Wealth planning for
Kenilworth families.

Yes. Kenilworth is one of roughly thirty Cook County and Lake County communities we serve from its Evanston office at 909 Davis Street. The firm has been planning retirements for Cook County families since 1977, and meets Kenilworth clients in the Evanston office, at their home, or by video call.

Retirement planning in Kenilworth, one of the wealthiest communities in the United States, begins from a fundamentally different position than most retirement conversations. The question is rarely whether there's enough money, but how to structure a portfolio of this magnitude to sustain a premium lifestyle for 30+ years, preserve estate value for the next generation, and manage the tax complexity that comes with significant wealth. We have worked with Kenilworth families for decades and understand the specific planning challenges this community presents. we coordinate Social Security claiming, retirement account withdrawals, annuity and life insurance placements, long-term care funding, and estate decisions into one written plan tailored to the Kenilworth cost of living.

Kenilworth clients typically bring complex financial situations: large taxable estates, concentrated stock positions, multi-generational trusts, and significant real estate holdings. Our estate planning and tax strategy work here focuses on the Illinois estate tax ($4M exemption), ILIT structures, and coordinated wealth transfer across generations. Kenilworth's median home value of $1,400,000 and median household income of $260,000 mean planning here's shaped by local cost-of-living realities, not a national average. Roughly 31% of Kenilworth residents are over 55, and many have spent decades building equity that now needs to be coordinated with retirement income, healthcare, and estate decisions.

Cook County's property tax rates, averaging 1.8-2.3% of assessed value, among the highest in the nation, are the single largest variable in most North Shore retirement budgets. A home assessed at $900,000 in Northbrook, Glenview, or Wilmette can carry an annual tax obligation of $16,000-$22,000 that persists through retirement unless the home is sold or downsized. Illinois partially offsets this with one of the most retirement-friendly income tax structures in the country: Social Security, IRA distributions, and pension income are entirely exempt from state income tax, leaving the property tax burden as the primary financial challenge to plan around. For Kenilworth retirees specifically, this means treating property taxes as a non-negotiable fixed expense and building a guaranteed income floor, typically from Social Security and, where appropriate, an annuity, that covers them regardless of market conditions.

The tax planning complexity for Kenilworth clients is concentrated in two areas: managing the income tax burden on large investment portfolios and deferred compensation plans, and minimizing the combined Illinois and federal estate tax on estates that may significantly exceed both exemption levels. We implement comprehensive multi-year strategies including Roth conversions, charitable remainder trusts, grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs), and systematic gifting programs that reduce estate tax exposure while maintaining lifestyle flexibility.