http://www.deathandtaxesblog.com/ Published by Joel A. Schoenmeyer en-us 2010-08-24T11:25:07-06:00 http://www.deathandtaxesblog.com/2010/08/whos_the_boss_the_fiduciaryben.html If you grew up in the 1980's like I did, you know that the question "Who's The Boss?" has a few possible answers: Angela, Tony, or maybe Mona. But on a more serious note, the question of "Who's the boss?"... Probate - Executors and Trustees deathandtaxesblog-1 2010-08-24T11:25:07-06:00 http://www.deathandtaxesblog.com/2010/08/what_the_heck_is_bond_in_lieu.html In Illinois, you can avoid a probate proceeding so long as the assets you owned in your own name at your death (that is, assets OTHER THAN joint assets, assets with a beneficiary, or assets in trust) have a value... Real Estate deathandtaxesblog-1 2010-08-17T13:40:58-06:00 http://www.deathandtaxesblog.com/2010/08/illinois_pet_trusts_an_introdu_1.html A line in my baby book reads: "Joel is afraid of animals, clowns, and men with beards." That's still pretty much true; in other words, I'm not an animal lover (although I'm not as bad as this guy). But, obviously,... Estate Planning deathandtaxesblog-1 2010-08-04T13:05:08-06:00 http://www.deathandtaxesblog.com/2010/07/refuse_or_lose_the_doctrine_of.html Robert S. Held has a nice article in this month's Illinois Bar Journal (registration required -- but it's here) regarding the doctrine of election. What is the doctrine of election? According to the author, it's a "common law doctrine... which... Probate Litigation deathandtaxesblog-1 2010-07-27T09:29:21-06:00 http://www.deathandtaxesblog.com/2010/07/lenders_refinancing_and_retitl_1.html Dear Lenders, Hey! Hope everything is going well. I just wanted to write you about an issue that's arisen of late with some of my estate planning clients. These clients are finishing up their estate plans, and are also in... Estate Planning deathandtaxesblog-1 2010-07-21T19:58:43-06:00 http://www.deathandtaxesblog.com/2010/07/atticus_finch_estate_planner_1.html To Kill A Mockingbird was originally published on July 11, 1960, so there has been a fair amount of hoopla surrounding its 50th anniversary. This has included (among other things) the publication of Scout, Atticus & Boo (an examination of... Book Notes deathandtaxesblog-1 2010-07-17T11:39:55-06:00 http://www.deathandtaxesblog.com/2010/06/confusing_terms_in_estate_plan.html Twice in one day last week I encountered documents titled "Declaration of Trust Agreement." Let me explain why that title makes no sense, and then discuss a few more confusing sets of terms in estate planning and probate. When you... Estate Planning deathandtaxesblog-1 2010-06-28T09:29:21-06:00 http://www.deathandtaxesblog.com/2010/06/michael_jacksons_estate_an_upd.html Today's Wall Street Journal has an interesting article (here) entitled "Jackson Estate Steers to Next Crisis." There are a few points here, some of which relate to most probate estates and some of which are specific to Mr. Jackson's estate.... Estate Plans of the Rich and Famous deathandtaxesblog-1 2010-06-21T08:52:47-06:00 http://www.deathandtaxesblog.com/2010/06/a_late_reply_to_jamie_johnson_1.html I just stumbled upon this short Vanity Fair article by Jamie Johnson. In it, Johnson (a filmmaker, and one of the Johnson & Johnson heirs) uses the movie The Art of the Steal (which I discussed here) as a jumping-off... Estate Plans of the Rich and Famous deathandtaxesblog-1 2010-06-10T16:27:21-06:00 http://www.deathandtaxesblog.com/2010/06/contesting_a_will_the_limitati.html Article 8 of the Illinois Probate Act discusses how to contest the validity of a Will. Section 8-1 states that a Will can be contested by filing a petition "[w]ithin 6 months after the [Will's] admission to probate...." That's a... deathandtaxesblog-1 2010-06-08T09:23:44-06:00