Background
We limit our practice to only estate planning. In more than 40 years of legal experience we have prepared over 5000 estate plans and administered more than 700 estates and trusts. We provide legal and tax counsel to our clients in areas such as living trusts, irrevocable trusts, wills, powers of attorney, family limited partnerships (FLP), limited liability companies (LLC), family business succession, qualified personal residence trusts (QPRT), charitable trusts, qualified domestic trusts (QDOT) for non-citizen spouses, probate administration, post-mortem trust administration, estate tax returns and other matters. If you would like to know how our clients feel about the services we provide, see CLIENT REVIEWS.
As you can imagine, there are many choices and options available to you when you prepare your estate plan. How do you decide what estate planning "tools" are best for you? Making these decisions can be compared to walking along the table at a fine buffet restaurant. There are many items to choose from, but not all of the choices on the table may be appealing. You choose only those that appeal to you.
We believe that we are uniquely qualified to assist you in making your estate planning choices. One of the single most important things for us to do, is to listen to you and determine what your goals and objectives are. We will conduct a thorough and detailed analysis of what the assets in your estate consist of and who you want to leave them to. Then, a determination of the tax consequences (if any) of the transfer of those assets must be made. Any special needs of your beneficiaries should be explored so that your specific goals can be achieved. We will also give strong consideration to protecting your loved ones' inheritance form divorce and creditor claims, lawsuits, illness and disability. Most clients also request a plan that guarantees that the inheritance will pass from children to grandchildren, rather than to in-laws or other parties. We then prepare the plan that would best accomplish those goals. The tools we use in planning estates are often basic and easily understood, however, they can sometimes be complex and difficult to understand. It is our job to educate you in the operation of the more complex estate planning tools so that you, with the help of our advice, can make an educated decision about which planning tools you will select from the "buffet table."
In addition to our law degrees, both attorneys have completed post graduate tax law training. One attorney holds an advanced certificate in estate planning and the other attorney holds an advanced degree, known as a Masters of Law in Taxation (LL.M.). We both hold active memberships in the Northwest Suburban Estate Planning Council (NWSEPC) and the Chicago Estate Planning Council (CEPC). Mr. Kiselstein has been on the Board of Directors of the NWSEPC for more than 10 years. Both of these organizations have a chief objective of providing continuing legal education to attorneys and accountants in the fields of estate planning, elder law planning (including medicaid eligibility), and estate taxation. Both attorneys are regular attendees of conferences conducted by the IICLE (Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education) in Estate Planning, Elder Law, Probate Practice, Family Limited Partnerships, Limited Liability Companies and Business Succession.
When we are not working with our clients or "going to school," we lecture regularly in the Chicagoland area at public seminars at libraries, senior centers, park districts and local hotels. For a schedule of our upcoming free public seminars, click UPCOMING SEMINARS. We also conduct private seminars for such organizations as Motorola, United Airlines, Brunswick, Honeywell, GATX, UOP, Loyola University, Illinois Institute of Technology, Rush Presbyterian St. Lukes Medical Center, U.S. Customs Department, U.S. Naval Officers Association, and others. Our commentary can be found in the Chicago Tribune and we can also be heard on Channel 26 TV and WBBM radio. |
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