If you win a money judgment in court, the losing party rarely cuts you a check on the spot. To the contrary, you may still have to spend a lot of time and money finding and collecting the losing party’s assets. For anyone trying to enforce a money judgment, or for anyone trying to protect their assets from collection by a money judgment creditor, Illinois recently passed a significant new law.
Effective August 17, 2012, Illinois law exempts collection of some life insurance policies, endowment policies, and annuities if the proceeds are directed into a particular kind of trust. If, upon the death of a debtor, the proceeds of the policy would be directed to a revocable or irrevocable trust naming a close family member as the primary beneficiary, then such policy is exempt from “judgment, attachment, or distress for rent.” 735 ILCS 5/12-1001(f). The trust must name the insured’s spouse, child, parent, or other dependent as the primary beneficiary in order to be exempt.
The attorneys at DeBlasio & Gower LLC are experienced at collection of judgments. To schedule an appointment or to speak with one of our attorneys, call us at (630) 560-1123 or visit our website at https://dgllc.net We are here to help.
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