The “five and five”—Why and alternativesBy Jay S. GoldenbergTrusts and Estates, May 2006The “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 DiesElder Law, May 2006As 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.
Yet another joint tenancy case…By Philip E. KoenigTrusts and Estates, May 2006The 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 UpdateBy Kelli E. Madigan & Joseph P. O’KeefeFederal Taxation, April 2006In 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 nutshellBy Patrick E. WardGeneral Practice, Solo, and Small Firm, December 2005How the Family Limited Partnership is supposed to work to the advantage of estate planners: Dad puts his business assets into a limited partnership.
Elder notesElder Law, November 2005Small 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 CountyBy Jay S. GoldenbergTrusts and Estates, October 2005I 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 IllinoisBy Paul A. Meints & Ray J. Koenig, IIITrusts and Estates, October 20051. 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.
Proposed Will Depository Legislation—Probate Act of IllinoisTrusts 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.
In brief: Case reviewsBy Katarinna McBride & David A. BerekTrusts and Estates, August 2005In the Estate of Jelke, the Tax Court acknowledged that its position to reduce built-in capital gains was a controversial.
The living willBy Dr. Bart A. BasiTrusts and Estates, August 2005Health care documents have been given a lot of press lately. Months after the Terri Schiavo case, people are still inquiring about living wills.
Safeguarding your life savings from future creditorsBy Martin P. RyanCommercial Banking, Collections, and Bankruptcy, July 2005Protecting 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.
Prompt assessment of federal tax related to a decedentBy Mary CascinoTrusts and Estates, June 2005An executor or administrator of a decedent's estate can request a prompt assessment of a tax relating to returns filed by the representative of a decedent's estate, i.e., income tax of a decedent (Form 1040); estate income tax (Form 1041); and/or the decedent's gift tax (Form 709). (I.R.C. §6501(d)).
Recent developments in estate, gift, and income taxBy David A. BerekTrusts and Estates, June 2005Three recent cases, Estate of Bongard, Estate of Bigelow and In re Ehman illustrate the importance of non-tax reasons for creating family limited partnerships.
Estate and gift tax updateBy Joseph P. O’KeefeFederal Taxation, March 2005With the recent re-election of President Bush and the aggressive agenda he has put forward, it looks like our estate and gift tax system is headed for further reform.
Other recent developments and casesBy David A. BerekTrusts and Estates, March 2005The Service issued Proposed Regulations under section 2702, 69 Fed. Reg. 44476 (2004), consistent with the holdings in Walton v. Commissioner, 115 T.C. 589 (2000), acq., Notice 2003-72, 2003-44 I.R.B. 964 (Nov. 3, 2003), and Schott v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo 2001-110, rev'd and remanded 319 F.3d 1203 (9th Cir. 2003).
Proposed regulations to elect out of deemed allocationsBy Katarinna McBrideTrusts and Estates, March 2005The Internal Revenue Service issued Proposed Regulations under section 2632 concerning (i) guidance for making the election under section 2632(c)(5)(A)(i) to elect out of the deemed allocation of unused Generation Skipping Tax ("GST") exemption under section 2632(c)(1) to a GST trust, (ii) guidance for making the election under section 2632(c)(5)(A)(ii) to treat a trust as a GST trust, and (iii) guidance with regard to electing out of deemed allocations to a specific transfer or a specific transfer and all subsequent transfers to a trust.
Recent developments and cases in IllinoisBy Paul A. MeintsTrusts and Estates, March 2005Illinois has been quietly and effectively stepping up its collection program to recover benefits paid to people in nursing homes.
Appellant beware: Trust fees and administrative costs disallowed on appealBy Donald A. LoBueGeneral Practice, Solo, and Small Firm, January 2005Since early in law school, attorneys have heard the phrase "Buyer Beware." A recent Fourth District case, NC Illinois Trust Co. v. Madigan et al, is an example of a situation where the Appellant needs to beware.
Comparison of transfer techniquesBy Jay S. GoldenbergTrusts and Estates, December 2004Tax planning is a quantitative matter. No matter how good a technique sounds, we don't know anything until we actually run the numbers.
Family Limited Partnerships: Yes!… No!… Well, maybe!By Robert WeberTrusts and Estates, December 2004After the Courts came in with their decisions in the Strangi case, and the Hackl case, the IRS rubbed their hands in glee, and estate planners went out looking for black clothes and sack cloth to mourn the end of the Family Limited Partnership method to try to preserve estate assets.
Recent decisionsBy James K. SayTrusts and Estates, December 2004National City Bank of Michigan/Illinois v. Northern Illinois University, et al, No. 2-03-1281 (Ill. App. 2nd Dist) (Nov. 5, 2004).
