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Are you named as their successor trustee? Do you know what that actually asks of you?
Start by finding out what your parents already have: powers of attorney for property and health care, a will or living trust, who the successor trustee is, and whether the trust is actually funded. Then agree as a family on who does what, and keep their money and yours separate, so helping them doesn't quietly drain your own plan.
A trust that owns nothing protects nothing. Funding is the step families skip.
As trustee you owe the beneficiaries a duty of loyalty under the Illinois Trust Code, including avoiding conflicts between your own interests and the trust's (760 ILCS 3/802). Keep trust money in trust accounts, keep records, and never mix it with yours.
See what a fiduciary is, and the CFPB's free guides for people managing someone else's money.
Caregiving often costs the caregiver: time off, travel, paying bills out of pocket. The federal Family and Medical Leave Act gives eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave a year to care for a parent with a serious health condition (U.S. Department of Labor).
Medicaid reviews asset transfers in the 60 months before applying for long-term care (Social Security Act §1917), so talk to an elder law attorney before moving a parent's money.
Who's tracking what you've spent on Mom and Dad? If nobody, start today.
For the full caregiving checklist, see caregiving finances for aging parents. Planning your own family's trust? See do I need a trust if I have young kids.
Find what they already have, including both powers of attorney, the will or trust, the successor trustee and whether the trust is funded. Then agree as a family on roles and keep their money separate from yours.
Manage the trust for the beneficiaries under the trust's terms and Illinois law, including a duty of loyalty and avoiding conflicts of interest (760 ILCS 3/802). Keep records and never mix trust money with your own.
Then accounts and property outside it may not pass the way the trust says. Work with their estate attorney to retitle what belongs in the trust while your parent can still sign.
Eligible employees can take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave a year under the Family and Medical Leave Act to care for a parent with a serious health condition (U.S. Department of Labor).
Not without an elder law attorney. Medicaid reviews transfers made in the 60 months before applying for long-term care (Social Security Act §1917).
We explicitly show you our value, in writing, before you hire us. If we can't prove it, you don't pay.
We serve Oswego and Aurora, IL, and virtually in all 50 states, from our office in Aurora, Illinois. Call 815-486-0722 or book a Clarity & Discovery Session.
This page is education, not legal, tax or investment advice, and it is not a promise about investment returns or tax results. Examples are illustrations, not clients. Your estate attorney drafts legal documents and your CPA prepares your returns; we coordinate the financial plan around them. Rules and figures change; confirm your own situation before acting. Pinnacle Private Wealth® is a marketing name used by Pinnacle Financial Planning, a Registered Investment Advisor. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training.
Reviewed by Dr. Pat Pachciarz®, The Pinnacle Group (Aurora, IL). Last reviewed October 18, 2026. Figures change; we re-check them against the sources above.