2025 Articles

2025 Updates By Paul Fousek February 2025 The following are updates regarding retirement plan limits, tax brackets, and estate tax limits for 2025. Additionally, Paul Fousek includes key insights into the market trends that may impact your financial planning.

Become an Illinois Bar Foundation Champion By Jessica R. Durkin December 2025 At least twice a year at ISBA Annual and Midyear Meetings, we are pitched by colleagues and the Illinois Bar Foundation to become a “Champion.” But what is a Champion really, and what’s in it for us?

Case Law Updates By Michael L. English December 2025 Summaries of cases that discuss mental capacity in modifying estate plans, quantum meruit awards, amendments to a trust shortly before death, undue influence, and removing trustees.

Caselaw Update By Michael English March 2025 Summaries of written decisions in three cases of interest to trust & estates practitioners.

A Cautionary Tale in the Use of AI in Pleadings By John Holevas July 2025 At the 2025 Allerton Conference focusing on the impact of generative AI in legal practice, Judge Jeffrey A. Goffinet recounted a case where he sanctioned an attorney for citing a fictitious, AI-generated legal case—Hauter v. DeWitt. The case did not exist, and despite multiple opportunities, the attorney failed to acknowledge the mistake until compelled by the court. He later admitted the error stemmed from using an AI tool called "Archie," which mistakenly inserted the false citation. The court fined the attorney $2,000, and Judge Goffinet reported him to the ARDC. The incident underscores the need for lawyers to verify AI-generated content and to take responsibility for errors.

The Combined Guardianship and Mental Health Docket, or Calendar 20, Segregates Some of the Trees From the Forest By Ann Krasuski October 2025 The author of the companion article has not identified a problem that a combined docket solves. No doubt, the Mental Health Code (Code) and adult guardianship under the Probate Act address and strive to solve issues people face. Yet, as the author discusses, there are still shortcomings. But after several pages discussing gaps in mental health care and problems families face, she has not identified how establishing a combined docket solves any shortcomings or how it benefits respondents.

A Different Perspective to the Proposal for a Pilot Project To Establish a Single Docket for Mental Health and Guardianship Proceedings By Michelle Luburic October 2025 Recently, the County and Probate Divisions of the Cook County court system announced an exciting initiative seeking to enhance the lives of individuals living with mental illness and the friends and family who support them by merging the case management of respondents involved in both mental health and guardianship proceedings.

Elder Law Case Summaries: April 1, 2025, through June 30, 2025 By John W. Foltz September 2025 Summarise of case decisions that will impact elder law practitioners, particularly in the areas of guardianship; wills, trusts and estates; social security disability; pensions; and discriminatory firing practices.

Estate Planning for Animals By Timothy S. Midura June 2025 This article by Timothy S. Midura explores the often-overlooked area of estate planning for pets, framing it as a specialized form of special needs planning. Since pets are dependent, perishable beings lacking legal personhood, estate plans must explicitly address their care upon the incapacity or death of their human guardians. Despite their central role in many families, pets are legally treated as property, which complicates planning but also mandates it for ethical and practical reasons.

An Estate Planning Trap That Affects Real Estate, Too! By Michael J. Maslanka November 2025 Ensure that you are choosing the right language in trusts, wills, Transfer on Death Instruments, or any other means to correctly express your client's intention on passing title to property.

The Ethical and Practical Realities of Maintaining Authorized Contacts for Clients By Matthew Benson July 2025 There are practical benefits to attorneys and law firms to ineract with a client's designated authorized contact.

Flinn Report Summary – January 3, 2025 (Issue 1) through January 24, 2025 (Issue 4) By Amina Saeed February 2025 The following is a summary of regulatory decisions of Illinois agencies reported in the Flinn Report that are related to trust and estate practices.

Flinn Report Summary: October 31, 2025, Through December 1, 2025 By Joseph P. O’Keefe December 2025 A quick overview of regulatory decisions that may impact trust and estate practices, discussing the proposed rule to establish a scholarship program for early childhood directors and other educators; proposed amendment to rule to remove transcripts of state and federal tax returns as proof of residency; amendments to require renewal and licensing fees for collection agencies; and more.

Future Live CLE and Previously Recorded CLE on Trusts and Estates Topics August 2025 Do not forget to mark your calendars for upcoming live CLE events sponsored by the Trusts & Estates Section Council!

Future Live CLE and Previously Recorded CLE on Trusts and Estates Topics July 2025 Do not forget to mark your calendars for upcoming live CLE events sponsored by the Trusts & Estates Section Council!

Future Live CLE and Previously Recorded CLE on Trusts and Estates Topics June 2025 Mark your calendars for upcoming live CLE events sponsored by the Trusts & Estates Section Council.

Future Live CLE and Previously Recorded CLE on Trusts and Estates Topics February 2025 Mark your calendars for upcoming live CLE events sponsored by the Trusts & Estates Section Council.

I Knew You Were Trouble When You Walked In: T&E Monthly Q&A By Melissa A. Grisoni May 2025 The ISBA Trusts & Estates Section Subcommittee on Lawyers Who Are New to Trusts & Estates held its monthly "T&E Q&A: The Basics and Beyond" Zoom meeting on May 15, 2025. This month’s insightful meeting tackled a challenge every attorney inevitably faces: the "toxic client." Moderated by the knowledgeable Mary Vanek of Matlin Law in Northbrook, co-chair of the subcommittee and a 37-year veteran of T&E law, the session provided invaluable guidance from a panel of experienced practitioners.

Is There a Duty to Assess a Client’s Capacity to Execute Estate Planning Documents? By Gary R. Gehlbach May 2025 To 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.”

ISBA 2025 Solo and Small Firm Conference Photos October 2025 The Illinois State Bar Association hosted the 2025 Solo and Small Firm Conference: The Innovative Lawyer: Smart Strategies for Small Firms in the Age of AI on September 25–26 at the Embassy Suites in Naperville, IL.

ISBA Trusts & Estates Section Offers Valuable Q&A Series for Attorneys New to T&E By Melissa A. Grisoni April 2025 Since November 2024, the ISBA Trusts & Estates Section's Subcommittee on Lawyers Who Are New to Estate Planning has successfully hosted a monthly Zoom meeting, "T&E Q&A: The Basics and Beyond." These sessions are held on the third Thursday of each month. Designed as an informal forum, the Q&A meetings provide an invaluable opportunity for attorneys new to the practice of estate planning to pose questions to experienced colleagues. ISBA members can submit questions in advance or via the chat function during the live meeting, with a panel of three to four seasoned practitioners offering their insights. The subcommittee has received overwhelmingly positive feedback and intends to continue these popular sessions, with a brief recess planned for the summer months.

It Is Time for Illinois to Adopt Domestic Asset Protection Trust Legislation By George L. Schoenbeck February 2025 This article discusses why it is prudent and beneficial for Illinois to adopt legislation enabling effective DAPT planning.

Join Us at the ISBA & IJA Midyear Meeting—a Taste of What’s Ahead By Ted M. Niemann December 2025 The Joint Midyear Meeting, hosted by the Illinois State Bar Association and the Illinois Judges Association, is a can't-miss event, offering CLE programs on democracy preservation and the ethical use of AI; a Member Appreciation Reception featuring Glow Bingo and prizes; the Illinois Bar Foundation for the Champions Breakfast; the IJA/ISBA Joint Midyear Meeting Luncheon; and a Holiday Reception honoring the Supreme Court of Illinois. Register today!

LAWPAC Needs You! January 2025 The Illinois Lawyers’ Political Action Committee (LAWPAC) needs your help to fulfill its mission to support the legislative goals of the ISBA and Illinois’ legal community.

Message From the Chair By Sarah LeRose July 2025 A Note from the chair for the Trusts & Estates Section Council.

1 comment (Most recent July 25, 2025)

Mortgagees Can’t Get No Satisfaction By Sherwin D. Abrams April 2025 Illinois courts have extinguished mortgages because the mortgagor died. Does the Probate Act really permit that? Would SB2221 prevent it from happening again? Is further legislation desirable? This article discusses those cases in which courts extinguished mortgages and explains why the author believes that those cases were wrongly decided. Also, this article explains how SB2221 seeks to change the results in those cases and proposes further legislative improvements.

No, Illinois Does Not Have a $4 Million Estate Tax Exemption! By Allison K. Pfeifle & Aisha E. Fashawe November 2025 Contrary to what many clients and some practitioners may think, Illinois does not have a $4 million estate tax exemption. Instead, Illinois employs two different calculations, as explored in this article, and the lesser of the result is the applicable estate tax.

One Big Beautiful Bill Act By Aaron D. Evans August 2025 This article discusses the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act, including tax cuts, increased basic exclusion amount, SALT limitations, tax-deferred investment accounts, 529 plans, limitations on charitable deductions, and Pease limitations.

One Big Beautiful Bill Act: Considerations for Charitable Planning By Philip M. Purcell September 2025 A look at provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) and how this Act impacts income tax, estate tax, and other miscellaneous changes.

Option or Right of First Refusal Choose Your Words Carefully When Drafting Dispositive Provisions By Jeffrey A. Mollet & Michael A. Lawlor January 2025 A recent court opinion involved the interpretation of language in a will that provided for the disposition of certain farmland as well as the granting of certain purchase rights in that land to a tenant farmer.