Estate Planning

One of our primary focuses is providing comprehensive estate plans for our clients and their families. Our estate planning services range from very basic plans including Wills, Powers of Attorney and Living Wills, to more sophisticated plans which incorporate documents such as Revocable Trusts, Special Needs Trusts for disabled beneficiaries, Prenuptial Agreements, and Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts. By working closely with our clients, we examine the overall family and financial situation and carefully listen to your goals in order to create a unique and specialized estate plan.

Estate plans can accomplish a variety of goals including ensuring that your assets are passed to the people or entities of your choice, probate avoidance, minimization of estate tax, family business/farm succession, privacy and protecting assets from creditor claims in certain situations. Our attorneys are trained to determine what is most important to you and create an effective estate plan designed to achieve your goals.

Probate/Estate and Trust Administration

Upon a person’s death, there are a number of matters to be dealt with in order to carry out the decedent’s estate plan and comply with state and federal law. Payment of the decedent’s bills, dealing with state and federal estate tax issues, identifying a trustee’s duties, determining the necessity of probate, navigating the probate process and managing the expectations of the estate beneficiaries are only a few areas to be addressed upon a death. Our attorneys are experienced in guiding estate representatives and trustees through the issues surrounding trust and estate administration in both Illinois and Missouri.

Real Estate

Our attorneys are experienced in a wide range of real estate matters and have handled a variety of real estate transactions in Illinois and Missouri. We assist clients with buying and selling real estate (private sales and public auctions), landlord/tenant issues (farming, residential, and commercial), 1031 tax-deferred exchanges, gifting, dealing with title insurance issues, and numerous other real estate related matters. We have significant experience in preparing and reviewing all of the documents necessary to make a real estate transaction successful. We understand a real estate transaction can be both stressful and exciting. Through diligence and focus, we strive to protect our client’s legal interests and make each real estate transaction worry-free.

Business Entities

Conducting your business as an appropriate entity can provide significant legal and tax benefits. Our attorneys are trained to advise you regarding the costs and benefits of forming a legal entity to manage your business. In addition to assisting clients with forming and managing limited liability companies (LLC’s) and corporations, we also have significant experience in dealing with other common business entities such as partnerships. Our advice does not stop when your business is formed. Upon request, we can also assist you with buy/sell agreements, operating agreements, bylaws, corporate share issuance, maintaining corporate books, and handling a variety of other aspects related to your business. Our goal is to ensure that you are equipped to handle the issues you can see and unforseen issues in the future.

Guardianships

Incapacity can impact anyone at any time. When a family member, friend or loved one can no longer handle their financial or medical affairs due to an accident, illness, or the natural aging process, a guardian may be necessary. Our attorneys are experienced in determining whether a guardian is appropriate and, if so, guiding the proposed guardian through the necessary court process.

Litigation

Litigation is the formal dispute of an argument within the legal system.  Typically, this involves the filing of a Complaint against another party or responding to a Complaint filed against you.  Whether it be Trust litigation, probate litigation, real estate matters, commercial disputes, or personal injury, the attorneys at BDH are equipped with the experience and resources to deliver results.