Thursday, June 22, 2017
Ian Holzhauer's Four Under Forty Interview with NCTV
Ian Holzhauer's interview with Liz Spencer of Naperville Community Television, discussing, among other things, his path to becoming an estate planning attorney:
Monday, November 28, 2016
Ian Holzhauer's Article in the DuPage County Bar Association Brief
View Ian Holzhauer's article in the DuPage County Bar Association Brief on "Estate Planning for the International Family" here: http://www.dcba.org/mpage/vol291116art1
Wednesday, February 17, 2016
Ian Holzhauer's Article on Vault

Friday, June 26, 2015
Minimize Illinois Estate Tax with a Credit Shelter Trust
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Photo courtesy of Terry Johnston |
Imagine Joe and Mary are a retired Naperville couple with a
combined $7.5 million in Illinois assets. Joe has $5 million in his name, and
Mary has $2.5 million in her name. Both
are 85 years old and trying to maximize the amount of money that passes to
their children after their deaths.
Let’s discuss how one type of estate planning tool, the
credit shelter trust, can make over a $600,000 difference in their Illinois estate tax
bill. We will do this by considering two
hypothetical scenarios. First, we will
consider a scenario where Joe and Mary simply have a will giving all their
possessions to their spouse upon death, and if neither spouse
is alive, to the children. The second scenario is one
where they set up a credit shelter trust.
Labels:
Advanced Estate Planning,
Estate Tax,
Illinois Law,
LGBT,
Tax
Location:
Naperville, IL, USA
Saturday, April 11, 2015
Caring for Special Needs Relatives with a Supplemental Needs Trust
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Courtesy Kari Reine |
In common usage, "special needs" often refers to conditions first recognized in childhood, such as Down Syndrome, autism, or cerebral palsy. In estate planning,
“special needs” encompasses a broader range of conditions including developmental
disabilities, but also age-related conditions, physical disabilities, mental illness, diseases,
and any other conditions that could qualify a family member for current or
future government benefits. It is absolutely crucial that people who have special needs family members obtain an estate plan tailored to their unique needs. Below is an
example of how a failure to plan for special needs children could be disastrous
for a family's financial future (and how better planning could have prevented the situation):
Labels:
Advanced Estate Planning,
Basic Estate Planning,
Children's Trusts,
Guardianship,
Illinois Law,
Living Trust,
Naperville,
Payable on Death Accounts,
Special Needs,
Supplemental Needs Trust
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
International Estate Plans

Below, I will discuss a hypothetical family of four that emigrated
from the United Kingdom to work at an engineering firm in Naperville. Families like this, which are increasingly
common in today’s world, require careful estate planning services, often from
an international team of experts.
Labels:
Adoption,
Advanced Estate Planning,
Estate Tax,
Executor,
Guardianship,
Hiring an Attorney,
Illinois Law,
Living Trust,
Probate,
Probate Avoidance
Thursday, February 12, 2015
Facebook Changes Death Policy; Digital Estate Planning Gaining Recognition
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Courtesy of TechCrunch |
As reported in today’s
Washington Post, Facebook is now allowing users more freedom over what will
continue to be displayed on their page after death. Death-related digital policies change rapidly. The latest update gives
Facebook users significantly more choices than they had even in December, the
last time I wrote a blog post about this topic.
Most notably, Facebook now
allows users to name a “legacy contact,” someone who may take ownership of the
account after death. This includes
the ability to accept friend requests from family members wishing to pay respects, post
messages on the deceased’s timeline, and pin certain information to the top of
the deceased’s Facebook page.
Labels:
Advanced Estate Planning,
Digital Assets,
Living Trust,
Online Accounts,
Payable on Death Accounts
Monday, January 19, 2015
Closing Small Estates

Some states allow surviving family members to settle a small
estate using an out-of-court “small estate affidavit.” Other states offer an in-court “simplified
probate” procedure, which is more involved than the affidavit process. Some states (like Illinois) offer a choice
between the two. This article will
describe the benefits and drawbacks of closing out estates using a small estate
affidavit.
Labels:
Basic Estate Planning,
Executor,
Illinois Law,
Personal Representative,
Probate,
Probate Avoidance
Saturday, January 3, 2015
Some Hospitals use Dying Patients for Publicity; how to Protect Yourself
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Image Courtesy of Jeffrey M. Vinocur |
The hospital's prior vice president of public affairs once said of the show, “You can’t buy this kind of publicity, an eight-part series
on a major broadcast network.” In this blog post, I will
discuss legal steps you can take to protect your rights, and to avoid your family's anguish being used for publicity.
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
Encouraging Behavior with Incentive Trusts
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Courtesy of Mediaphoto.org |
There is no question that a large inheritance can transform a young person's life, positively or negatively. Bill Gates and some other tycoons from his generation are so concerned about the potential of a large inheritance to destroy their children's will to work, that some are severely limiting the size of their children's inheritance, giving the majority of their fortunes to charity. But it is not just technology billionaires that have to worry about the effect of a sudden windfall of money for their children.
Labels:
Advanced Estate Planning,
Children's Trusts,
Incentive Trust,
Living Trust,
Spendthrift Trusts
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