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.
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!"
Our highly-skilled Champaign estate tax attorneys will thoroughly manage your advanced estate tax planning needs to help you minimize, or potentially eliminate estate taxes from your estate. Not only can we assist you in customizing a new plan aimed at reducing your estate taxes but we can also can help with your existing estate plans in order to further mitigate costs.
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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.
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Champaign, IL 61820
I 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 estate tax attorneys go into depth on what estate tax is and who has to pay these taxes. Estates are not always subject to estate tax. In Illinois, if your estate is under 4 million dollars you are not subject to state tax returns. If you do have more than 4 million dollars in your estate, then taxes on your estate are due nine months after death. The executor is the one responsible for paying for estate taxes
In this video, our Champaign 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.
In this video, our Champaign 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.