Articles on Trusts and Estates | Illinois State Bar Association

Federal estate and gift tax update By Michelle L. Heller Federal Taxation, January 2007 The Tax Court decided that the fair market value of decedent’s personal residence, which was transferred to a partnership formed shortly before the transfer, was includable in her gross estate under section 2036(a)(1) because she retained the “possession” and “enjoyment” of the property after the transfer.

Estate planning with the increasing exclusion amount By David A. Berek Trusts and Estates, December 2006 Who would have thought we’d hear discussions around the water cooler about changes to the estate tax law?

In Terrorem Clauses—Bark but no bite By Seth A. Kaplan Trusts and Estates, December 2006 It is the duty of the courts to carry out the wishes of testators and settlors, and the duty of lawyers representing those testators and settlors to advise them as to the best chance of their directives being followed.

Inflation Adjustments: 2007 and before By Gregg M. Simon Trusts and Estates, December 2006 On November 9, 2006 the IRS released its official inflation adjustments for 2007. The following tables show the 2007 adjusted items that relate to estate taxes:

Sample year-end letter Trusts and Estates, December 2006 There are several estate tax issues which are critical for us to review the upcoming year.

A season for giving: Organ donation in Illinois By Justin J. Karubas Trusts and Estates, December 2006 There is a need for greater awareness about organ donation. People die waiting for donations and people die without donating.

Selected developments in income, estate, gift & generation-skipping transfer tax By David A. Berek Trusts and Estates, December 2006 Consistent with the holding in O’Neill, the Second Circuit affirmed the Tax Court in Rudkin v. United States, 124 TC No. 19 (June 27, 2005) that investment advisory fees paid by a trust are deductible only to the extent those fees exceed 2 percent of the trusts adjusted gross income.

Tax and estate planning for year-end and looking ahead to 2007 By Karen MacKay & Gregory M. Winters Corporate Law Departments, December 2006 A summary of some of the more noteworthy changes to the tax law over the past year, along with planning opportunities you might consider prior to year-end.

Hines v. Department. of Public Aid By Philip E. Koenig Trusts and Estates, November 2006 Beverly Tutinas died in 2001, leaving a house and an automobile.

REV. RUL. 2006-34 defines when real estate ownership constitutes closely held business for Section 6166 purposes By Charles G. Brown Trusts and Estates, November 2006 In recent Revenue Ruling 2006-34, 2006-26 I.R.B 1171, the Service provides clarification as to when the ownership of real estate constitutes a closely held business for purposes of the installment payment of estate taxes under Section 6166 of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended.

Estate Planning Update for the Solo, Small Firm & General Practice & Probate By James F. Dunneback General Practice, Solo, and Small Firm, July 2006 With the increase in the applicable exclusion amount to $2 million this year, increasing to $3.5 million in 2009 and the promised (but yet to be fulfilled) removal of the estate tax in 2010, the emphasis on the tax planning element of our estate planning practices may seem to be diminishing.

Estate planning update: Recent case decisions By James F. Dunneback General Practice, Solo, and Small Firm, June 2006 The Estate of Helen H. Noble, 89 TCM 649 stands for the proposition that sales following death, so long as the transaction occurred within a reasonable time, can be used to establish value as much as a sale prior to the date of death.

The “five and five”—Why and alternatives By Jay S. Goldenberg Trusts and Estates, May 2006 The “five and five” is a frequently used tool. One often finds that a trust beneficiary (whether spouse or child) has been granted such a power.

Have you appointed an Agent to control the disposition of your remains? By Darrell Dies Elder Law, May 2006 As of January 1, 2006, Public Act 094-0561 amended the Disposition of Remains Act (“D.R.A.”) to allow a specific agent to be named to control the disposition of one’s remains upon death.

US Supreme Court defines the “probate exception” to limits on federal jurisdiction By Philip E. Koenig Trusts and Estates, May 2006 It is not very often that probate law, a Hollywood figure and the United States Supreme Court converge upon one another.

Yet another joint tenancy case… By Philip E. Koenig Trusts and Estates, May 2006 The Second District Appellate Court recently decided another case, In re Estate of Shea, resolving ownership of joint tenancy bank accounts established by a decedent during his lifetime.

Estate, Gift, and Generation Skipping Tax Update By Kelli E. Madigan & Joseph P. O’Keefe Federal Taxation, April 2006 In Estate of Smith v. U.S., the District Court and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the value of individual retirement accounts included in a decedent’s estate could not be discounted for the anticipated income tax to be paid by the estate or IRA beneficiaries upon receipt of the distribution of the IRA funds.

Hot probate, estate and trust topics in a nutshell By Patrick E. Ward General Practice, Solo, and Small Firm, December 2005 How the Family Limited Partnership is supposed to work to the advantage of estate planners: Dad puts his business assets into a limited partnership.

Elder notes Elder Law, November 2005 Small estate affidavit revision. Last year’s increase for small estate affidavits to $100,000 from $50,000 applies to all documents executed after August 6, 2004, regardless of when the decedent died, pursuant to Public Act 94-57.

Beginner’s guide to probating a decedent’s estate in Cook County By Jay S. Goldenberg Trusts and Estates, October 2005 I received an e-mail from a friend: “I have a probate estate. What do I do?” I have tried to lay out the process step-by-step so the newest graduate will be able to function on the same basis as the experienced pro.

In support for will depository legislation for Illinois By Paul A. Meints & Ray J. Koenig, III Trusts and Estates, October 2005 1. The concept of a will depository [being one and the same as a “will repository”] has been a goal of the Trusts and Estate’s Committee of the Illinois State Bar Association dating back to approximately 1988 when it was first proposed by Mr. Joseph LaRocco, an older sole practitioner in Chicago, now deceased, who was then a member of the Committee.

Potential statutory conflict on disposition of remains By Mary Cascino Trusts and Estates, October 2005 A situation may arise in which there is a lack of direction for disposition of the remains of a decedent.

Proposed Will Depository Legislation—Probate Act of Illinois Trusts and Estates, October 2005 (a) A depositor, as defined in section (e), may deposit a will with the circuit court clerk of the county in which the testator resided when the testator executed the will if the depositor certifies that he is unable to locate the testator after a diligent search.

Recent cases and rulings regarding estate and gift tax issues By Joseph P. O’Keefe Federal Taxation, October 2005 The decedent died holding 11.6 percent of the outstanding shares of a bank holding company.

Yes, you can probate a copy of a lost will By Janet L. Grove Trusts and Estates, October 2005 It is a myth that a photocopy of a will cannot be admitted to probate.

Illinois modifies Illinois estate tax to apportion the state death tax credit amount among other states with tax situs real estate By David A. Berek Trusts and Estates, August 2005 On August 2, 2005 Governor Blagojevich signed HB 1570 (PA 94-0419) effective as of January 1, 2003, which modifies the calculation of the Illinois estate tax.

In brief: Case reviews By Katarinna McBride & David A. Berek Trusts and Estates, August 2005 In the Estate of Jelke, the Tax Court acknowledged that its position to reduce built-in capital gains was a controversial.

The living will By Dr. Bart A. Basi Trusts and Estates, August 2005 Health care documents have been given a lot of press lately. Months after the Terri Schiavo case, people are still inquiring about living wills.

Strangi strikes again-The Fifth Circuit finds in favor of Service; assets transferred to Family Limited Partnership included in Decedent’s estate By David A. Berek Trusts and Estates, August 2005 The Fifth Circuit held in favor of the Service in Strangi v. Commissioner, (No. 03-60992, Jul. 15, 2005; 2005 WL 1660817) finding that assets transferred during the decedent's lifetime were includable in the decedent's estate under IRC section 2036(a)(1).

Safeguarding your life savings from future creditors By Martin P. Ryan Commercial Banking, Collections, and Bankruptcy, July 2005 Protecting assets from the claims of creditors has begun to assume a more prominent role in estate and financial planning due to the increasingly litigious nature of society.

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