Trusts & Estates

The newsletter of the ISBA’s Section on Trusts & Estates

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2013 Articles

In the May issue… By Darrell Dies & Jacob Frost May 2013 An introduction to the issue from co-editors Darrell Dies and Jacob Frost.
In the November issue… By Darrell Dies November 2013 An introduction to the issue from Editor Darrell Dies.
In the October issue… By Darrell Dies October 2013 An introduction to the issue from Editor Darrell Dies.
In the September issue… By Darrell Dies September 2013 An introduction to the issue from Editor Darrell Dies.
The IRS will be closed… By Tracy S. Dalton June 2013 All IRS offices, including all toll-free hotlines, the Taxpayer Advocate Service and the agency’s nearly 400 taxpayer assistance centers nationwide, will be closed on July 5, July 22 and Aug. 30, 2013.
Is an Illinois resident’s inherited IRA protected from bankruptcy creditors? By David F. Rolewick & Justin J. Karubas July 2013 There is a split in the circuits regarding whether or not inherited IRAs are protected from bankruptcy creditors. The Fifth Circuit has held that a Texas resident’s inherited IRA is protected from bankruptcy creditors. The Seventh Circuit has held that a Wisconsin resident’s inherited IRA is not protected from bankruptcy creditors. Both Wisconsin and Texas have not opted out of the bankruptcy exemptions. Therefore, federal bankruptcy exemptions apply.
It is 10:00 p.m., do you know who are your kids? By Edward R. Sherman April 2013 While the case of DeHart v. DeHart involved numerous will contest issues, two issues were addressed that will have a profound effect on estate planning and estate litigation.
Legal shield to the rescue? By Paul A. Meints & Darrell Dies March 2013 An overview of Legal Shield, which is essentially a form of prepaid legal plan or legal insurance.
Lifetime gifts and the Illinois Estate Tax By Matthew L. Brown April 2013 The author explains the computation of the Illinois estate tax and provides some practical guidance for evaluating a client’s estate tax exposure.
2 comments (Most recent January 18, 2018)
Luccio, Intentional Interference w/ an Expectancy & the six-month non-claim statute By William R. Kuehn & Natalie M. Kuehn September 2013 Where a trust contest under 8-1(f) is unavailable to a potential plaintiff because of the plaintiff’s lack of awareness, the plaintiff may proceed with an intentional interference claim after the six-month limitation period has run. How much awareness or lack thereof will courts require to determine whether a party is getting a second bite at the apple?
Mentors needed for ISBA Lawyer-to-Lawyer Mentoring Program By Peter L. Rotskoff December 2013 Read more about this important program and sign up to become a mentor today!
NINGs – Nevada Incomplete Gift Trusts: IRS approves transfers to incomplete gift non-grantor trusts to create significant state income tax savings By Michael Mazzone December 2013 On March 8, 2013, in Private Letter Rulings 20131002-201310006, the IRS released a favorable ruling addressing the gift and income tax consequences of transfers to Incomplete Gift Non-Grantor Trusts.
Nursing home contracts: Might you be the responsible party? By Katherine C. Pearson December 2013 A discussion of new legislation in Connecticut, and an invitation to consider to what extent Illinois might follow Connecticut’s lead and how practitioners, legislators, academics and the public could react and respond.
Powers of attorney: Protecting your clients now and in the future By Paul A. Meints June 2013 The author offers a clause for "non-statutory" power of attorney.
Practice tip for locating possible VA insurance benefits By Jeffrey A. Mollet February 2013 If you have a decedent’s name and social security number, you can see if that individual had VA insurance.
Practice Tip—Dealing with beneficiary election in your trusts By Paul A. Meints & Darrell Dies November 2013 Some helpful language that an estate planner might utilize in the client’s inter vivos trust instrument to attempt to deal with the doctrine of election.
Practice tip—Estate tax return audits By Paul A. Meints April 2013 According to the “2012 Internal Revenue Service Data Book” issued March 25, 2013, the IRS scrutinized estate tax returns more than any category of individual tax returns in tax year 2011 at close to a 30 percent rate of examination.
Practice tip—How to plan for digital assets By Frank M. Greenfield August 2013 Financial and personal data stored online has value and should be included as a component of the estate planning process.
Practice Tip—Review your clients’ Medicare supplement policies By James T. Nyeste November 2013 The author advises that practitioners with elderly clients should get a copy of the client's Medicare supplement policy, since it's possible that the client has a legacy Medicare supplement policy that provides extended coverage.
Prudent investor rule chiseled away in Carter v. Carter By Robert S. Held May 2013 Practitioners, mindful of the Carter opinion, must now consider amending existing trust documents or advising their current clients of the altered landscape affecting the duties of a trustee.
Real estate in Israel—Prepare for probate By Deborah Opolion-Elovic November 2013 A look at the Israeli laws and procedures relating to a U.S. citizen who dies leaving real estate in Israel, and practical advice to those who currently hold real estate in Israel to ease the property's future transfer.
1 comment (Most recent November 24, 2013)
Reasonable attorney fees & ISBA Advisory Opinion No. 13-01 By Thomas Bransfield & Darrell Dies May 2013 For those of you who represent representatives of decedent’s estates, the ISBA Advisory Committee Opinion No. 13-01 issued January 2013, is a must-read. This is part I of a two-part article looking at the opinion and its ramifications.
Reflections on National Network membership By Curt W. Ferguson February 2013 The National Network of Estate Planning Attorneys helped the author and his business shift from a low-margin transactional approach to a relationship-based, counseling-oriented process that is very rewarding both personally and professionally.
Reflections on the Illinois decanting and directed trusts statutes By Timothy S. Midura May 2013 Having studied the Illinois directed trusts statute and the decanting statute and then working with them practically, the author now makes some reflections and offers some tips.
Snowbirds fly free of Illinois tax By Steven E. Siebers & Emily Schuering Jones February 2013 In a surprisingly taxpayer-friendly decision, Cain v. Hamer provides a judicial road map for Illinois residents who spend a portion of the year out of state.
Suggestions to handle probate estate attorney fee issues By Thomas Bransfield June 2013 A follow-up to the author's May 2012 article that examined ISBA Advisory Opinion No. 13-01.
Taking the plunge with WealthCounsel By Alan R. Press January 2013 This article outlines the author's initial impressions of WealthCounsel, an estate planning system, and he will follow-up in a few months with an update.
1 comment (Most recent January 19, 2013)
Thank you to our authors By Darrell Dies July 2013 A listing of the articles published in this newsletter over the past year.
Things judges love and things they don’t about lawyers By Hon. Robert J. Anderson March 2013 A judge's perspective on the things lawyers do well and maybe not quite as well.
Thoughts regarding In re estate of Donna Lynn Denton, 2012 IL App (2d) 110814 By Darrell Dies January 2013 Until the legislature amends Sections 18-10 and 18-13 of the Probate Act to include claims in guardianship estates, a guardianship attorney may want to record a memorandum of judgment of any allowances awarded by the probate court in order to secure the claims against real estate.