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Recent blog posts
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Succession Planning for Family-Owned Businesses in Illinois
: Succession Planning for Family-Owned Businesses in IllinoisYou care about your family-owned business. There has been a lot of hard work in getting it off the ground and successful. Whether you’ve had the business for a few years, or many decades, you want to ensure it is protected after you pass away. Without a clear succession plan, your business could face big…
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After losing a loved one, the last thing you want to think about is the cost of probate. However, it is a part of administering the estate. Probate often gets the reputation for being slow and expensive. In Illinois, most estates can move through pretty efficiently, reducing fees depending on the size and complexity of…
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2026 Compliance Checklist for Breweries in Illinois: Licensing, Distribution, and Regulatory Risks
: 2026 Compliance Checklist for Breweries in Illinois: Licensing, Distribution, and Regulatory RisksBrewing craft beer is your passion and your business. But you know that there are many rules and regulations you have to follow. As 2026 draws nearer, you need to ensure you have all your ducks in a row. The right Illinois lawyer can help you navigate the complex rules breweries face. Using a 2026…
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Receiving a windfall, such as a cash settlement or inheritance, can be a life-changing event. However, for individuals who rely on Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Medicaid benefits, it can also be a cause for concern. Fortunately, a few options can help individuals keep their SSI and Medicaid benefits while benefiting from the extra resources….
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You may think that an irrevocable trust is set in stone and its terms can never be changed. This is not the case. Say Auntie Anne dies leaving the proceeds from her successful pretzel chain business in her trust to her two brothers, Barclay and Clemson, naming her nephew Dusty as her trustee. The trust…
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Probate assets refer to any property (“asset”) owned by a decedent that must go through probatecourt to be transferred to the people who will ultimately inherit them. Probate is an expensivepublic proceeding, so if you want to maximize your estate and/or keep ownership of assetsprivate, note the common types of assets that typically go through…
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Options for Protecting Medicaid and SSI Benefits After a Windfall
: Options for Protecting Medicaid and SSI Benefits After a WindfallIf you are receiving a lump sum windfall, such as a lawsuit settlement, and you receive eitherSSI or Medicaid (or both), you will be temporarily cut off from your benefits until you re-qualify. You can avoid this cut off by contacting an attorney to take certain legal steps that willprotect your windfall and allow you…
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When I was 15, I was in a car accident that hospitalized me for 6 weeks. Because I was a minor, the doctors treating me could legally communicate freely with my parents. Had I been 18, the doctors could not have spoken with my parents without a power of attorney in place. Our firm’s strong…
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My dad was diagnosed with Parkinson’s when I was in law school, and as it became clearer that he was a fall risk – and too stubborn to stop going up and down stairs – we decided that it was best to sell the house where me and my two brothers grew up. The house…
