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Recent blog posts
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What Is the Difference Between Estate Planning and Business Succession Planning?
: What Is the Difference Between Estate Planning and Business Succession Planning?
At first, estate planning and a business succession plan might seem the same. However, they are two different processes that help ensure a smooth transition of assets and delegation of responsibilities. These plans help with the transfer of wealth in a person’s personal and professional life. If you want to know the difference between estate…
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The death of a business owner can have far-reaching consequences, affecting the personal lives of their family and loved ones and the business’s future. When a business owner dies, the remaining family members or partners must consider the company’s legal, financial, and operational aspects. Learn about the steps to take once a business owner passes…
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As a business owner, you do everything to protect your company. However, many people need to realize that estate planning should be a part of that process. While estate planning is not an exciting part of entrepreneurship, you need it to have a smooth transition of assets and minimize tax liabilities for beneficiaries. Here is…
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Options for Protecting Medicaid and SSI Benefits After a Windfall
: Options for Protecting Medicaid and SSI Benefits After a Windfall
If 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…
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Prior to law school I worked in consulting. My job was leveraging automation and digital tools to replicate time-consuming redundant tasks for privilege and discovery teams on a nationwide litigation effort. I used VBA, SQL and Acrobat to save $180,000 across a single team. My skills in this area have allowed me to operate a…
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Three things in life are inevitable: death, taxes, and practice management software. Well, the third is only inevitable if you practice law… the moment you get sick of spreadsheets to keep track of your client matters is the moment you realize it’s time for practice management software. If you’ve been to a law seminar or…
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What is the Role of a Guardian ad Litem in a Guardianship?
: What is the Role of a Guardian ad Litem in a Guardianship?
In most counties in Illinois, the judge will appoint a Guardian ad Litem (frequently referred to by its abbreviation “G-A-L”) before appointing a guardian of a Ward. This is a confusing term because both “Guardian” and “Guardian ad Litem” have the word Guardian in them – but they could not be more different in their…