spanish fluently and is regularly selected by Cook County judges to serve as a court-appointed Guardian ad Litem for disabled adults. Stephanie also serves on the Judicial Evaluation Committee of the Chicago Bar Association.

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Illinois

Since 2013

Owner, Lawyer

Sexauer Law, P.C.

2014 - Current

Attorney

Ruben Garca, P.C.

2013 - 2014

The John Marshall Law School

Dean's Scholarship

The John Marshall Law School

Illinois State Bar  # 6311374

Member

Current

2014 Supplement of Guardianship for Disabled Adults, Advance Directives and Mental Health Law

IICLE

2014

Vice Chair, CBA Young Lawyer Section's Estates and Trusts Group Annual Seminar, Chicago Bar Association 321 S. Plymouth Court Chicago, IL 60603

May 3, 2017

Chicago Bar Association

Moderated a 3 hour panel on pitfalls in estate planning, estate administration, and guardianship.

Vice Chair, CBA Youn Lawyer

Mediator

Center for Conflict Resolution

Q. In Illinois, is it required to have all heirs names on the estate bank account?

August 23, 2022

A: Hi there,

No, the name of an estate bank account should include the name and title of the representative: "John Doe, executor/administrator of the Jane Doe Estate".

Thank you, and wish you the best of luck!

Q. Who gets IRA payout when someone dies without beneficiary in IRA but with a will and living trust? Can it go to trust?

July 11, 2022

A: I’m so sorry to hear of your loss; I hope you’re hanging in there.

When someone has a trust, the purpose is to avoid probate. The way you avoid probate when you have a trust is to fund the trust by making sure the trust is listed as beneficiary (or owner) of assets. There are potentially tax benefits to naming individuals, and especially spouses, as direct beneficiaries of retirement accounts, just for your information.

Since that didn’t happen here, a probate court will be necessary to use the pour over will to pour over the retirement accounts into the trust. This will require the named Executor to hire an attorney to administer the estate.

Eventually, after debts/costs, the retirement accounts will be paid to the trust and split among the trust beneficiaries, as determined by the language of the trust.

I hope this helps, and good luck!

Stephanie M. Sexauer

sms@sexauerlaw.com

312-300-4743 ... Read More

Q. What do I need to do my mother passed with no will she has estate and a vehicle thanks

July 7, 2022

A: I'm so sorry to hear of your mother's passing; I hope you're hanging in there.

Her estate may need to go through probate. Probate court proceedings are needed when 1) someone owns real estate or 2) other cumulative assets that don't name a joint owner or beneficiary exceed $100,000.

Please reach out to a probate attorney for further guidance. I wish you the best of luck!

Stephanie M. Sexauer

312-300-4743

sms@sexauerlaw.com