Newsletter Archive
Spring 2024
Good Grief! You, As Trustee?
"The most beautiful people are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths….Beautiful people do not just happen."
Aunt Mildred has died, a lovely woman in her 90s. As it turns out, you are in her estate plan – but not as a beneficiary. Shockingly, you have been given a starring role and you never even knew you were up for the part. She named you her trustee. What that means is that […]
Read More →Winter 2024
The Little Black Dress
"Keep your head, heels, and standards high."
As her husband was confessing his misdeeds on national television in June of 1994, Princess Diana took sartorial revenge at a gala in London. In a stunning display of royal moxie, she wore a form-fitting black silk dress with a plunging neckline and a thigh-high hemline. Behind her, a black chiffon train billowed like smoke […]
Read More →Fall 2023
Circle Your Wagons
"Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat."
Early one morning in the summer of 1970, Fouyard, my grandfather’s prize bull, broke out of his pasture in an impressive lunge for freedom. A nearly two ton Charolais, white as buttermilk, he’d heard the siren call of the nearby cows and he was feeling romantic. Massive, muscled and ornery, Fouyard was the pride of the […]
Read More →Summer 2023
The Meaningful Inheritance
“Life is a painting and you are the artist.”
Rose was completely annoyed with her brother, Paul. Their mother had died four years earlier and Paul, the executor, still had not settled her estate. Instead, he focused obsessively on his art while the family’s holdings crumbled into ruin. Finally, after considerable nagging from his sister, Paul sold the estate and divided the funds. With […]
Read More →Spring 2023
To CPT or Not to CPT - That is the Question
Florida has enacted a law of great significance. This new law will allow a married couple to own appreciated assets in a special trust, called a Florida Community Property Trust, or CPT. After the death of the first spouse, all unrealized capital gains in the trust’s portfolio are eliminated. Many couples are considering using this […]
Read More →Winter 2023
The 25-Year Fumble
"Fools ignore complexity … Geniuses remove it."
A fearsome wide receiver in the NFL, Keyshawn Johnson learned a bitter lesson last year: he was no match for the taxman. His legal battle dogged him for much of his adult life and serves now as a cautionary tale for others. In 1996, Johnson signed a $15 million contract with the New York Jets. […]
Read More →Fall 2022
Hunker Down – Or Take Action?
"Delays have dangerous ends."
Dressed in camo and bristling with weapons and ammunition, 20 soldiers were holed up with a handful of civilians in an abandoned building, bracing for an attack sometime around midnight. In the distance, we could hear the crack of gunfire and see the bright orange flares of exploding grenades. Moment by moment, the enemy was […]
Read More →Summer 2022
Sleeping Juror
“Caution is the eldest child of wisdom.”
An anxious silence hung over the courtroom. The plaintiff’s lawyer stood up, squared his shoulders, buttoned his jacket and sauntered towards me. I was testifying as an expert witness for the defense, and I braced myself for a bare-knuckle brawl. Like a seasoned boxer, he started with soft jabs, then unleashed a volley of hard-hitting […]
Read More →Spring 2022
Danger Zone for Your IRA
“Collecting more taxes than absolutely necessary is legalized robbery.”
As a husband and father, Peter Penguin was unrivaled in his devotion. When it came to nesting, though, he had made a foolish blunder. The family home was only a short trek from the ocean’s buffet of fish and squid. Waddling there and back safely was another matter. Between the nest and the ocean was […]
Read More →Winter 2022
Why They Fly from Illinois - Part Deux
“Be our guest! Be our guest! Put our service to the test.”
Illinois residents continue to flee as the crime, grime and taxes grow ever more burdensome. The Land of Lincoln lost almost 130,000 residents in 2021, its eighth straight year of decline. The dream destination for many? Florida. The Sunshine State has long offered low taxes, warm weather, and some of the best beaches in the […]
Read More →Fall 2021
A Real Family Foundation
"Charity is the bone shared with the dog when you are just as hungry as the dog."
Ribbons bobbing, she strode into the boardroom with plucky confidence and proceeded to give an eloquent presentation to a platoon of men in dark suits gathered around the conference table. She was all of six years old. Art supplies were in short supply at her kindergarten, she solemnly informed the trustees of her family foundation. […]
Read More →Summer 2021
Beware the Riptide
“Princes and governments are far more dangerous than other elements of society.”
One of nature’s deadliest deceptions, a riptide is a narrow but powerful underwater current that lurks close to shore often under the illusion of a gentle surf. Even the most experienced swimmer can be swept out to sea fighting a current so swift it can reach speeds of up to eight feet per second. A […]
Read More →Spring 2021
The Power of Yes
“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”
Some fifty years ago, Sammy L. Davis did what few would have done. Davis had been shot in the leg, his ribs broken, his spine fractured, and his buttocks riddled with shrapnel when his unit was overrun in a midnight raid by 1,500 Vietcong. Yet, when he heard a cry for help, he didn’t hesitate. […]
Read More →Winter 2021
Creating Your Personal Masterpiece
“Trifles make perfection, and perfection is no trifle.”
One day years ago, my young son stared at the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. While the popes may have been awestruck by the ceiling, my son was unimpressed. “I could paint that,” he scoffed. Perhaps, with the right tools, he could! Did you know that many famous artists of old used a tool that […]
Read More →Fall 2020
Make Loans, Not War
"Money equals freedom."
Was William Shakespeare foolish when he penned, "Neither a borrower nor a lender be"? Shakespeare’s counsel was certainly sound in his day. But these times are not Shakespeare’s times. Instead, perhaps we should update an adage of another time, the 1960s. For our purpose, let’s refresh a popular counterculture phrase of the ‘60s, "Make love, […]
Read More →Summer 2020
Did Isaac Newton Sing the Blues?
"I can calculate the motion of heavenly bodies, but not the madness of people."
If Isaac Newton was alive today and could sing the blues, he might select a song by legendary blues guitarist Robert Cray, "The Forecast Calls for Pain." What’s with Newton, blues, and pain? Well, let’s begin with his Third Law of Motion: "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." Oh, let me […]
Read More →Spring 2020
Your Big Beluga
“The happiness of the bee and the dolphin is to exist. For man it is to know that and to wonder at it.”
Imagine the State of Illinois as a white, blubbery beluga whale. Let’s examine your relationship with the big beluga as it was yesterday, as it is today, and as it may be tomorrow. Yesterday, say 20 years ago, you enjoyed a fine time with the beluga. Income tax rates, property taxes, estate taxes, and even […]
Read More →Winter 2020
The Myth of Donor Advised Funds
“It is difficult, at times, to separate the myth from the truth.”
The Loch Ness Monster, Big Foot, and a lawyer walk into a bar... Of course, this joke has no punch line as the monsters I mentioned don’t exist. They are merely myths. As a young boy, I was fascinated by books about myths. The most intriguing myth for me was the Bermuda Triangle. The more […]
Read More →Fall 2019
The Nine Suggestions
“If you’ve been blessed, be a blessing.”
A long time ago, a guy who may have looked a lot like Mel Brooks descended from a mountain. He had two tablets (or was it three?) containing 10 commandments. Because I don’t have the authority to command how folks behave, perhaps these nine suggestions are about as far as my counsel may extend. THOU […]
Read More →Summer 2019
The Brick House Trust
“A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him.”
What if your greatest responsibility in life is to protect three pink little piggies, whom you love? It’s your responsibility, and nobody else’s. You know life has a whole pack of wolves stalking your little piggies, waiting for the right moment to attack your vulnerable, curly-tailed loved ones. Who, or what, makes up this wolf […]
Read More →Spring 2019
Naked and Unafraid
“Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow”
The legendary musical band Fleetwood Mac made hundreds of millions of dollars together. Off and on over many decades, they toured the world and sold countless records. All the while they were surrounded by many attorneys, business managers, promoters, copyright experts, financial advisors, and insurance gurus. Yet the entire time the band played together, they […]
Read More →Winter 2019
Why Fly from Illinois?
“Anybody who wants to leave Illinois already has.” ("Oh, really?")
I have written a lot about how clients can extricate themselves from Illinois. More interestingly, however, is why so many Illinoisans choose to leave. Many people conclude they want out of Illinois even before they become aware of all the consequences of staying Illinois residents. The most popular destination for affluent Illinoisans is Florida. According […]
Read More →Fall 2018
Just Say No – to Charity?
“You’ll get nothing and like it!”
Most estate plans that have my fingerprints on them make minimal reference to charity and the less fortunate. You may be asking yourself if it was me who penned the questions, "Are there no workhouses? Are there no prisons?" There are often many good reasons to "Just say no!" to naming charity in your will […]
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