Tax tips for estate plannersBy Julie HendricksTrusts and Estates, April 2008At the helm of another tax season lie opportunities for calmer seas. The following are some areas in which estate planners may find some navigation tips.
Trusts and Estates Section Council legislative updateBy Ray J. Koenig, III & Amy Jo SmithTrusts and Estates, April 2008An important duty of the Trusts and Estates Section Council is to monitor and advocate for legislation impacting our areas of practice.
An ancillary lessonBy Darrell DiesTrusts and Estates, February 2008A hypothetical scenario illustrating potential estate administrative expenses in several states.
Life estate transaction legal considerationsBy Alan E. StumpfAgricultural Law, February 2008To serve our clients better we need to be thinking and counseling about a number of future responsibility, transaction and taxation issues.
Time-out for TaltyBy Robert IversonTrusts and Estates, February 2008In Talty v. Talty, decided in October of 2007, the Third District Appellate Court delivered a forceful message to self-interested fiduciaries.
The delayed QTIP: The Illinois Wait-n-SeeBy Katarinna McBrideTrusts and Estates, December 2007After several frustrating and failed attempts to combine efforts with the Attorney General to structure legislation, the ISBA Trusts & Estates Section Council is taking the initiative to propose legislation amending 35 ILCS 405/2 of the Illinois Compiled Statutes.
Not just wills for heroesBy Tarek A. FadelYoung Lawyers Division, December 2007Over the past few weeks, a few of my colleagues from the Young Lawyer’s Division and I have been evaluating a program called Wills for Heroes (www.willsforheroes.org).
What a difference a day makes: Estate of Frazier Jelke IIIBy Katarinna McBrideTrusts and Estates, December 2007In a case of first impression, and reversing the Tax Court, the Eleventh Circuit in Estate of Frazier Jelke III held that in determining the estate tax value of company stock, the company’s value is reduced by the entire built-in capital gain as of the date of death.
Legislative update: Ten new Public Acts that affect general practiceBy J.A. SebastianGeneral Practice, Solo, and Small Firm, November 2007The following is a summary of recent legislative action of interest to members of the ISBA General Practice, Solo, and Small Firm Section.
Car dealers—Don’t get stuck with a lemon for an estate planBy Martin P. Ryan, Bill Kelly, & Ira LevinCorporate Law Departments, October 2007Automobile dealers spend their lifetimes building dealerships into profitable and valuable enterprises.
Estate tax update: Estate tax reform proposalsBy Gregg M. SimonTrusts and Estates, October 2007On March 21, 2007, while the Senate was considering the fiscal 2008 budget resolution (S. Con. Res. 21), Congress hinted that it just may take up estate tax reform.
A lesson in discretion: Leona Helmsley’s last will and testamentBy Katarinna McBrideTrusts and Estates, October 2007Many clients regard the content of their wills to be a private matter. Unfortunately, state law often requires that wills be recorded, and therefore open to public inspection by the media, creditors, distant relatives—essentially anyone.
Regulating the acronyms: GRAT, GRUT, QPRT, CRAT and CRUTBy Gregg M. SimonTrusts and Estates, October 2007The IRS proposed rules for determining the extent to which a trust in which the grantor has retained the use of property or the right to an annuity, unitrust, or other income payment for life, for any period not ascertainable without reference to the Grantor’s death, or for a period that does not in fact end before the Grantor’s death, is includible in the Grantor’s gross estate under IRC §2036. Prop. Reg. §20.2036-1, Prop. Reg §20.2039-1.
Major “Kiddie Tax” changesBy Edward J. FellinTrusts and Estates, September 2007The Small Business and Work Community Tax Act of 2007 extends the reach of “Kiddie Tax” that is imposed on the investment income of minor children.
Memorials for families with minor childrenBy Paul A. MeintsAgricultural Law, September 2007Normally the memorials selected represent a charitable interest that was important to the person while he or she was alive.
Adventures in dying: The journey of a Law ClerkBy Cynthia K. HagemeyerTrusts and Estates, June 2007I first became fascinated, or rather disgusted, with estate litigation when my grandmother’s estate became the subject of a heated will contest.
Estate and gift tax recent cases and rulingsBy Joseph P. O’Keefe & Elizabeth C. HesselbachFederal Taxation, June 2007At issue in this case was the estate tax valuation of a decedent’s shares in a publicly traded company.
Illinois land trusts: Five statutes that can compromise the anonymity of beneficiariesBy Seth A. KaplanTrusts and Estates, June 2007In Illinois, land trusts have long been a device in which estate planning and real estate lawyers can assist clients in managing and controlling real estate while the title of the real estate is in the hands of a trustee.
Legislative Update: Section success and opportunity in the 95th SessionBy Ray J. Koenig, IIITrusts and Estates, June 2007During the 95th session of the Illinois General Assembly, the Trusts and Estates Section Council monitored nineteen (19) pieces of proposed legislation impacting our area of practice.
Simple steps to avoid perjury in will signingBy Eugenia C. HunterElder Law, June 2007The article titled, “Do Witnesses of a Will Commit Perjury?” by Michael H. Erde in the June, 2006, Elder Law Section Council Newsletter prompted me to describe the will execution procedure in my office which I suggest would avoid the potential problems about which Mr. Erde writes.
Stranger than fiction: The Illinois Attorney General wants trustees to WHAT!By Mary CascinoTrusts and Estates, June 2007Under the Charitable Trust Act, 760 ILCS 55/1 et.al., the Attorney General requires an estate representative or a trustee of a trust to notify the Attorney General of charitable bequests in excess of $4,000. Failure to comply with the notice requirements could result in a fine ranging from $500 to $1,000 to be levied against the estate or trust.
The departed and divorcedBy Katarinna McBrideTrusts and Estates, March 2007Which is legally more complicated, death during a divorce or death after a divorce?
Here we go ‘round the Rosen bush—An FLP roadmapBy Richard A. SugarTrusts and Estates, March 2007The Rosen case sets out one of the best roadmaps for how to avoid the failure of family limited partnerships as governed by Section 2036(a)(1).
IRS still not charitably driven when clients steer IRAs to trustsBy Michael CyrsTrusts and Estates, March 2007The Internal Revenue Service is still a miser when it comes to trusts and individual retirement accounts. In a recent internal legal memorandum (Internal Legal Memorandum 200644020 “ILM”) the Internal Revenue Service (“Service”) concluded that a transfer of an individual retirement account (“IRA”) to charity to satisfy a legacy from a trust was taxable to the trust as income in respect of the decedent under Internal Revenue Code Section 691(a)(2).
