General Blog
What should you do (or not do) to assist an elderly parent in handling their finances? The time honored (or dishonored) technique is to put your name on their accounts or other financial instruments as a joint owner. If you are thinking of doing that – don’t. First, you could be liable for income taxes on the interest or capital…Read More
Over the past three decades, legislative enactments have had the cumulative effect of eliminating what had been the long-standing public policy of Illinois which treated unmarried relationships, whether of the same sex or between members of the opposite sex, as illicit relationships. In 1979, while that policy remained in force and effect, the Illinois Supreme Court in Hewitt vs. Hewitt,…Read More
DONATING APPRECIATED STOCK AND SECURITIES (Since the Stock Market Debacle of 2008 and 2009) The stock market has made a tremendous comeback and the values of the common stock of many companies have returned to or exceed their former highs. Some people, who still had the wherewithal, went back into the market and purchased at what are now considered very low…Read More
Over the past several years, particularly under the Obama administration, the subject of eliminating discounts for gifts of limited liability company and limited partnership interests to family members has been widely discussed. While these discounts are well-justified by reason of the limited marketability and lack of control inherent in such fractional interests, the IRS has viewed such discounts as tax…Read More
The Illinois Supreme Court has agreed to hear Carr and Newell vs. Koch State Board of Education, a case challenging Illinois’ public education funding mechanism. The plaintiffs challenged the use of local tax assessments as a key variable in provisioning state education payments to school districts. While the state currently sets a minimum level of target funding for each student…Read More
Many businesses, whether operating as a limited liability company (LLC), a corporation or a partnership will have more than one owner. These businesses are often started or experience appreciation in their value during the marriage of their owners. Therefore, if one or more of such owners should be divorced, the owner’s interest in the business will be subject to division…Read More
In a previous issue I reported that Illinois had enacted a new Civil Union Act which became effective on June 1, 2011. While the Act granted important new rights for gay couples in Illinois, it did not go so far as to establish that they can be married in this state. A bill has now been introduced into the Illinois…Read More