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List of Forms by Chapter - Chapter 1 — Introduction to the Use of Retirement Benefits in Estate Planning
- Chapter 2 — Income, Estate, and Other Tax Considerations
- I. [2.1] Introduction
-
II. Income Tax Considerations - [2.2] Overview
- [2.3] General Rule
- [2.4] Nondeductible Contributions
- [2.5] Calculation of Nondeductible Portion
- [2.6] Annuity Starting Date
- [2.7] Periodic Payments (Annuity and Installment Payments)
- [2.8] Nonperiodic Payments
- [2.9] Roth Individual Retirement Accounts and Roth 401(k) Plan Accounts
- [2.10] Qualified Distributions
- [2.11] Contributions, Conversions, and Roth Rollovers
- [2.12] Rollover Treatment
- [2.13] Legislative Changes to Qualified Plans and IRAs After the Pension Protection Act of 2006, the SECURE Act, the SECURE 2.0 Act, and the Final Regulations Published July 19, 2024
- [2.14] Eligible Rollover Distribution
- [2.15] Capital Gains/Ten-Year Income Averaging
- [2.16] Net Unrealized Appreciation on Employer Securities
- [2.17] Annuity Contracts
- [2.18] Life Insurance
- [2.19] Charitable Donation Exclusion
- III. Estate Tax Considerations
- IV. Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Considerations
- V. Excise Tax Considerations
- VI. [2.27] Conclusion
- Chapter 3 — Required Minimum Distribution Rules: Who, What, When, and Why
- I. [3.1] Introduction
- II. [3.4] Terms and Definitions
- III. Background
- IV. [3.8] Distribution of the Required Minimum Distribution During the Participant’s Lifetime
- V. [3.13] Required Minimum Distribution After the Participant’s Death
- [3.14] Required Minimum Distributions After Required Beginning Date
- Payout Rules for Years Subsequent to the Year of Death
- [3.15] Distributions to Surviving Spouse (an Eligible Designated Beneficiary)
- [3.16] Required Minimum Distributions After Required Beginning Date
- [3.17] Required Minimum Distributions Before Required Beginning Date
- Distributions to Eligible Designated Beneficiaries
- [3.18] Required Minimum Distributions After Required Beginning Date
- [3.19] Required Minimum Distributions Before Required Beginning Date
- [3.20] Life Expectancy Calculations
- [3.21] Distributions to Designated Beneficiaries — Ten-Year Rule
- Distributions on Plans with No Designated Beneficiaries
- [3.22] Required Minimum Distributions After Required Beginning Date
- [3.23] Required Minimum Distributions Before Required Beginning Date
- [3.24] Distributions to Multiple Designated Beneficiaries
- [3.25] Required Minimum Distributions After Required Beginning Date
- [3.26] Required Minimum Distributions Before Required Beginning Date
- [3.27] Distributions when a Trust Is the Designated Beneficiary
- [3.28] Required Minimum Distributions After Required Beginning Date
- [3.29] Required Minimum Distributions Before Required Beginning Date
- VI. [3.30] Designated Beneficiary
- VII. [3.31] Spousal Rollover, Beneficiary Rollover, and Other “Rollovers”
- VIII. [3.37] Conclusion
- Chapter 4 — Beneficiary Designations for Individual Retirement Accounts and Qualified Plans
- I. [4.1] Introduction
- II. Client’s Goals and Tax Factors
- [4.2] Client’s Goals in Planning for Individual Retirement Accounts
- Tax Factors Affecting Individual Retirement Accounts
- [4.3] Minimum Distribution Rules
- [4.4] Living Client
- [4.5] Year of Client’s Death
- [4.6] After Client’s Death
- [4.7] Eligible designated beneficiaries
- [4.8] Eligible designated beneficiaries, designated beneficiaries, and non-designated beneficiaries
- [4.9] Requirements To Be an Eligible Designated Beneficiary or Designated Beneficiary
- [4.10] Trust as Beneficiary of Individual Retirement Account: The Trust Look-Through Rule
- [4.11] Conduit trusts
- [4.12] Accumulation trusts
- [4.13] September 30 Date
- [4.14] Multiple Beneficiaries: The Separate Account Rule
- [4.15] Income in Respect of a Decedent
- III. Beneficiary Designations for Individual Retirement Accounts
- [4.16] Beneficiary Designations for Married Client
- [4.17] Relinquishing Control of Individual Retirement Account to Surviving Spouse After Death: Spouse Is Outright Beneficiary of Individual Retirement Account
- [4.18] Retaining Control of Individual Retirement Account After Death: Qualified Terminable Interest Property Trust Is Beneficiary of Individual Retirement Account
- “All Income” Requirement
- [4.19] In general
- [4.20] Revenue Ruling 2006-26
- [4.21] State principal and income acts
- [4.22] Drafting approaches to satisfy all-income requirement
- [4.23] Simple approach: Pay all income out of individual retirement account to surviving spouse
- [4.24] More complicated approach: Spouse may withdraw income from individual retirement account
- [4.25] Evaluation of two QTIPing approaches
- [4.26] Naming a Qualified Terminable Interest Property Trust as Beneficiary of an Individual Retirement Account
- [4.27] Income Tax Problem
- [4.28] Individual Retirement Account Itself Is a Qualified Terminable Interest Property Trust
- [4.29] Alternative to QTIPing the Individual Retirement Account: Give Individual Retirement Account in Shares to Spouse and Children
- [4.30] Portability and Its Impact on Beneficiary Designations
- [4.31] Funding Bypass Trust with Individual Retirement Account
- [4.32] Disclaimer Approach
- [4.33] Client’s Revocable Trust or Testamentary Trust; Rule of Thumb
- [4.34] Pitfalls of revocable trust as beneficiary of individual retirement account
- [4.35] Postmortem individual retirement account planning
- [4.36] Noncitizen Spouse
- [4.37] Individual Retirement Account as Community Property
- [4.38] Individual Retirement Account Participant Dies First
- [4.39] Spouse Dies First; Individual Retirement Account Participant Is Still Alive
- [4.40] Designating a Secondary Beneficiary
- [4.41] Beneficiary Designations for Unmarried Client
- [4.42] Charitable Giving with Individual Retirement Accounts
- Outright Gift to Charity at Death
- [4.43] Entire Individual Retirement Account to Charity
- [4.44] Part of Individual Retirement Account to Charity; Percentage or Dollar Amount
- [4.45] Split-Interest Trusts
- [4.46] Regular Trust
- [4.47] Charitable Remainder Trust Under Internal Revenue Code §664
- Use of Beneficiary Designation Forms
- [4.48] Poorly Drafted Commercial Forms
- [4.49] Solution: Custom-Drafted Beneficiary Designation
- [4.50] Tax Apportionment Problems
- IV. [4.51] Beneficiary Designations for Qualified Plans
- V. [4.55] Roth Individual Retirement Accounts
- Chapter 5 — Naming a Trust as a Beneficiary
- I. [5.1] Scope of Chapter
- II. [5.2] The Secure Act: A Summary of Relevant Changes
- III. [5.5] Naming a Trust as Beneficiary of a Retirement Account
- [5.6] What Is a Qualifying Trust?
- [5.7] Trusts and Required Minimum Distributions: Who Is the Beneficiary?
- [5.8] Conduit Trusts and Accumulation Trusts
- [5.9] Conduit Trusts
- [5.10] Accumulation Trusts
- [5.11] Allocating Benefits to a Marital Trust
- [5.12] Allocating Benefits to a Credit Shelter Trust
- [5.13] The Spousal Disclaimer Option
- IV. Practical Administrative Considerations
- Chapter 6 — Charitable Giving with Retirement Plan Assets
- I. Introduction
- II. [6.3] Income in Respect of a Decedent
- III. [6.4] Required Minimum Distribution Rules
- IV. [6.5] Different Types of Charitable Organizations
- V. Lifetime Gifts to Charity
- VI. Basic Testamentary Gifts to Charity
- VII. [6.18] Testamentary Gifts to Charity Through an Estate or Trust
- [6.19] Trusts and Estates with Charitable and Noncharitable Beneficiaries and the Required Minimum Distribution Rules
- [6.20] Prohibiting Certain Uses of Retirement Benefits
- [6.21] Charity Is Remainder Beneficiary
- [6.22] Conduit Trust
- [6.23] Form of Conduit Trust
- [6.24] Trust Income Tax Issues
- [6.25] No Distributable Net Income Deduction for Income Distributed to Charity
- [6.26] The Separate Share Rule
- [6.27] Trust Requires Funding Charitable Gift with Retirement Benefits
- [6.28] Trustee May Choose Funding
- [6.29] Pro Rata Distribution Required
- [6.30] Assignment of Entire Plan
- [6.31] Distribution to Charity in Year Other than Year of Receipt of Proceeds by Trust
- [6.32] Charitable Remainder Trusts
- [6.33] Credit Shelter Charitable Remainder Trusts
- [6.34] Charitable Lead Trusts
- VIII. Postmortem “Planning”
- IX. Miscellaneous
- X. [6.40] Bibliography
- Chapter 7 — Qualified Domestic Relations Orders and Spousal Rights
- I. [7.1] Introduction
- II. Qualified Domestic Relations Orders
- [7.2] Qualified Domestic Relations Orders — An Exception to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 Spendthrift Provisions
- [7.3] Overview of Applicable Law and Guidance
- [7.4] Effective Date of Qualified Domestic Relations Order Rules
- [7.5] Employee Benefit Plans to Which Qualified Domestic Relations Orders Apply
- [7.6] Alternate Payees
- [7.7] Qualified Domestic Relations Order Requirements
- [7.8] Administrative Procedures for Qualification
- [7.9] United States Department of Labor Interim Final Regulations
- [7.10] Subsequent Domestic Relations Orders
- [7.11] Timing of Domestic Relations Orders
- Plan Features To Consider in Drafting Qualified Domestic Relations Orders
- [7.12] Defined-Contribution Plan
- [7.13] Retroactive Assignment Dates in Defined-Contribution Qualified Domestic Relations Orders
- [7.14] Defined-Benefit Plan
- [7.15] Dissolution of Marriage Decree as a Qualified Domestic Relations Order
- [7.16] Pitfalls to Qualification
- [7.17] Qualified Domestic Relations Order After Death of Participant
- [7.18] Contrary Beneficiary Designations
- [7.19] Modification of a Qualified Domestic Relations Order
- [7.20] Bankruptcy of Participant
- [7.21] Receipt of Benefits
- [7.22] Dividing the Benefit — Shared Payment or Separate Interest
- [7.23] Taxation of Benefits
- III. Qualified Retirement Plan Obligations Regarding Spouses
- [7.24] Qualified Joint and Survivor Annuity
- [7.25] Waiver of Automatic Qualified Joint and Survivor Annuity Distribution Form
- [7.26] Qualified Joint and Survivor Annuity Notice Rules
- Qualified Preretirement Survivor Annuity
- [7.27] Commencement of Annuity Payments
- [7.28] Waiver of Qualified Preretirement Survivor Annuity
- [7.29] Tax Issues for Surviving Spouses
- IV. [7.30] Qualified Domestic Relations Orders Apply to Same-Sex Couples
- V. Sample Forms and Documents
- [7.31] Sample Spousal Consent and Waiver Election
- [7.32] Sample Qualified Domestic Relations Order for Defined-Benefit Plan
- [7.33] Sample Qualified Domestic Relations Order for Defined-Contribution Plan
- [7.34] Qualified Domestic Relations Order Checklist
- [7.35] Sample Letter to Plan Participants Regarding Qualified Domestic Relations Order Procedures
- Chapter 8 — Special Considerations for Employee Stock Ownership Plans
- I. What Is an Employee Stock Ownership Plan?
- II. Transactions with Employee Stock Ownership Plan
- [8.5] Rollover of Sale Proceeds Under §1042 of the Internal Revenue Code
- [8.6] Requirements
- [8.7] Qualified Replacement Property
- [8.8] Disposition of Qualified Replacement Property
- [8.9] Planning with Qualified Replacement Property
- [8.10] Selection of Qualified Replacement Property
- [8.11] Charitable Gifts
- [8.12] Family Limited Partnerships
- [8.13] Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts
- [8.14] Charitable Remainder Trusts
- [8.15] Noncharitable Gifts
- Using an Employee Stock Ownership Plan To Transition Ownership of a Family Business
- [8.16] Transition Within a Family
- [8.17] Transition to Management Control
- [8.18] Limits on Employee Stock Ownership Plan Planning Involving S Corporations
- III. Distributions from Employee Stock Ownership Plan
- IV. Forms
- Chapter 9 — Retirement Plans and Creditor Protection
- Chapter 10 — The Efficacy of Individual Retirement Arrangement Planning and Investments: Allocating Assets Between Taxable and Tax-Deferred Accounts
- I. [10.1] Introduction
- II. [10.2] The Importance of Asset Allocation
- III. [10.3] Diversification
- IV. [10.4] Tax Efficiency of Investments
- V. The Case Study
- VI. Roth Individual Retirement Arrangements
- VII. [10.12] Real-Life Example
- VIII. [10.13] The Need for Rebalancing
- IX. [10.14] Conclusion
- X. [10.15] References
- Chapter 11 — Handling Individual Retirement Accounts and Qualified Plans After the Individual Retirement Account Owner or Participant Is Deceased
- I. [11.1] Introduction
- II. Administering Individual Retirement Accounts and Qualified Plans at Death
- Options of Surviving Spouse as Outright Beneficiary of Decedent’s Individual Retirement Account or Qualified Plan
- [11.2] Spouse Is Beneficiary of Decedent’s Individual Retirement Account
- [11.3] Spouse Rolls over Decedent’s Individual Retirement Account to Spouse’s Own Individual Retirement Account
- [11.4] Spouse Remains as Beneficiary of Decedent’s Individual Retirement Account
- Spouse Is Beneficiary of Decedent’s Interest in Qualified Plan
- [11.5] Lump-Sum Distribution Necessitates Spousal Individual Retirement Account Rollover
- [11.6] Avoiding Ten-Percent Penalty Tax for Withdrawing Property from Spouse’s Individual Retirement Account Before Age 59½
- [11.7] Net Unrealized Appreciation in Employer Securities
- [11.8] Disclaimer of Part of Individual Retirement Account by Spouse To Fund Bypass Trust
- Collecting Assets After Death
- [11.9] Consolidating Multiple Individual Retirement Accounts into Single Individual Retirement Account
- [11.10] Moving Individual Retirement Account to Different Financial Institution After Individual Retirement Account Owner Is Deceased
- [11.11] Individual Retirement Account’s Required Minimum Distribution for Year of Death Was Not Withdrawn
- [11.12] How the Minimum Distribution Rules Work: An Explanation in Plain English
- [11.13] What Is a “Designated Beneficiary” for Purposes of the Minimum Distribution Rules?
- [11.14] What Is an “Eligible Designated Beneficiary” for Purposes of the Minimum Distribution Rules?
- [11.15] What Is a “Non-Designated Beneficiary” for Purposes of the Minimum Distribution Rules?
- [11.16] The Individual Retirement Account Has More than One Beneficiary
- [11.17] The Beneficiary of the Individual Retirement Account Is a Trust
- How the Minimum Distribution Rules Work, Viewed Chronologically
- [11.18] Client Is Alive and Under Age 73
- [11.19] Client Dies Before Age 73
- [11.20] Client Is Alive and over Age 73
- [11.21] Client Dies After Age 73
- Revocable Trust as Beneficiary of Decedent’s Individual Retirement Account
- Income in Respect of a Decedent
- [11.22] Traditional Individual Retirement Account
- [11.23] Avoiding Recognition of Income in Respect of a Decedent When Forced To Fund Pecuniary Amount Trust with Individual Retirement Account
- [11.24] Revocable Trust Is Undesirable Beneficiary Designation
- [11.25] Postmortem Individual Retirement Account Planning To Obtain Designated Beneficiary
- [11.26] Rollover to Spouse’s Individual Retirement Account When Revocable Trust (and Not Spouse) Is Beneficiary of Decedent’s Individual Retirement Account
- [11.27] Estate Tax Apportionment Against Individual Retirement Account
- [11.28] Multiple Owners of Individual Retirement Account After Death of Client
- [11.29] Noncitizen Spouse
- [11.30] Special Needs Beneficiary
- [11.31] Individual Retirement Account as Community Property
- [11.32] Individual Retirement Account Grantor Dies First
- [11.33] Spouse Dies First; Individual Retirement Account Grantor Is Still Alive
- [11.34] Disproportionate Allocation of Community Property Individual Retirement Account
- [11.35] Qualified Plans
- III. Administering Individual Retirement Accounts After Death
- Individual Retirement Account as Asset of Irrevocable Trust — In General
- [11.36] Educating Individual Retirement Account Custodians That Decedent’s Individual Retirement Account May Be Owned by Series of Trusts, Individuals, and Estates
- [11.37] Trust Accounting for Principal and Income When Individual Retirement Account Is Asset of Trust
- Determining Trust Accounting Income from Individual Retirement Account
- [11.38] Trust instrument
- [11.39] State law
- [11.40] 2000 Uniform Principal and Income Act
- [11.41] Other state statutes, including Illinois
- Trust Accounting Income of Individual Retirement Account Will Be More or Less than Required Minimum Distribution
- [11.42] For calendar year, trust accounting income of individual retirement account is greater than required minimum distribution
- [11.43] For calendar year, trust accounting income of individual retirement account is less than required minimum distribution
- [11.44] Creditor Protection
- Individual Retirement Account as Asset of Irrevocable Trust — Qualified Terminable Interest Property Marital Trust
- [11.45] “All Income” Requirement
- [11.46] Conduit Trust
- IV. [11.47] Appendix
- Chapter 12 — Roth Individual Retirement Arrangements
- I. [12.1] Overview of Roth Individual Retirement Arrangements and Roth Conversions
- II. Creating a Roth Individual Retirement Arrangement — The Basics
- [12.2] When and How To Open a Roth Individual Retirement Arrangement
- [12.3] Eligible Roth Individual Retirement Arrangement Account Owners
- [12.4] Contribution Limits for Individual Retirement Arrangements
- [12.5] Contributions Need Not Be Made by the Income Earner
- [12.6] Excess Contributions
- [12.7] Roth 401(k) or 403(b) Plans
- III. Advantages and Disadvantages of Roth Individual Retirement Arrangements Compared with Traditional Individual Retirement Arrangements
- IV. [12.10] Distributions from a Roth Individual Retirement Arrangement
- V. [12.15] Converting Various Retirement Assets to Roth Individual Retirement Arrangements
- [12.16] Traditional Individual Retirement Arrangement to Roth Individual Retirement Arrangement
- [12.17] Benefits
- Typical Conversion Methods
- [12.18] Rollover
- [12.19] Trustee-to-Trustee Transfer
- [12.20] Same-Trustee Transfer
- [12.21] Types of Funds That May Be Converted
- [12.22] Converted Distributions Are Still Taxable
- [12.23] Determining What Amount To Convert
- Employer Plan to Roth Individual Retirement Arrangement
- [12.24] Types of Eligible Employer Plans
- [12.25] Timing
- [12.26] Subsequent Distributions of Conversion Contributions
- [12.27] Roth Individual Retirement Arrangement to Roth Individual Retirement Arrangement
- VI. [12.28] Taxable Distributions Within Five Years of a Roth Contribution or Conversion
- VII. [12.33] Planning Strategies for the Year of Conversion
- VIII. Recharacterization
- IX. [12.36] Conclusion
- Chapter 13 — Postmortem Planning
- I. [13.1] Introduction
- II. [13.2] Why Postmortem Changes Are Needed
- III. [13.3] First Steps After Participant’s Death
- [13.4] Contact the Plan Administrator
- [13.5] Review the Beneficiary Designation
- [13.6] Assess Disclaimer Possibilities
- [13.7] Distribute Required Minimum Distribution for Year of Death
- [13.8] Consider 60-Day Rollovers
- [13.9] General Rule
- [13.10] Exceptions to the Rule
- [13.11] Hardship Waiver
- [13.12] No-Designated Beneficiary Status Postmortem
- [13.13] Waiver Considerations
- IV. [13.14] Critical Postmortem Dates
- V. [13.15] Spousal Options/Spousal Rollover
- VI. [13.16] Disclaimers
- [13.17] Disclaimer Rules
- [13.18] Year-of-Death Required Minimum Distribution and Partial Disclaimers
- [13.19] Using Disclaimers in Postmortem Planning
- [13.20] Multiple Disclaimers
- [13.21] Eliminating a Trust
- [13.22] Using Exemption
- [13.23] Younger Beneficiaries or Beneficiaries That Qualify as Designated Beneficiaries
- [13.24] Disclaimer by Estate
- [13.25] Exercise Care When Exercising Disclaimers
- VII. [13.26] Separate Accounts
- VIII. [13.29] Pay Out Non-Designated Beneficiaries
- IX. [13.30] Renunciation and Elective Share
- X. [13.31] Reformation
- XI. [13.32] Trusts as Plan Beneficiaries
- XII. [13.38] Planning Prior to Death
- Chapter 14 — Alternative Investments in Individual Retirement Accounts
- I. [14.1] In General
- [14.2] Individual Retirement Account May Own Almost Any Type of Asset
- [14.3] Significant Limitations
- [14.4] Consent of Individual Retirement Account Custodian
- [14.5] Prohibited Transactions
- [14.6] Unrelated Business Taxable Income
- [14.7] Does the Investment Make Sense for a Tax-Sheltered Vehicle Such as an Individual Retirement Account?
- [14.8] Valuation
- [14.9] Rollover from Qualified Plan to Individual Retirement Account
- [14.10] Abusive Roth Individual Retirement Account Transactions
- II. [14.11] Real Estate and the Self-Directed Individual Retirement Account
- III. Use of Individual Retirement Accounts in Family Limited Partnerships
- [14.15] In General
- [14.16] United States Department of Labor Advisory Opinion Letter No. 2000-10A
- [14.17] Possible Strategy in a Nutshell
- [14.18] Comparison of an Individual Retirement Account and an Individual Retirement Account That Has Invested in a Family Limited Partnership
- [14.19] Definition of “Disqualified Person” Under the Internal Revenue Code
- [14.20] Application of Internal Revenue Code Definitions
- [14.21] Unrelated Business Taxable Income
- [14.22] Self-Dealing
- [14.23] Summary Review
- IV. [14.24] Cryptocurrency in an Individual Retirement Account
- Adam M. Ansari
Adam M. Ansari
Adam M. Ansari is a Member at Clark Hill PLC in Chicago, where he concentrates in tax, estateplanning, and business structuring matters. He is a member of the Illinois State, South Asian, and American Bar Associations. He is a Current Leadership Member of the ABA’s Real Property Trust & Estate Section (Past Fellow) and Past Chair of its Solo and Small Firm Practice Group. He has been recognized as among the Best Lawyers in America’s Ones to Watch for Tax Law (2022 – 2025) and Trusts and Estates (2021 – 2025), as a Rising Star in Tax Law by Illinois Super Lawyers (2016 – 2023), and as an Estate Planning & Probate Law Rising Star by Super Lawyers Magazine (2016 – 2023). Mr. Ansari received his BA from Boston University, his MBA from Dominican University, his JD from the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law, and his LLM from the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law.
- Joe Blumberg
Joe Blumberg
Joe Blumberg is Of Counsel to ArentFox Schiff in Lake Forest, where he focuses on trusts and estates. He is a member of the Illinois State and Missouri Bar Associations. Mr. Blumberg received his BA from the University of Missouri School of Journalism and his JD, cum laude, Order of the Coif, from the University of Missouri School of Law.
- Beth K. Flowers
Beth K. Flowers
Beth K. Flowers is the Owner of Flowers Law, LLC, in Edwardsville, where she concentrates her practice in estate planning, estate tax planning, and probate and trust administration. Flowers has been recognized as a Leading Lawyer (2020 – 2025). She is a member of the Madison County Bar Association and the Estate Planning Counsel of St. Louis. Flowers received her B.A. from Truman State University and her J.D. from Saint Louis University Law School.
- Afton L. Gauron
Afton L. Gauron
Afton L. Gauron is a Partner at Croke Fairchild Duarte & Beres LLC in Chicago, where she is Chair of the Private Client Services Group and Cochair of the Culture Committee. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Chicago Estate Planning Council and is a Legislative Liaison of the Chicago Bar Association’s Trust Law Executive Committee. Ms. Gauron received her BA from Gonzaga University and her JD, cum laude, from the Loyola University Chicago School of Law.
- Robert S. Held
Robert S. Held
Robert S. Held is an attorney at Held Law Offices, in Chicago, who represents corporate and individual fiduciaries — as well as beneficiaries — in complex estate and trust litigation, guardianship matters, and commercial litigation. He is a member of the Chicago Bar Association and Past Chair of its Trust Law Committee’s Insurable Interest Subcommittee, its Federal Taxation Committee, and its Estate and Gift Taxation Subcommittee. He received his B.A. from the State University of New York at Buffalo, his MBA from Eastern New Mexico University, and his J.D. from DePaul University.
- Michael Held
Michael Held
Michael Held is an associate with Held Law Offices in Chicago, where he focuses his practice on litigation. He is also a Captain in the United States Marine Corps. Mr. Held received his BA from Boston University and his JD from the University of Illinois College of Law.
- Castles R. Hollis
Castles R. Hollis
Castles R. Hollis is a Partner with Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP in Atlanta, Georgia, where she focuses her practice on employee benefits and executive compensation. She is a member of the ESOP Association and the National Center for Employee Ownership. Ms. Hollis received her BS, her JD, and her MS in Taxation from the University of South Carolina.
- Ryan M. Holmes
Ryan M. Holmes
Ryan M. Holmes is a Member at Clark Hill PLC in Chicago, where he concentrates his practice in estate tax planning, probate and guardianship administration, and probate, trust, and guardianship litigation. He was recognized by Super Lawyers as a Rising Star (2014 – 2017) and is a member of the Chicago Estate Planning Council and Chicago, Illinois State, Wisconsin, and Michigan Bar Associations. Mr. Holmes received his BA from Knox College and his JD from Northern Illinois University College of Law.
- Cindy M. Johnson
Cindy M. Johnson
Cindy M. Johnson is a Managing Member at Johnson Legal Group, LLC, in Chicago, where she focuses on creditors’ rights in bankruptcy and postjudgment enforcement. She is a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute, the National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees, the Illinois Creditors Bar Association, and the Commercial Banking, Collections, and Bankruptcy Section Council of the Illinois State Bar Association and was appointed to the panel of Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustees for the Northern District of Illinois in 2014. Ms. Johnson received her BA with honors from the University of Chicago and her JD from the Chicago-Kent College of Law.
- Mallory A. Kallabat
Mallory A. Kallabat
Mallory A. Kallabat is a Senior Attorney at Clark Hill PLC in Birmingham, AL, where she provides personal legal services to clients in the areas of estate and business planning, probate and trust administration, charitable planning, special needs planning, and related tax matters. She has been recognized by Super Lawyers as a Rising Star (2024), by DBusiness as a Top Lawyer, and as among the Best Lawyers in America’s Ones to Watch for Trusts and Estates Law (2022 – 2025). Ms. Kallabat received her BA from Wayne State University and her JD from the Wayne State University Law School.
- Kenneth T. Little
Kenneth T. Little
Kenneth T. Little is an associate at BakerHostetler LLP in Costa Mesa, CA. He is a member of the American Bar Association. Mr. Little received his BBA from Howard University, his JD from the Loyola University Chicago School of Law, and his LLM from Georgetown University Law Center.
- Jennifer A. Mendel
Jennifer A. Mendel
Jennifer A. Mendel is a Partner at Barnes & Thornburg LLP in Chicago, where she focuses her practice on private client trusts and estates, as well as tax and nonprofits. She is a member of the Chicago, Illinois State, and American Bar Associations and serves as Vice Chair of the Committee on Estate and Gift Taxes for the ABA’s Taxation Section. Ms. Mendel received her BA from the University of Colorado at Boulder and her JD from the University of Denver College of Law.
- Ben A. Neiburger
Ben A. Neiburger
Ben A. Neiburger is a Founder of Generation Law in Elmhurst, where he concentrates his practice on estate planning and elder law. He is a member of the national Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, and he has been recognized as an Illinois Super Lawyer in Elder Law (2007, 2009 – present) and as IICLE®’s Volunteer of the Year (2010). Neiburger served as Chair of IICLE®’s Board of Directors in 2018. He is also a CPA. Neiburger received his B.S. from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and his J.D. from the Chicago-Kent College of Law. Neiburger is an avid triathlete competing in races across the globe. So far, he has raced 5 of the 10 most difficult “extreme” triathlons in the world (finishing 3 of them, and he didn’t die). In 2025 he competed in a 3000-mile bike race while his team raised more than $250,000 for charity. He spends time during these races ruminating about the application of powers of attorney if something should happen.
- Julie Sirlin Pleshivoy
Julie Sirlin Pleshivoy
Julie Sirlin Pleshivoy is a Partner at Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP in Chicago, where she concentrates in estate planning, personal tax planning, and business succession planning. She has been recognized by Crain’s Chicago Business as a Notable Woman in Law (2024), by Best Lawyers in America for Trusts and Estates (2024 – 2025), by Leading Lawyers (2014 – present), by Illinois Super Lawyers for Estate & Probate (2011 – 2016, 2021 – present), and by Marquis Who’s Who Top Lawyers (2020). Ms. Pleshivoy received her AB from the University of Chicago and her JD and LLM from the Chicago-Kent College of Law.
- Sandra M. Schildgen
Sandra M. Schildgen
Sandra M. Schildgen is a Partner at Wilson & Wilson Estate Planning & Elder Law LLC in Deerfield and LaGrange, where she focuses on elder law, estate planning, Medicaid eligibility planning, and trust and probate administration. She is the President-Elect of the Veterans’ Legal Aid Society of Illinois and a former board member of Life’s Plan, Inc. Ms. Schildgen received her BA from Columbia University and her JD from the University of Iowa College of Law.
- Meghan E. Tepas
Meghan E. Tepas
Meghan E. Tepas is a Partner at Croke Fairchild Duarte & Beres LLC in Chicago, where she focuses her practice on trust and estate litigation. She is an Illinois State Bar Association’s Trusts & Estates Counsel Member and has been recognized as an Emerging Lawyer by Leading Lawyers and as among the 40 Under 40 by the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin. Ms. Tepas received her BA from the University of Michigan and her JD from the Indiana University Maurer School of Law.
- Steven B. Weinstein
Steven B. Weinstein
Steven B. Weinstein is Chair of the independent investment advisory firm Altair Advisers LLC in Chicago, which he founded in 2002 after nearly two decades with Arthur Andersen. He is a member of the CFA Society Chicago, the Chicago Estate Planning Council, and the American Bar Association. He received his BA with distinction, Phi Beta Kappa, from Stanford University and his JD, cum laude, and MBA with distinction from Northwestern University.
Estate Planning for Retirement Benefits 2025 Edition
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