Estate Planning
in Bannockburn, IL.
Make sure the people you love get what you've built.
Estate planning isn't just for the wealthy, it's for anyone who wants to make sure their family is taken care of. Without a plan, Illinois probate courts decide who gets your assets, who takes care of your children, and how your life's work is distributed.
At our firm, we work with families across Chicago's Northern Suburbs to create estate plans that protect your legacy, minimize taxes, avoid probate, and ensure your wishes are honored.
What this looks like in Bannockburn.
Estate planning is the primary financial concern for most Bannockburn clients, and it must be coordinated across the full financial plan rather than treated as a separate legal exercise. Bypass trusts, dynasty trusts, GRATs, charitable lead annuity trusts (CLATs), and annual gifting programs, all interact with the investment plan, the income plan, and the tax strategy. We ensure these elements are designed to work together rather than in isolation.
The county details.
Lake County's concentration of high-net-worth families, particularly in Lake Forest, Lake Bluff, Barrington, and Bannockburn, makes Illinois estate tax planning a first-order priority. Illinois's $4 million exemption isn't portable between spouses without specific trust planning: without an AB trust or disclaimer trust, the first spouse's exemption may be wasted and the surviving spouse's estate pays Illinois estate tax on everything above $4 million. For Lake County families with a primary residence worth $1.5 million or more plus investment assets and retirement accounts, the potential Illinois estate tax exposure is real and plannable, but only with proper structure in place before the first death.
Why Bannockburn.
Bannockburn clients often arrive with wealth concentrated in a business or concentrated stock position, and are planning exits and transitions. Our work here typically involves pre-sale tax planning for business owners, concentrated equity strategies, and estate plans designed around properties and legacy assets that will span multiple generations.
Things Bannockburn families ask.
Down the shore.
Talk to a Bannockburn
advisor.
One free conversation about estate planning, at your kitchen table, our Evanston office, or a video call.