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Two adults have to witness and sign the living will. A will is not legally required in Illinois, but you should consider having one if you want to determine who receives your assets after your death. It also provides a forum for settling disputes, interpreting the will or compelling performance by the executor/administrator. If you plan now, you can increase the chances that the medical treatment you get will be the treatment you want. Generally, anyone can witness a will as long as they meet two requirements: They're of legal adult age (i.e. However, in some states, certain unwitnessed wills can still be valid. The codicil must be signed by the creator of the original will (the testator) in the presence of at least two witnesses; The witnesses must execute the will contemporaneously with the testator; The testator and the witnesses must all be at least 18 years old and of sound mind at the time of execution. To petition the court as necessary in the management of the estate's assets. The executor carries out the financial wishes stated in your Will. The executor is the person or company, such as a Bank or law firm, who carries out the collection and distribution of the deceaseds estate, and pays out any of the deceaseds outstanding debts. But they do need to be able to verify that the document exists, that youve signed it in their presence and that theyve signed it in front of you. Beneficiaries: A testator can leave property to any beneficiary provided he or she is not a witness to the will. For example, if there is a surviving spouse and one or more children, the surviving spouse gets half and the children share equally in the other half. Previously, this was impermissible, as the document would have had to have been signed in the conscious presence of each other. Joint tenancy may have other consequences. Should I have a buy-sell agreement with my business partner and/or a succession plan for a family business? But, they do need to be signed by the patient and at least one witness (this varies by state). Supervised administration may be imposed at the request of any interested party, which then requires court approval for many things, like authority to sell an asset , that are not required under independent administration, thus increasing attorneys fees and requiring attendance at hearings on otherwise routine acts and functions. SmartAssets services are limited to referring users to third party advisers registered or chartered as fiduciaries ("Adviser(s)") with a regulatory body in the United States that have elected to participate in our matching platform based on information gathered from users through our online questionnaire. This content is designed for general informational use only. Illinois does not tax gifts. Certain parties, including an attending physician or a relative of either the principal or agent, are prohibited from serving as witnesses to the POA. For paper copies, the witnesses and testator must physically compile all the signature pages within 10 days. A witness must be competent, meaning they must be of sound mind at the time they are signing the will as a witness. One of those rules centers on the requirements for witnesses. The information provided on this site is not legal advice, does not constitute a lawyer referral service, and no attorney-client or confidential relationship is or will be formed by use of the site.