“Small” Estates Are Now LargerBy Gary R. Gehlbach, Colleen L. Sahlas, & Robert W. KaufmanSenior Lawyers, October 2025The small estate procedure is broadened to personal estates up to $150,000, excluding the value of motor vehicles, effective for decedents dying on or after August 15, 2025.
“Small” Estates Are Now LargerBy Gary R. Gehlbach, Colleen L. Sahlas, & Robert W. KaufmanTrusts and Estates, September 2025The small estate procedure is broadened to personal estates up to $150,000, excluding the value of motor vehicles, effective for decedents dying on or after August 15, 2025.
Is There a Duty to Assess a Client’s Capacity to Execute Estate Planning Documents?By Gary R. GehlbachElder Law, June 2025To what extent, if at all, does an attorney have a duty to determine if a client has sufficient capacity to execute a last will and testament or other estate planning documents? Noting “that there is no Illinois law directly on the subject,” a recent First District Illinois Appellate Court decision characterizing this issue as a “case of first impression,” rejected plaintiff’s argument that “an affirmative duty [exists] to determine a client’s competence.” However, if the attorney is put on notice of a client’s disability, the attorney is “obligated to determine the extent of that disability with respect to [the client’s] capacity to alter her estate plan.”
Is There a Duty to Assess a Client’s Capacity to Execute Estate Planning Documents?By Gary R. GehlbachTrusts and Estates, May 2025To what extent, if at all, does an attorney have a duty to determine if a client has sufficient capacity to execute a last will and testament or other estate planning documents? Noting “that there is no Illinois law directly on the subject,” a recent First District Illinois Appellate Court decision characterizing this issue as a “case of first impression,” rejected plaintiff’s argument that “an affirmative duty [exists] to determine a client’s competence.” However, if the attorney is put on notice of a client’s disability, the attorney is “obligated to determine the extent of that disability with respect to [the client’s] capacity to alter her estate plan.”
The Consequence of Failing to Find the LeakBy Gary R. GehlbachReal Estate Law, April 2025Since October 1, 1994, Illinois law has required owners of residential real property to provide a detailed disclosure when the property is transferred pursuant to “sale, exchange, installment land contract, assignment of beneficial interest, lease with an option to purchase, ground lease, or assignment of ground lease,” with limited exceptions. The consequences of the failure to honestly disclose defects of the property can be significant, as the defendant learned in the recent Third District Appellate Court decision, Poundstone v. Cook.
Proposed Changes to the TODI ActBy Gary R. GehlbachElder Law, January 2021A look at proposed changes to the Illinois Residential Real Property Transfer on Death Instrument Act.
Proposed Changes to the TODI ActBy Gary R. GehlbachBusiness Advice and Financial Planning, January 2021A look at proposed changes to the Illinois Residential Real Property Transfer on Death Instrument Act.
Proposed Changes to the TODI ActBy Gary R. GehlbachTrusts and Estates, December 2020A look at proposed changes to the Illinois Residential Real Property Transfer on Death Instrument Act.
Proposed Changes to the TODI ActBy Gary R. GehlbachReal Estate Law, November 2020A look at proposed changes to the Illinois Residential Real Property Transfer on Death Instrument Act.
Terminating farm leasesBy Gary R. GehlbachReal Estate Law, April 2019As farming operations become more concentrated, leasehold arrangements are changing.
Standing to collect rent arrearagesBy Gary R. GehlbachReal Estate Law, July 2018An overview on whether a subsequent owner of real property has standing to bring an action against a tenant of the property for rent that accrued prior to the transfer of ownership.
The obsolescence of the full power deed in trustBy Gary R. GehlbachTrusts and Estates, March 2017Author Gary Gehlbach considers whether the 'full power' provisions of a trust continue to be necessary.
No common law rights for unmarried cohabitantsBy Gary R. GehlbachTrusts and Estates, December 2016In a recent Illinois Supreme Court decision, Blumenthal v. Brewer, the court ruled that to afford unmarried partners the right to enforce mutual property rights under common law would be tantamount to recognizing common law marriage.
Message from the ChairBy Gary R. GehlbachTrusts and Estates, June 2016A message from Section Chair Gary Gehlbach.
Estate tax return changesBy Gary R. GehlbachTrusts and Estates, November 2015On June 16, 2015, the IRS announced that it would no longer automatically issue estate tax closing letters for estates filed after May 31, 2015.
ErrataBy Gary R. GehlbachTrusts and Estates, October 2014Gary Gehlbach provides a revision to his article that appeared in the June 2014 issue of this newsletter.
Small estate agreement—Practice tipBy Gary R. GehlbachTrusts and Estates, September 2014The author shares his sample agreement, which is typically coupled with a small estate affidavit.
Small estate administration primerBy Gary R. GehlbachTrusts and Estates, June 2014While administering a decedent’s estate can be quite simple at times, often the attorney will find that there are nuances that require thought and skills that can be utilized to benefit the client.
Conveying farmland subject to CRP contractsBy Gary R. GehlbachTrusts and Estates, September 2013Farms that include land subject to one or more Conservation Reserve Program contracts are routinely bought and sold. Accompanying this article is a form that the author routinely uses, with appropriate modifications depending on the transaction, for the assignment of a CRP contract.
CRP payments subject to self-employment taxBy Gary R. GehlbachAgricultural Law, September 2013On June 18, 2013, the United States Tax Court issued a decision finding that payments received under the U.S. Department of Agriculture Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) are includable in a taxpayer’s self-employment income, ruling that the taxpayer was engaged in a trade or business and that a nexus existed between his trade or business and the CRP payments he received.
CRP payments subject to self-employment taxBy Gary R. GehlbachTrusts and Estates, August 2013On June 18, 2013, the United States Tax Court issued a decision finding that payments received under the U.S. Department of Agriculture Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) are includable in a taxpayer’s self-employment income, ruling that the taxpayer was engaged in a trade or business and that a nexus existed between his trade or business and the CRP payments he received.
Illinois adopts equitable adoptionBy Gary R. GehlbachTrusts and Estates, May 2013The case of DeHart v. DeHart provides a useful primer on the requirements for setting aside a will or asserting that someone tortuously interfered with an economic expectancy. More importantly, the decision establishes a new cause of action, equitable adoption.
The Illinois gift tax and a planning opportunity, perhaps?By Gary R. GehlbachTrusts and Estates, December 2011With the $5 million federal gift and estate tax exemption and the $2 million Illinois estate tax exemption, a popular planning technique is to have clients make substantial lifetime gifts, using some or all of their $5 million federal gift tax exemption.
Child as trustee: A per se conflict?By Gary R. GehlbachTrusts and Estates, November 2011Is it permissible for a child of the settlor to act as a trustee of the settlor’s revocable living trust or of a testamentary trust created by the settlor, if the child-trustee is also a contingent remainder beneficiary?
Editor’s noteBy Gary R. GehlbachReal Estate Law, August 2008For several decades I have steadfastly declined to prepare an installment contract for deed, only rarely and begrudgingly relenting.
From the ChairBy Gary R. GehlbachReal Estate Law, July 2008Perversely relishing the stress and frustration that every day (indeed, every hour or every few minutes) seems to bring, I secretly confess that I love the practice of law.
Editor’s noteBy Gary R. GehlbachReal Estate Law, June 2008Congratulations! With considerable support from highly qualified authors, we have now published 12 issues this fiscal year, a record!
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