General Blog
Durable powers of attorney for property (POAFP)are a relatively recent innovation and a very useful tool permitted under Illinois law. Such powers allow a trusted third party to handle individual financial transactions for the creator of the POAFP. A POAFP can be effective from the moment of its execution, or from the time the creator becomes incapacitated. Whether to use…Read More
Illinois now has joined such states as Nevada by amending the Illinois Limited Liability Company Act (the “Act”) to provide further protection to members of an LLC, as well as to the assets of the LLC, from a member’s judgment creditor. The amendment provides that a charging order is the exclusive remedy of a judgment creditor seeking to enforce and…Read More
Recently Donald Trump was successful in his defense of a claim by a woman who claimed that he was guilty of fraud for failing to allow condominium unit purchasers in the Trump Tower to share in the profits of certain amenities as allegedly promised in Trump’s marketing materials. Mr. Trump has now again defeated a claim by a defaulting purchaser…Read More
Good News! The Illinois state death tax exclusion has increased from $2 million to $3.5 million effective January 1, 2012. Therefore, for estates of persons dying in 2012, Illinois’ piece of the estate tax pie will be appreciably reduced. The good news continues in 2013 when the exclusion increases to $4 million. This still leaves a gap between the federal…Read More
Illinois law allows a surviving spouse to renounce the will of a spouse by filing a written instrument of renunciation within seven months of the admission of the Will to probate. The effect of the renunciation is to entitle the surviving spouse to receive one-third of the decedent’s probate estate, if the testator leaves a descendant, or one-half if the…Read More
Does an inherited Individual retirement account maintain its original exemption from creditor’s claims? Under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code, funds that are set aside for retirement needs need not be used to pay pre-retirement debts. However,when the owner of the IRA dies, whether the exemption continues may depend upon where the beneficiary resides and what relationship the beneficiary had…Read More
If you have an Internet policy that interferes with or restricts the rights of your employees to discuss working conditions, wages or hours, you might want to reconsider and revise that policy. Recently the National Labor Relations Board sued an employer that had terminated an employee for making disparaging remarks about her boss on Facebook. The NLRB claimed that the employer’s actions violated…Read More
Illinois is a relatively employee-friendly state when it comes to the enforcement of covenants not to compete. This friendliness was exemplified in a decision by an Illinois appellate panel which held that an invitation to former colleagues of his prior employer to connect on LinkedIn did not violate a non-solicitation agreement with his former employer which prohibited him from “inducing”…Read More
Recently an Illinois appellate court determined whether the following was actionable defamation: “(He) pocketed the money”; Was a “corrupt director”; “Used bully tactics to try gain yet more money”; “Failed to give the deliverable that was contracted for”; and Was operating a “fraud machine”. What do you think? If your answer is yes, you would be wrong according to the…Read More
Most employers have been counseled and are very careful with respect to any statements that are authorized to be made concerning the termination of an employee. However, there are exceptions. Recently an Illinois Appellate Court affirmed a jury verdict awarding a terminated employee $2 million in compensatory damages and $6 million in punitive damages (the jury awarded $10 million which…Read More