Chuhak & Tecson is pleased to announce that Bryan M. Montana has joined the firm as a principal in the Estate Planning & Asset Protection group.

Bryan focuses his practice exclusively on estate planning, designing customized wealth preservation, asset protection and tax minimization strategies for families and business owners. He handles wills, powers of attorney, trusts, trust and estate administration and special needs and disability planning. 

Bryan has experience forming and structuring business entities as a part of the estate planning process with the ultimate goal of ensuring a smooth transition from one generation to the next. Bryan also has extensive experience helping families protect assets from the costs of long-term care, as well as qualifying for Medicaid and Veterans Affairs benefits.

Life changes typically require a change in your estate plan — starting a family, running a successful business, dealing with divorce and reaching retirement, just to name a few. Whether his clients are creating their very first plan or facing a major life event, Bryan’s rare combination of care and subject matter knowledge help them navigate even the most sensitive situations. 

Originally from Dayton, Ohio, Bryan earned his Bachelor of Science degree in business with a major in marketing from Miami University and graduated from the University of Toledo College of Law, cum laude.

 

Chuhak & Tecson’s Stephen Wood, principal and co-leader of the firm’s Litigation practice group and a member of the Sterigenics and Sotera Health defense team, helped achieve a defense verdict when a jury recently rejected a woman’s claims that exposure to ethylene oxide from Sterigenics’ Willowbrook, Illinois, facility contributed to her leukemia. The verdict, delivered on November 18, 2022, came after a six-week jury trial in the Circuit Court of Cook County.  

The case, Teresa Fornek v. Sterigenics US LLC, et al., No. 2018-L-10744, was the second case to go to trial this year arising out of alleged exposure to ethylene oxide from Sterigenics’ Willowbrook facility. Earlier this year, a Cook County jury awarded significant damages to another resident of Willowbrook. That verdict is currently undergoing post-trial review.

For additional information on this case or for assistance with a litigation matter, please contact Stephen Wood at swood@chuhak.com

Chuhak & Tecson is pleased to announce that Aali S. Fidai joins the firm as an associate in the Real Estate practice group, focusing on commercial real estate acquisitions, dispositions, development and financing. He provides experienced counsel for clients in real estate leasing transactions of all types and complexity, including leasing across a variety of asset classes, including mixed use, industrial, retail and hospitality and has solid experience negotiating office, retail and industrial leases on the national and local levels for both landlords and tenants.

Fidai’s prior experience in construction and real estate development, combined with his legal experience on real estate matters, gives him a broad perspective and insight into a client’s needs and enables him to offer not only an effective legal solution but also a practical one to achieve their business objectives.

Fidai received his B.A. degree from Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, Texas, majoring in economics and finance. He earned his J.D. degree from The John Marshall Law School, Chicago, Illinois.

 

Chuhak & Tecson’s David B. Shiner, principal and leader of the firm’s Tax & Employee Benefits practice group, will present a program titled “Issues in Prosecuting a Case in Tax Court” to the Illinois CPA Society – O’Hare Chapter on Wednesday, November 16, 2022.

Shiner is a certified public accountant with a master of law in taxation. He represents clients under IRS audit, in IRS Appeals hearings and in the U.S. Tax Court in gift, estate and income tax matters where hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars of taxes are at issue.

Founded in 1903, the Illinois CPA Society is one of the largest state CPA societies in the nation with more than 22,600 members. The CPA Society provides customized education, timely and relevant information, influential advocacy and countless opportunities to make powerful professional connections. Located throughout the state, Illinois CPA Society chapters provide local, affordable and relevant programs offering Continuing Professional Education (CPE) and networking opportunities. Members are assigned to a chapter based on their home address

Teenaged girls have it tough these days. Body shaming, ever-present social media, neighborhood violence and increasing mental health pressures all create unprecedented challenges.

At its fall Mix & Mingle, the women attorneys of Chuhak & Tecson, P.C. “landed a knockout punch” when their Women Helping Women program partnered with Box United’s Fight Like a Girl. The evening was a rousing success, bringing together about 150 guests who enjoyed delicious food and drinks while engaging in great conversations, making beneficial connections, starting potential business opportunities and having a wonderful experience — while supporting a worthwhile not for profit organization. The Fight Like a Girl program helps empower young girls to combat the barrage of negative influences surrounding them in school and in social settings. The program focuses on physical and mental well-being and is designed to engender greater discipline, self-acceptance and self-reliance through sports-based programming.

On October 25, 2022, Women Helping Women teamed up with Fight Like a Girl to host its 18th Mix & Mingle, welcoming women business leaders, entrepreneurs and strategic partners for an evening that combined networking, business development and philanthropy.

“There was palpable energy in the room at our recent Women Helping Women event,” said Loretto Kennedy, principal at Chuhak & Tecson. “Our guests were excited to learn about the excellent work being done by Mary Kate Vanecko, director of the program, and her Fight Like a Girl team, and very interested in meeting and mingling with other incredible women that attended. The evening was another terrific example of the amazing energy and the meaningful connections that are made when we introduce these impressive women in our respective networks to each other.”

Donations were generous in support of Fight Like a Girl. Vanecko was thrilled to accept more than $1,000 in cash donations as well as a treasure trove of more than 100 donated pieces of much needed items selected from their wish list, including pink boxing and training gloves, hand wraps, resistance bands and jump ropes, duffel bags, tumblers and water bottles, healthy snacks and assorted office supplies.

In 2009, Chuhak & Tecson’s women attorneys banded together to form a women’s initiative program. What developed was an invitation-only, after-hours networking event that integrates business development with philanthropy. With each event, Women Helping Women identifies and partners with a different not for profit organization dedicated to helping women or women and their children. To date, they have supported 19 not for profit partners, including such organizations as All God’s People, Family Focus’ Nuestra Familia Center, Jewish Child & Family Services, Magdalene House, The Nora Project, Young Women’s Leadership Charter School and this year, Box United and its Fight Like a Girl program.

Click here to learn more about Women Helping Women.

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Chuhak & Tecson, P.C. attorneys, Julie F. Gardner, Chair, Chicago Bar Association (CBA) Probate Practice Committee, and Christine A. Barone, Vice Chair, CBA Probate Practice Committee, will moderate a panel discussion entitled “Awareness of Elder Law Issues in Probate Practice” on November 1, 2022, at 2:00 p.m. (CDT). This is a live web event via Zoom.

The program will focus on the continued rise of elder law issues in the probate practice area and how attorneys can properly and pragmatically approach these delicate issues within their probate practice. The panel will discuss capacity issues, representation of cognitively-impaired clients, current estate planning methods tailored to aging client and initiatives at the intersection of elder law and probate, including Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Elder Law, Medical Aid in Dying (MAID) and more.

Speakers include Kerry R. Peck, Managing Partner, Peck Ritchey, LLC, Chair of Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Elder Law; Eric Parker, Partner, Stotis & Baird Chartered; and Hon. Aicha Marie MacCarthy, Circuit Court of Cook County, Probate Division.

Members of CBA, $60; Non-members $120; CLE Advantage, free and law student members, free. CLE credit pending.

For additional information or to register, please visit:
https://learn.chicagobar.org/products/awareness-of-elder-law-issues-in-probate-practice-11122#tab-product_tab_tech_requirements_for_viewing_live_seminars_meetings

Chuhak & Tecson, P.C. is pleased to announce that Jeffrey M. Heller joins our firm as a principal in the Corporate Transactions & Business Law group.

Jeff is a seasoned business attorney who adds his experience to our corporate team. Jeff advises individuals and closely held businesses on a wide range of corporate matters. This includes mergers and acquisitions, phantom ownership plans, operating agreements, joint ventures, succession planning, corporate governance, choice of entity considerations, entity formations, customer and supplier agreements, employment agreements and loan documents, while also providing counsel on the day-to-day operating needs of his business clients.

In addition, he focuses on sales and acquisitions of real estate and leasing, including office, retail and industrial leases and regularly counsels clients on wills, revocable and irrevocable trusts, powers of attorney and federal estate tax and Illinois inheritance tax reduction.

Jeff received his B.S. degree in Finance with honors from the University of Illinois – Urbana-Champaign and his J.D. degree from the University of Illinois College of Law. He also spent his third year of law school as a visiting student at Northwestern University School of Law

Edmond Burke, principal and practice group leader of Chuhak & Tecson’s 22-attorney Banking group, will be the moderator of a panel discussion entitled, “Workout Groups: The Talent Dilemma,” at the 11th Annual Bank Special Assets & Credit Officer’s Forum (Midwest) on October 27-28, 2022, at the Renaissance Chicago Downtown Hotel.

The panel, comprised of Burke, Jessica Bent of Capital One, Mark Iammartino with Development Specialists, Inc. and John Hecker of KeyBank, will cover a range of topics, including how recent retirements in the workout groups have changed the future landscape of the workout industry; diverse hires; how workout group are structured; and how institutions are preparing for succession planning, among other issues. The forum continues to be the only place where special assets and credit workout professionals, special servicers, turnaround advisors, receivers, auctioneers and law firms can meet to discuss the latest on commercial and industrial loans, Small Business Administration loans, real estate, equipment, oil and gas and more.

The forum is hosted by Information Management Network. For additional information, contact Heather Rothmann, conference coordinator at heather.rothmann@imn.org.

October 17-23 marks Estate Planning Awareness Week. While I wish this was my invention, the initiative was adopted in 2008 to help the public understand estate planning and why it is such a critical component of financial wellness. Time and again I am surprised by how many clients do not have estate planning documents in place, and of those who do, many have not had them reviewed in decades. According to the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils, it is estimated that more than half of Americans do not have an up-to-date estate plan.

Every day I witness the impact a lack of planning has on families needing to navigate probate or guardian estates – and the incredulous shock they experience when they discover the amount of estate taxes owed to federal or state government. As a practitioner trying to help families navigate a loved one’s incapacity or death, it pains me to watch families go through this when so often the court process could have been easily circumvented and taxes minimized or avoided.

In my mission to educate others on the importance of estate planning, earlier this year on tax day, April 18, 2022, A Gift for the Future – Conversations About Estate Planning, was published on Amazon. As Russ Sullivan, the former staff director of the Senate Finance Committee noted in his foreword, “Current policy trends make it more critical than ever to master the options available for individuals to protect their assets….A Gift for the Future is an excellent, in-depth guide for estate planning with the current tax code…It is a well-organized guide to walk readers through individual life situations – single parents, married couples, blended families, divorcees – in a choose-your-own-adventure type format.” 

No client or attorney can avoid death and taxes but estate planning does not need to be overwhelming. Estate planning can be explained through the following guiding principles:

• minimize tax consequences (estate tax and income tax);
• avoid the court system (probate, guardian estates and disabled guardians); and
• provide asset protection for beneficiaries.

Estate and income tax consequences
Based on the year in which you die, the government allows you to pass a certain amount of assets estate-tax free or exempt from taxation. Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Trump doubled the exemption from $5 million to $10 million (adjusted for inflation) through 2025 but will revert to $5 million (adjusted annually for inflation) in 2026. However, the Illinois estate tax exemption is $4 million per person (with no inflation adjustments). 

Estate tax planning was historically the focus of proactive planning because the tax rates are egregious – anywhere from 28.5% to 50% when you combine the state and federal estate tax liabilities. With proper planning, these taxes can be minimized or avoided. A married couple with a properly structured estate plan should be able to pass $8 million and $24.12 million tax free at the federal and state levels, respectively, and no tax should be owed until the surviving spouse’s death. However, due to the Illinois estate tax exemption, in 2019, Illinois residents with outdated documents may be subject to a tax of more than $1 million on the first spouse’s death^[I]. As the federal exemption is adjusted annually for inflation and the state exemption stays at $4 million, the potential tax will continue to increase.

With exemptions so high, and income tax rates at 23.8%, the historical focus on estate tax minimization has shifted to income tax minimization. Namely, in situations where a couple is not concerned with estate taxes, the attorney can shift the focus of planning to help mitigate income tax liabilities for future generations. Revocable living trusts provide the flexibility to maximize estate and income tax planning.  

Avoid the court system
Unlike the high estate tax exemptions, the threshold to avoid probate (the judicial process of administering an estate) is much lower. The families of decedents with assets valued at $100,000 or more titled in their individual names are required to open a probate estate. Probate can be costly, time consuming and public. Additionally, if there are minor children, guardian estates need to be opened for each minor child, further draining inheritances with administrative and legal expenses. Many clients try to avoid probate with strategic titling of assets which pass to specific beneficiaries by operation of law or transfer on death designations. However, these forms of ownership are unattractive and:

• problematic if the parties die simultaneously;
• fail to maximize tax planning
• provide no asset protection for beneficiaries; and
• may mandate guardian of the estates for minor children.

In contrast, if virtually all of a client’s assets are titled in her living trust prior to death and beneficiary designations list the living trust, we can avoid the probate process and guardian estates. 

Asset protection
While many are not faced with a current creditor concern, in today’s litigation-crazed society I advise clients to live by my mother’s adage, “hope for the best and prepare for the worst.” Trusts can provide phenomenal asset protection for beneficiaries to ensure inheritance is left to beneficiaries – and not their creditors. Benefits of trust include:

• provide asset protection for beneficiaries from creditors, including future ex-spouses;
• protect minor children from themselves;
• ensure inherited retirement plans are asset protected; and
• maximize wealth transfer.

When assets are distributed outright and free of a trust (or when a beneficiary has rights of withdrawal upon reaching certain ages), the assets are reachable by creditors and included in the beneficiary’s taxable gross estates. In contrast, if assets remain in trust, even if a beneficiary becomes his or her own trustee upon reaching a certain age, we can maximize asset protection and pass assets estate tax free from generation to generation

For these reasons, clients are encouraged to have the following four documents as the foundation of their estate plan:

• pour-over will;
• revocable living trust;
• power of attorney for property; and
• power of attorney for healthcare.

Then, as a client’s estate approaches the taxable levels, we may recommend additional planning tools to further minimize estate tax consequences.

Pour-Over Will:
When a client has a living trust as part of his or her estate plan, ironically the will plays a minor role. A pour-over will is a special kind of will which works in conjunction with a living trust and provides that any assets titled in the decedent’s individual name will pour over into the decedent’s trust at death. This provision does not ensure the assets avoid probate, but rather that after the probate process the assets will pour over into the decedent’s living trust. To ensure assets avoid probate, clients must retitle assets into the name of their trusts prior to death.

Revocable living trust
As described above, a revocable living trust provides the most effective mechanism to maximize estate and income tax planning, avoid probate and provide asset protection for beneficiaries. A living trust provides no asset protection during the grantor’s lifetime, but upon death the living trust becomes irrevocable and assets can be passed “in trust” to the beneficiaries. It can provide for the creation of trusts which can be used to promote values to heirs (encourage education and philanthropy) and protect the inheritance from the reach of creditors, government (in the case of a special needs beneficiary), judgments or divorces. In the event of the grantor’s incapacity, guardianship or conservatorship proceedings are also avoided as the successor trustee comes into power in the event of disability or death.

Power of attorney for property / healthcare
Everyone over the age of 18 is encouraged to have powers of attorney (POA) for property and healthcare. Clients with outdated POA for healthcare should make sure their existing one grants the agent access to medical records to make informed medical decisions in accordance with the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act. These are critical documents for clients and their adult children to have in place.

Make your estate plan a priority for you and your loved ones and take control over the legacy you wish to leave. Make a plan today to create A Gift for the Future.

Lindsey Paige Markus is a shareholder at Chuhak & Tecson, P.C. and leads the firm’s 24-attorney trusts and estates practice group. Licensed in Illinois, New York and Florida, Lindsey has a national practice working with business owners and families to formulate succession plans, minimize taxes and leave meaningful legacies to loved ones and charities. Her recent publication, A Gift for the Future – Conversations About Estate Planning, was rated #1 Best Seller in Legal Self-Help and #1 New Release on Estates & Trust Law, Business Law and Tax.

Adam Beattie, principal and member of the Real Estate, Litigation and Condominium & Common Interest Community Association practice groups at Chuhak & Tecson, P.C., will present at the fifth annual Deconversion Summit 2022 on Friday, October 21, from 8 to 11 a.m. at Maggiano’s, 516 North Clark Street, Chicago, IL. Breakfast and networking will be available at 7:30 a.m.

Hosted by the Illinois RE Journal, topics will feature a discussion on the state of the market, including the process, brokers and developers and property management.

The cost to attend is $69. To register for the Deconversion Summit 2022, click here or for additional information, contact Marianne Grierson at 312.388.8181 or mgrierson@rejournals.com. 

Chuhak & Tecson’s Condominium & Common Interest Community Association group has counseled more than 10,000 condominium board members, assists in the administration and review of more than $1 million in condominium loans per week and provides exceptional and cost-effective service to more than 1,000 clients. Adam represents condominium associations in general commercial litigation and collection matters and provides general counsel and advice to board members in the exercise of their duties and obligations to the association.