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Finding an attorney who is a “real person” can be difficult. Many attorneys surround themselves almost exclusively with other attorneys and are accustomed to speaking in ivory tower legalese. You should be able to connect with your attorney on a personal level, and he or she should speak to you in plain language that you can understand. You will be working very closely with this person on issues that are very important to you. It is important that he or she be down-to-earth and someone that you connect with.
The most common complaint that clients have of their attorneys is that the attorney is unreachable, does not communicate with them regularly, or does not promptly return your calls. Your attorney should reach out to you about your case regularly and respond within 24 hours to calls and e-mails. An open line of communication between you and your attorney is essential to building trust.
Learn how we service your area through our Remote Location Approach.
Your attorney’s goal should not be to win at all costs. Rather, it should be to achieve a favorable outcome for you as efficiently as possible. It is important that your attorney set realistic expectations at the outset as to the costs you should expect, the concerns that the attorney has about the outcome of your case, and the length of time that you should expect your case to take.
Regardless of the nature of your case, we have an experienced attorney who will focus on your individual needs. Our team of attorneys works closely together, bringing each of their different fields of experience to bear in order to optimize our client care.
Kevin's firm handled setting up my will and trust recently. They took something that seemed intimidating and made it easy to understand. I've also referred a couple clients to Kevin - he's trustworthy, approachable and very fairly priced.
"I've used Kevin and his firm's services since 2011. He gave undivided attention to my cases, advised me on different options and..."
"Kevin was extremely professional, responsive and knowledgeable when I came to him for help. I would definitely recommend O'Flaherty Law!"
We Are Affordable! We don't base our prices on what the market will bear. Instead, we base them on how long it typically takes us to meet with a client and prepare documents (which is not terribly long). If we are not the most cost-effective solution for your estate plan, we would like to hear about it.
We Go Above-And-Beyond! Many Estate Planning attorneys will prepare cookie-cutter forms, fail to explain them to you properly, and fail to assist you in properly funding the trust. We take the time to fully educate you about Estate Planning, walk you through your documents, and work with you free of charge to assist you in transferring your assets into your trust, cut through any red tape, and answer any questions you may have going forward.
We Know Our Stuff! Unlike many estate planning attorneys, we are experienced in cutting edge Estate Tax Avoidance Techniques, Special Needs Trusts, Creditor Protection Strategies, and other focused techniques to fit your situation. We are not selling forms, but instead providing real customized experience.
We are Comprehensive! You need an Estate Plan today, but you may need help with a different legal issue tomorrow. Wouldn't it be nice to work with the same trusted adviser for all of your legal solutions? At O'Flaherty Law, our team approach provides you with experienced in nearly every area of law. Regardless of your legal needs, you will get the same trusted quality of service and continuity of care.
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Learn how we service your area with our Remote Location Approach.
The purpose of a consultation is to determine whether our firm is a good fit for your legal needs. Although we often discuss expected results and costs, our attorneys do not give legal advice unless and until you choose to retain us.
Schedule a ConsultationLearn More About The FirmI am personally committed to ensuring that each one of our clients receives the highest level of client service from our team. Our mission is to provide excellent legal work in a cost-effective manner while maintaining open lines of communication between our clients and their attorneys. Many of our clients are going through difficult times in their lives when they reach out to us. They should feel comfortable leaning on the experience and knowledge of our attorneys as their counselors and advocates. We are here to help!
In this video, our Champaign County estate tax attorneys takes the time to explain when to pay estate taxes on: inheritance taxes, state and federal estate taxes, and inherited retirement accounts. An inheritance tax is an amount of money due from a beneficiary who receives money or property from the estate of a deceased person. Inheritance taxes are due prior to receiving the inheritance check, so the amount received will already be reduced by the taxes owed. Federal tax exemption for a decedent’s estate depends on the exemption amount for the year of death. When it comes to state tax exemption, only a few states collect them, including Illinois. Similar to federal tax exemption, state tax exemption also depends on the exemption amount for the year of death. If an individual inherits a traditional IRA or 401k, he or she will have to include all distributions taken out in his or her ordinary federal income, and possibly state income, of that year. Inherited retirement assets are not taxable until they are distributed.
In this video, our Champaign County trust litigation attorneys describe that a trust is both a document and a legal entity that can own property separate from its creator. A trust is created by an individual or entity known as a “grantor” or “settlor". Once the trust is drafted and executed by the grantor, the grantor or third parties can transfer ownership of property to the trust. The trust is therefore a separate legal entity from the grantor that can own property, much like a corporation.
In this video, our Champaign County estate tax attorneys explain how to avoid estate tax in a revocable living trust. Owning property in a revocable living trust removes that property from your estate for the purpose of probate, but it does not remove the property from your estate for the purpose of estate tax. Your estate for the purpose of estate tax includes property owned by a revocable living trusts, retirement accounts, and death benefits of life insurance policies that you own. Revocable Living Trusts can be used to allow married couples to take advantage of one another’s estate tax exemptions, essentially raising the threshold at which the couple has to worry about Illinois estate tax from $4 million to $8 million in assets.
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