Preserving Culture and Building Legacy with Genice Lee
3 Key Takeaways | Update on Chicagoland Local Taxes
Let's Talk About the Anatomy of a Prenuptial Agreement
Advancing Agriculture: Security Interests and Article 9 Challenges (Part 2)
It has long been settled that one via a will may effectively “pour over” one’s real and personal property into an inter vivos trust. See §2.1.1 of Loring and Rounds: A Trustee’s Handbook (2026), the relevant portions of which...more
When a professional corporation operates with equipment owned personally by its director, how do secured creditors assert priority over proceeds from a receivership sale? A recent Alberta Court of Appeal decision in Royal...more
On November 17, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge to the Second Circuit’s decision affirming that Avianca Holdings S.A. (“Avianca”) was required to pay in full certain fixed-schedule obligations...more
The UK Property (Digital Assets etc) Bill has completed its third reading in the House of Commons with further amendments and now awaits royal assent before becoming law. The Bill gives effect to recommendations of the Law...more
In this episode of The Sandwich Generation Survival Guide, host Candace Dellacona welcomes Genice Lee from Harvest Estate and Appraisals. They discuss the importance of legacy, the role of passion assets in preserving family...more
For those well-versed in practice before Ohio’s Probate Courts or with guardianships in general, the procedural intricacies and weighty responsibilities of a guardian of estate are just part of an ordinary week. For those...more
When a loved one or friend passes away, they often leave a large amount of personal property to be distributed. This article addresses the distribution of a decedent’s personal property and disputes concerning its...more
Benjamin Franklin famously said that the only two certainties in life are death and taxes. A close third would be family squabbles over who gets the personal property when someone dies. Even a well-thought-out estate plan may...more
Engagement season seems to be in full swing, from Taylor Swift to Selena Gomez to Cristiano Ronaldo, the internet is buzzing with rings and romance. Beyond the sparkle lies a question many couples overlook: what happens to...more
When most people think about estate planning, their minds often go straight to the big-ticket items: the family home, retirement accounts, life insurance, and investments. In reality, it is almost always the personal...more
In Arizona a party can collect assets in a small estate without having to open a probate through a form commonly known as a “small estate affidavit.” The purpose of Arizona’s small estate affidavit is to provide a simplified,...more
You may not associate creditors' rights with the United States Constitution. After all, when people think of constitutional rights, they generally think of free speech, freedom of the press, trial by jury, etc. The...more
Pursuant to Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) § 9-515(c), a UCC-1 financing statement filed to perfect a secured party’s lien on personal property collateral lapses five years from the filing date unless the secured creditor...more
President Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB Act) into law on Friday July 4, 2025. Among other changes to existing federal tax laws (many of which are discussed by other alerts from this firm), the OBBB Act...more
When a loved one passes away, the emotional toll of the loss can be compounded by the sudden responsibility of managing the deceased person’s estate—especially if you’ve been named as the executor under a Last Will and...more
With the Connecticut General Assembly in the home stretch of the 2025 legislative session, the following noteworthy property tax bills have been voted out of committee for consideration and possible action by both chambers of...more
When purchasing an expensive engagement ring, one would not seek the expertise of a real estate agent. Similarly, when an estate requires an appraisal, it is crucial to engage the appropriate expert for high value personal...more
Intro. The Uniform Trust Code (UTC) is a mere aggregation of tweaks to the corner of equity jurisprudence that long ago gave birth to and currently stewards the trust relationship, hereinafter “the background trust law.”...more
On March 14, 2025, the Court of Appeal for California’s Fifth Appellate District issued its decision in Sandton Agriculture Investments III v. 4-S Ranch Partners, 2025 S.O.S. 659. That case provided guidance on ownership of...more
Too often creditors are faced with accounts that are seemingly uncollectable. If the debtor had money on hand to pay, presumably they would not have incurred the debt at all, right? Especially in the realm of medical debt,...more
Unlike most items of personal property, a motor vehicle usually has a certificate of title. We all know that the point of a vehicle title is to show who owns the vehicle and who (if anyone) has a lien on it....more
Kilpatrick’s Samantha Breslow, a partner focusing her practice on state and local tax matters, recently presented to the Illinois State Bar Association on Chicagoland local taxes, including the Chicago Personal Property Lease...more
Assume the deceased settlor of a trust had intended that his niece be included in the beneficiary class, but his estate-planning attorney had negligently made no provision for her in the governing instrument. After settlor’s...more
The Chambliss estate planning team often helps families navigate the complexities of administering a loved one’s estate. Challenges can arise in addressing the personal property in the estate...more
After experiencing devastation from this disaster, here is a short checklist of what you should do to help you recover all the benefits available to you under your insurance policies....more