0:04
the most common is revocable trusts
0:06
revocable trusts or trusts that are
0:09
created by you these are trusts that
0:12
could be amended at any time but they’re
0:14
designed to hold assets to avoid probate
0:16
to gain certain tax advantages to make
0:19
sure that assets go to children at a
0:21
defined age maybe not 18 maybe 30 35 or
0:25
later the most common type of trust is
0:28
what’s called a revocable trust the
0:30
revocable trust becomes irrevocable when
0:33
you pass away or become incompetent but
0:35
while you’re alive you can freely make
0:37
changes to it and nothing changes in
0:39
your life the only thing that you’re
0:41
going to notice that’s different is the
0:42
name on on your accounts might be
0:44
different but you’re allowed to buy and
0:46
sell assets freely you can move assets
0:48
freely there’s tremendous advantages to
0:51
doing and creating a revocable trust
0:54
other types of trusts
0:57
can get very complicated irrevocable
1:00
life insurance trusts
1:03
Grant or retained annuity trusts grats
1:06
for sure there’s a whole alphabet soup
1:08
of trusts out there that are very
1:10
complex and can definitely help our
1:13
clientele
1:14
but I’m a big fan of not over lawyering
1:17
files so if it’s something that’s not
1:19
appropriate we’re not going to do it for
1:21
you but understand that there is a
1:22
multitude of trusts out there that can
1:25
deal with the number of situations
1:26
another common trust would be a special
1:28
needs trust and so if you’re a parent
1:31
with a child with special needs or a
1:35
loved one that’s on some means-based
1:37
program such as Medicaid for example or
1:40
Social Security there are certain trusts
1:42
such as special needs trusts that can be
1:44
created to allow them to continue to
1:47
receive benefits under those government
1:49
programs but also receive certain
1:51
inheritances from family and loved ones
0:04
financial planners should know about
0:06
estate planning that
0:08
bilsky Chapman looks at this as a team
0:10
approach any individual that has
0:14
assets or family members to be
0:17
successful you need a team and that team
0:20
often includes financial advisors
0:22
accountants life insurance agents
0:25
attorneys all of those professionals
0:28
work together to create a comprehensive
0:31
plan for the client estate planning for
0:33
financial advisors is important because
0:35
while the financial advisor is concerned
0:37
about maximizing returns and increasing
0:40
net worth that is only one small part of
0:42
an estate plan and likewise we want to
0:45
help clients accumulate assets and grow
0:48
their assets and a tax advantage basis
0:51
but there’s more to an estate plan than
0:53
just finances there is care for loved
0:56
ones there’s care for children that are
0:59
under 18. there might be special desires
1:02
such as pets or certain heirlooms of a
1:05
family that go beyond just the financial
1:08
planning and aspect of a plan I think
1:12
it’s very important that a finance
1:13
planner understands that it estate
1:16
planning is a team approach
1:18
and that they need to work with a
1:20
competent attorney in order to
1:22
effectuate the goals and desires of the
0:04
so in 2012 the Supreme Court of Illinois
0:07
passed a law that said anytime a
0:10
survival act lawsuit is going to be
0:12
filed that it needs to be filed by
0:15
someone who is a court appointed
0:17
representative by a probate judge so
0:20
personal injury attorneys really need to
0:22
be aware that to have standing to file
0:24
their lawsuit they need to get a probate
0:28
estate representative appointed and
0:31
that’s where we come in we’re probate
0:33
experts we’ve been practicing in Probate
0:34
Court for 10 years we’ve handled
0:36
thousands of probate Estates for
0:39
personal injury attorneys so that they
0:41
have standing to file their lawsuit
0:43
and something else that’s really
0:45
important for personal injury attorneys
0:48
to know is that their role is as a
0:52
fiduciary not only to the their client
0:55
but also to all of the errors and
0:58
beneficiaries of the probate estate so
1:01
they’re not just representing their
1:03
client as the plaintiff in a lawsuit
1:05
they’re also representing all of the
1:08
interests of all of the people who are
1:10
going to benefit from that
1:12
representative’s probate estate so it’s
1:15
really important that for any personal
1:17
injury attorney that is interested in
1:20
bringing a lawsuit on behalf of someone
1:22
who’s injured and that lawsuit is going
1:24
to be filed after the injured person has
1:27
passed away that they are making sure to
1:31
connect with a probate attorney to make
1:33
sure that all of the proper steps are
1:35
followed in the probate process to
1:38
ensure that they have standing to file
1:39
their lawsuit
0:04
so a lot of clients who come into our
0:06
office have who have loved ones with a
0:09
disability want to make sure that that
0:12
person is protected for their whole life
0:14
financially so what they’ll do is
0:17
they’ll incorporate a provision in their
0:19
trust or in their will leaving a larger
0:24
share of their estate to that person or
0:27
leaving a certain amount of money to
0:29
that person who has a disability
0:31
what they don’t understand is that that
0:33
could put the person who they love with
0:36
a disability at risk of actually losing
0:38
eligibility for those great programs and
0:41
services that Medicaid provides what we
0:44
do is we make sure that for any clients
0:47
who have a loved one with a disability
0:49
to build in something called a Special
0:52
Needs Trust into their estate plan and
0:55
that way if our clients want to leave a
0:58
bigger share or really anything to a
1:01
loved one with a disability they can
1:04
make sure that any inheritance to that
1:06
person with a disability goes into the
1:09
Special Needs Trust rather than going to
1:12
that person with a disability outright
1:14
because those two things really make the
1:17
difference about whether someone could
1:19
be eligible for Medicaid programs or not
0:04
we have a lot of clients who are
0:07
inheriting a large sum of money which is
0:09
the first time that they’ve really had
0:10
money in their life a lot of these
0:13
clients are on programs such as Medicaid
0:16
or SSI and these are government programs
0:19
that will provide medical care that will
0:21
give them a study source of income for
0:23
their life
0:24
and the risk of inheriting a windfall is
0:28
that it puts these clients over an asset
0:31
threshold for eligibility for continuing
0:34
benefits under those programs so it’s
0:37
really important that when someone
0:38
inherits a windfall that they make sure
0:42
to identify any government benefits that
0:44
they’re currently on are they on
0:46
Medicaid are they on SSI if they’re on
0:50
either of those we can protect their
0:53
windfall inheritance by transferring it
0:56
into a Special Needs Trust in that way
0:58
they can keep their windfall and they
1:01
can keep their government benefits at
1:02
the same time
0:04
I could say that everyone needs a trust
0:06
but that would be a really generic
0:07
answer so for most folks the most
0:11
important things to look at to determine
0:13
whether you need a trust are do you have
0:16
a blended family so do you have
0:18
stepchildren or are you coming into the
0:20
into a marriage with children and you’re
0:23
going to have children with with your
0:25
new spouse another factor that people
0:28
take into account about whether they
0:30
need estate planning or not is whether
0:32
they have a loved one or a family member
0:34
with with a disability such as being on
0:36
the autism spectrum or having Down
0:38
syndrome or having a physical disability
0:41
that means that they need supportive
0:42
living care for themselves really trusts
0:45
are fantastic vehicles for anyone who
0:48
wants to Future proof their life savings
0:50
or their home there’s two steps to
0:53
estate planning first someone typically
0:56
the life cycle is someone gets a
0:58
financial advisor and that financial
1:00
advisor will help them to start the
1:02
process of accruing and Building Wealth
1:05
then we as estate planners can help that
1:08
person to Future proof that well future
1:11
proof that wealth to keep it with them
1:14
and with their loved ones sometimes we
1:18
have clients who come in who have
1:20
younger children maybe they’re in their
1:23
teens or maybe they’re in their early
1:25
20s and these are children who are
1:28
likely to get married in the future
1:29
maybe they want to go to grad school in
1:31
the future so our clients want to make
1:34
sure that the inheritance that they’re
1:37
leaving their children doesn’t get split
1:40
up between divorcing spouses so half of
1:43
the child’s inheritance in other words
1:45
wouldn’t go to their divorcing spouse or
1:48
all of their inheritance wouldn’t go to
1:50
student loan debt so in that way we
1:53
really help our clients to make sure
1:56
that through a trust the money that
1:58
they’ve spent a life building stays with
2:01
them and the people that they wanted to
2:03
go to
0:04
when we talk about special needs
0:06
planning we’re talking about planning
0:09
for the care and needs of family members
0:13
or loved ones who have disabilities
0:15
in Illinois and in New York there are
0:18
robust government programs under the
0:21
Medicaid Department that provide a lot
0:24
of really great services for family
0:26
members and loved ones who have
0:27
disabilities so these Services include
0:30
day programs Career Training Residential
0:34
Care lots of really great things that
0:37
can help someone who has a disability
0:39
live their most independent
0:42
healthiest happiest most comfortable
0:45
life with as much dignity as possible in
0:49
order to become eligible for those
0:51
programs
0:52
folks who have disabilities have to have
0:55
under a certain threshold of assets
0:58
so what we do is in Special Needs
1:01
planning for anyone who has property in
1:04
excess of that threshold we can use
1:06
something called a Special Needs Trust
1:08
to transfer those assets into an
1:12
irrevocable trust so that they won’t be
1:14
taken into consideration when Medicaid
1:17
is determining whether or not someone
1:19
with a disability is eligible for
1:21
benefit for benefits under those
1:23
programs or not
0:04
when our clients come to us because
0:07
their family may be a parent or maybe
0:10
our clients themselves have been
0:13
diagnosed with a long-term ailment
0:15
something like Parkinson’s or
0:16
Alzheimer’s they know that eventually
0:19
Whoever has been diagnosed will need
0:21
long-term care
0:23
and all of a sudden they’re scared that
0:26
what they’ve spent a life building so
0:28
their life savings the home that they’ve
0:31
had maybe it’s a childhood home that
0:33
that they brought their children up in
0:35
for years are at risk of being lost to
0:39
long-term care costs so with Medicaid
0:42
asset protection planning what we do is
0:45
we take advantage of irrevocable trusts
0:48
to transfer their assets that they’ve
0:50
spent a life building into that
0:52
irrevocable trust which we call a
0:55
Medicaid asset protection Trust
0:57
to save those assets for whatever the
1:01
person who was diagnosed with the
1:02
ailment needs
1:04
sometimes we refer to this as a dignity
1:06
fund so that the money can be there as a
1:09
resource on top of whatever that person
1:12
is getting from their long-term care
1:14
facility whether it’s a supportive
1:15
living facility or a nursing home or
1:18
memory care that money is there as a
1:20
dignity fund for anything that they need
1:22
in addition to what their caretakers are
1:25
already providing for them
1:27
in addition to that a Medicaid asset
1:29
protection trust also really gives our
1:32
clients peace of mind that they’re
1:34
leaving behind an inheritance for their
1:36
children so they’re not going to to have
1:38
to exhaust their funds paying for their
1:42
own care or paying for their parents
1:44
care in long-term care facilities
1:46
they’re going to be able to preserve
1:49
what they’ve spent a life building in
1:51
that irrevocable Medicaid asset
1:54
protection trust sometimes I call this
1:56
future proofing your money so we future
1:59
proof our clients life savings we future
2:02
proof our clients homes we do that
2:05
through Medicaid asset protection trusts
0:04
estate planning is extremely important I
0:07
firmly believe that anybody over the age
0:09
of 18 should have an estate plan
0:11
prepared by a competent attorney
0:13
and there’s a number of reasons for that
0:15
one is most people do not appreciate the
0:18
fact that even if you don’t sign a will
0:20
or a trust an estate plan has been
0:22
created for you and that’s the probate
0:25
act and so under the probate act if you
0:28
don’t sign a trust or don’t sign a will
0:30
that act is going to dictate where your
0:32
assets go to or if you have minor
0:35
children who takes care of your children
0:36
so a great example of that would be
0:39
if you have a child under 18 and
0:42
something happens to you and your spouse
0:44
well what happens to that child
0:46
under the probate act there’s defined
0:49
people who will have the right to care
0:52
for your child
0:54
so I always say you may love your
0:55
brothers and sisters equally you may
0:58
love your brothers and sisters in law
0:59
equally but the reality is you may not
1:03
trust them equally to take care of your
1:05
child or maybe it’s somebody that’s not
1:07
a family member that you want to take
1:08
care of your child and that’s fine
1:10
but if you don’t do a plan the
1:12
government’s going to dictate who takes
1:14
care of your child and I for one don’t
1:17
believe the government or the courts
1:20
should be the decider who takes care of
1:21
your children and so to handle that we
1:24
do Estate Planning and that’s a very
1:26
important provision under estate plans
1:28
another reason to handle or to do an
1:31
estate plan with a competent attorney
1:33
is most of us spend a lifetime building
1:37
up our assets and uh material goods for
1:41
lack a better word
1:42
and again if you don’t do an estate plan
1:45
the probate Act is going to dictate who
1:46
gets your assets
1:48
I want to dictate who handles my assets
1:52
and to do that I I do that through
1:54
trusts and wills so a great example
1:56
would be I’m married with a child if I
2:00
did not prepare an estate plan and I
2:02
passed away half of my estate by law
2:04
would go to my child and half would go
2:07
to my spouse there’s a number of
2:08
problems with that one is for a child
2:11
under 18 that would create a
2:13
guardianship case
2:15
guardianship is very expensive uh it’s
2:18
under the court control and I don’t
2:20
think that’s the best result for my
2:22
child
2:23
likewise most families want the spouses
2:26
to have control over all the assets so
2:28
they can manage their own Affairs and
2:31
also the Affairs of their children there
2:33
are certain tax advantages with a
2:35
properly prepared estate plan this is
2:38
legal and uh
2:41
it has the potential to save you
2:43
hundreds and potentially millions of
2:45
dollars if you don’t do your estate plan
2:47
you risk your large estate to estate
2:51
taxes other advantages of estate
2:53
planning is avoidance of probate
2:55
avoidance a guardianship
2:57
there is a misunderstanding among a lot
3:00
of people that if you have a will you
3:02
avoid probate
3:03
that’s not necessarily true in most
3:06
States if you have assets that exceed a
3:09
certain amount you will be subject to
3:11
probate and probate is a post-death
3:13
court proceeding that handles your
3:15
Affairs again my goal as your attorney
3:18
is to avoid probate and to avoid probate
3:21
we need to properly drafted a state plan
0:04
my guiding philosophy is that I’ve been
0:07
there so a lot of the work that I do
0:09
with elder law actually comes from my
0:11
experience of having parents who
0:13
themselves need elder law assistance so
0:17
my dad was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in
0:19
2012 and so we knew at that point that
0:22
he was eventually going to need
0:23
long-term care we were able to work with
0:27
him to create a Medicaid asset
0:30
protection trust so that we could
0:32
protect what my parents had spent a life
0:34
building to really give them peace of
0:36
mind that when my dad eventually needed
0:40
long-term care that they wouldn’t need
0:42
to spend all of their assets to get that
0:44
for him now when someone is diagnosed
0:47
with an ailment such as Parkinson’s
0:49
there’s a lot of family stress there’s a
0:51
lot of uncertainty and worry that comes
0:54
along with that so I personally have
0:57
been there myself so my guiding
0:59
principle when I’m practicing is that
1:01
I’ve been there I bring empathy to my
1:04
practice and I really am able to give my
1:06
clients Peace of Mind based on my own
1:09
personal experience with the same life
1:11
experiences that they’re going through
1:16
foreign
1:19
giving back to the community has always
1:22
been very important to me I recently
1:24
traveled to Africa with lawyers Without
1:27
Borders to teach prosecutors immigration
1:31
officers and judges how to arrest and
1:35
put on cases and try cases under a new
1:38
anti-human trafficking act that had been
1:41
passed in Tanzania
1:43
so that really has taken me to some
1:46
great places
1:47
on that trip I actually got to be
1:49
personally introduced to Justice Sonia
1:51
Sotomayor so I know that the work that
1:54
I’m doing outside of the firm is also
1:56
having a big impact on communities
1:58
whether they are Global communities or
2:00
local communities I also like to spend
2:03
my holidays volunteering at food banks I
2:06
prefer food banks that are local so in
2:09
Chicago I like to volunteer at Rogers
2:10
Park food banks and in New York City I
2:13
like to volunteer at local food banks in
2:16
in and around Brooklyn
0:04
my background is that I started as a
0:06
licensed attorney in 1997. I have a
0:09
background as a CPA and an MBA I also
0:12
hold a managing broker’s license I was
0:15
with few firms before 2010 and then 2010
0:18
I went out on my own started this firm
0:21
with a computer a telephone and a
0:23
borrowed desk and I literally had one
0:25
closing to my name over the years we’ve
0:28
built this practice up to four offices a
0:31
large team of
0:33
paralegals and administrative staff as
0:35
well as attorneys in my former life I
0:38
like to say before billski Chapman I did
0:41
a heavy amount
0:42
of estate planning tax work real estate
0:45
and litigation I used to do over 250 tax
0:49
returns a year I don’t do taxes anymore
0:51
but I felt that that experience was
0:53
invaluable because it really built a
0:55
background of tax knowledge that is
0:58
useful in all areas of my practice
1:05
when I’m not practicing law I enjoy
1:08
spending time with my wife and son as
1:11
you can imagine my son there’s a lot of
1:13
time at Cross Country sporting events
1:16
school events but the three of us enjoy
1:18
traveling overseas I enjoy fishing and
1:21
I’m a big fan of board games with
1:23
friends and family
0:04
the areas of law that bilsky Chapman
0:06
practices in is probate and guardianship
0:09
law real estate law Estate Planning and
0:12
general business transactional and
0:13
litigation law as far as probate and
0:16
guardianship work we are one of the
0:18
larger firms in Illinois as far as
0:19
volume of cases and we practice in
0:22
almost every County in Illinois and we
0:24
have cases pending throughout the United
0:25
States
0:30
so when we’re providing our clients with
0:32
service we really like to give White
0:35
Glove VIP servants to all of our clients
0:38
we know that our clients are coming from
0:40
all different backgrounds all different
0:43
levels of wealth all different walks of
0:45
life and we treat every single one of
0:48
our clients like a VIP
0:50
foreign
0:54
most of our cases are flat or what’s
0:57
considered fixed fee cases these are set
1:00
rates that the client knows going into
1:02
the engagements however on certain cases
1:04
in which that is not practical we will
1:07
sit down with the client and explain to
1:09
them what the hourly rate would be and
1:12
what the proposed budget will be our
1:15
goal is that the client knows exactly
1:17
what they’re getting into as far as
1:18
rates and fees and we want to
1:22
communicate our rates to them at all
1:23
stages of the engagement an example in
1:26
which fees might be flat would be
1:28
guardianship by Statute and by rule
1:31
judges require that we do that hourly so
1:34
those are at a statutory rate and so
1:36
that would be an example where we cannot
1:38
do a fixed fee some of the more
1:40
complicated estate planning engagements
1:42
in which we’re doing heavy tax planning
1:44
or there is something that is really
1:47
unique those are examples where we would
1:51
engage on an hourly basis but again in
1:54
all those cases we try to put a budget
1:56
in place so the client knows what that
1:58
rate will be when the engagement is
2:01
completed
