Consider a Stand Alone IRA Accumulation Trust

For clients with large IRA accounts, making sure that your beneficiaries are able to "stretch-out" the recognition of taxable income for as long a period of time as possible has been a popular goal. Unfortunately, when your beneficiaries have the opportunity, many choose to withdraw the funds, thus creating a taxable event in the year of distribution. If the entire IRA is withdrawn, the tax consequences can be horrendous.

The solution: create a stand alone IRA accumulation trust to protect your beneficiaries from making that costly mistake. This trust is designed to comply with all requirements to make the trust a "qualified beneficiary" under tax laws. In addition, you may control the use of the funds by virtue of custom dispositive provisions in the trust. For more information, and to see if this strategy fits your needs, call my office at 847-955-9000.

Your Digital Legacy

Great story in today's Chicago Tribune about what happens to all of your digital accounts when you pass away. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-edit-privacy-20130422,0,274932.story

Something to think about when you do your estate planning.

Thanks to all of my Clients on a Successful Tax Season

Well, tax day is over and I am taking today off to recuperate. I just want to say thank you to all of my clients for making this our most successful tax season ever. As always, I appreciate your trust and your business.

Picking up some great info at the ABA Techshow this week!

Learning some great tips and getting to see all the new law office technology this week at the ABA Techshow in Chicago. www.techshow.com

Alan Press teaching a class on Wills to Illinois State Bar Association lawyers

Alan Press will be instructing a session on Wills to other lawyers at the Illinois State Bar Association Basic Estate Planning Bootcamp on April 25, 2013 at the ISBA Regional Office in Chicago. To register, follow this link: http://www.isba.org/cle/2013/04/25/estatebootcamp

Choosing Guardians for Minor Children

Many parents struggle with the idea of naming a guardian for their minor child(ren). This is understandable, as it is probably the hardest part of any estate plan from an emotional standpoint. Many clients like to separate the guardian from the trustee to achieve a system of checks and balances between the two. The guardian would have to work with the trustee to develop a budget and make sure that the needs of the child(ren) are being met.

Other clients name a single person to handle both jobs. There is no right or wrong answer. It depends on your own feelings, comfort level, and the people that you may have available to fill those positions.

Also consider contingencies. For instance, your sibling and her spouse may be a great choice, but what should happen if they are divorced? What happens if they move out of the area?

It is difficult to cover every possible contingency, but covering some of these potential issues in advance may be very helpful.

Why You Should Have an Estate Plan, and What Happens if You Don’t

Register now for a FREE webinar that will go over why your family needs an estate plan. This webinar will be presented by nationally renowned spear, Randy Gardner, J.D., LL.M., MBA, CPA, CFP®

This webinar will take place on March 22, 2013 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 pm CST. Click on this link to register now: http://www.estateplanning.com/Family-Estate-Planning/