Real Estate Closing Checklist

Contract

Diary attorney approval date and closing date

Order title commitment

Survey

Deed

Bill of sale

Affidavit of title

Schedule of leases

Assignment of leases

Assignment of contracts

Estoppel letters

Utility letters

Payoff letter for mortgage

Condo letter

Right of first refusal

Assessments

Water bill

Certificate of insurance

Closing statement

Power of attorney

Grantor/grantee affidavit

City transfer tax declaration

County transfer tax declaration

State transfer tax declaration

Water certificate (not needed for condo)

Zoning certificate

Affidavit of heirship

Death certificate

Commission statement

Personal information affidavit

Joint tenancy affidavit

ALTA statement

Seller's Social Security number and FEINs

Photo I.D.

Keys

Termite inspection

General inspection

Mortgage contingency
   


Attorney approval contingency

Lead paint disclosure

RIPTA disclosure

Environmental phase I

Soil test

Structural tests

Utility readings and name changes

Move-in letters and elevator reservation

Move-out arrangements and payments

Tax bill

Seller identification

Letter of direction to land trustee

Trustee's deed

Trustee's ALTA

Trustee's pay proceeds letter

Mortgage

Note

Mortgage disclosures

How will buyer take title

Buyer's and seller's marital status

Tenant leases

Tenant estoppel letters

Financial statements of seller

Tax returns of seller

Buyer's insurance and certificate

Condo association insurance and certificate

Condo association minutes and financial statements and statements of contemplated work and assessments

Financing statement search

Tax lien and judgment search of seller

Corporate records of seller

Waiver of homestead rights

Determine costs including broker commissions

Check closing time and date with clients, lawyers, lender, brokers and title company and make appointment and confirm with lawyers, lender, brokers and clients

Get releases for all mortgages, liens and other matters of record.

Builder's warranty for new construction

Contact Chicago Estate planning attorney Don Thompson today.

Chicago,Illinois Employment Contracts

Employment agreements usually are not in writing. For more highly paid employees they often are written. The writing can take the form of a letter mentioning the basic terms or a more detailed agreement can be drawn up. The subjects to be covered are -

    1. Date of agreement and parties to agreement

    2. Job title

    3. Duties

    4. Place of employment

    5. Compensation

    6. Fringe benefits

    7. Payment of expenses and limits thereon

    8. Property and materials to be furnished

    9. Disability of employee

    10. Confidentiality of employer information

    11. Non-competition or non-solicitation of customers by employee

    12. Term of agreement and renewal

    13. Grounds for termination

    14. Required notices

Contact Chicago Attorney for the writing of employment contracts. He can be reached at 312-782-0844 or via email.

 

Should You Avoid Chicago Probate

The living trust is often marketed as a vehicle that allows you to "avoid probate" upon your death. Probate is the court-supervised process of transferring property at death pursuant to the terms of a will. Many types of property routinely pass outside of the probate process. These include:

•     life insurance or retirement plan proceeds which pass to a named beneficiary rather than your estate

•     real estate or bank or brokerage accounts held in joint names with right of survivorship.

While it is true that the property passing under the terms of a living trust upon the death of the maker of the trust will "avoid probate," it should be noted that there may or may not be actual value in that result. Probate laws are different in every state. In some states there are statutorily mandated court or attorney fees while in others those fees may be minimal. Many states have expedited or simplified court proceedings that are efficient and inexpensive for small or simple estates. A properly drafted will in many states can eliminate some of the steps otherwise required in the probate proceedings. In addition much of the delay and red tape customarily associated with probate is a result of the tax laws and tax filing requirements, which can not be eliminated through a living trust and the avoidance of probate.

A living trust can almost never totally avoid probate and a simple will is needed to "pour over" to the trust any property that has not been transferred to the trust during life.

Property that passes at death through a revocable living trust must first be transferred to the trust, administered by a trustee who may or may not charge fees, and then transferred out of the trust to the beneficiary. These costs and the costs associated with tax filings are often ignored by living trust marketers. There may be other costs as well depending upon the jurisdiction, such as real estate transfer taxes. The comparison of cost between probate and a living trust should be made on a case by case basis.
Source

Contact Chicago probate attorney Don Thompson for any of your probate issues. He is an experience attorney who is dedicated to his practice and has the skills necessary.

Witnesses to Wills in Chicago

To be valid a will must be in writing and signed by the testator or some person in his presence and at his direction and attested in the presence of the testator by two or more credible witnesses. The witnesses must state in court or in an attestation clause on the will that

1) they were present and saw the testator or some person in his or her presence and at his or her direction sign the will in the presence of the witnesses or that the testator acknowledged it to be his or her act,

2) the will was attested by the witness in the presence of the testator and

3) the witness believed the testator to be of sound mind and memory at the time of signing or acknowledging.

Any gift in a will to a witness or the witnesses' spouse is void if more than what the witness would get without the will, provided there aren't two or more other qualified witnesses.

Witnesses should not be family members (potential heirs) or anyone who potentially could benefit from a will's validity or invalidity. Even if they are permissible witnesses their credibility may be challenged.

Don Thompson is Chicago's #1 probate attorney. Contact him today for all of your probate needs.

Chicago Illinois Will Requirments

In Illinois to make a will a person must be 18 and of sound mind and memory. The will must be in writing and signed by the person making it who is called the testator. It can also be signed by some other person for the testator if it is signed in the testator's presence and at the testator's direction. It must be attested in the presence of the testator by two or more credible witnesses. If a witness is also a beneficiary of the will the gift to that witness or his or her spouse is void, unless there are sufficient other witnesses to prove the will. However, the witness may receive as much as the witness would have received if there were no will.

To admit a will to probate each of the two attesting witnesses must state:

1) the witness was present and saw the testator or some person in the testator's presence and at the testator's direction sign the will in the presence of the witness - or the testator acknowledged it to the witness as the testator's act;

2) The will was attested by the witness in the presence of the testator and;

3) The witness believed the testator to be of sound mind and memory at the time of signing or acknowledging the will. The statement of the witnesses can be presented to the court in person, by an attestation clause, which is part of the will, or by separate affidavit presented to the court. The affidavit does not have to be signed when the testator signed the will, but it has to recite the presence of the witness when the testator signed and all the other things required for admission of the will.

Naturally the witnesses have to be competent when they witnessed the will.

To further continue on your way of making a will in Chicago contact Donald M. Thompson. He has great experience in the field and does NOT overcharge for his services.

Chicago Arbitration Attorney

Investor claims against brokerage firms or their salespersons are seldom heard in court. In almost all cases the brokerage firm agreement that the customer signs when the account is opened contains an agreement to arbitrate. These agreements are enforceable and a court will not hear the case. If no such agreement exists the brokerage firm can still be forced to arbitrate because the rules of its regulator, the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), requires it. A customer who does not sign such an agreement cannot be forced to arbitrate.

Arbitration proceedings are usually heard by 3 arbitrators, except in smaller cases. They are usually filed with the NASD. However, some are filed with the American Arbitration Association or the exchanges where the securities involved are listed.

Arbitration proceedings are designed to be less formal than court cases with fewer motions and less time spent in discovery. The procedural rules and evidence rules applicable to court cases do not necessarily apply. However, the arbitrators are supposed to follow the rules of substantive law.

No appeals are allowed, except in extrordinary cases. An extraordinary case would be one where the panel lacked authority to decide the case or if it can be proved that the panel was biased. The fact that the panel may have been wrong is not grounds for an appeal.

About securities arbitration attorney Donald M. Thompson:

• Licensed to practice law by the Supreme Court of Illinois, U.S. District Court in Chicago, U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago, and U.S. Tax Court
• Member of Federal Trial Bar
• Arbitrator for National Association of Securities Dealers
• 1966 graduate of University of Chicago Law School
• Former assistant professor at IIT Chicago- Kent College of Law
• Former chair of Chicago Bar Association Corporation and Business Law Committee

Recent Cases

Financial Freedom v. Kirgis, 377 Ill.App.3d 107, 315 Ill.Dec.537, 877 N.E.2d 24, (1st Dist., 2007). A mortgage lender can foreclose a mortgage given by someone who died, although it cannot get a judgment against the decedent's estate for money unless it files a claim therefor within the time limits prescribed by the Probate Act.

Estate of Roller v. Allison and Davis, 377 Illl.App.3d 572, 316 Ill.Dec. 813, 880 N.E.2d 549 (4th Dist., 2007). By statute an adopted child is a descendant of the adopting parent for inheritance purposes. This rule also applies to a will or trust. With respect to instruments executed before September 1, 1955 it applies unless the intent to exclude the child is demonstrated by the terms of the instrument by clear and convincing evidence or the adopting parent, believing the child would not take under the instrument, acted to substantially  benefit the adopted child compared to the children born to the parent. Use of the words "natural children" or "heirs of the body" does not provide clear and convincing evidence of the document maker's intention to exclude adopted children.

Chicago Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claims

Breach of fiduciary duty is actionable in Illinois.

Brokers are fiduciaries for their customers in certain circumstances.

• when executing orders;
• when undertaking to render investment advice or investment management;
• when exercising discretionary authority over a customer's account.
  
  To get you moving along on your Breach of Fiduciary Duty make sure to contact Donald Thompson.

Chicago Subcontracting Lawyer

Sometimes subcontracting should be considered. It allows various parts of the business to be carved out and handled by someone else who may be better able to handle them. For instance, you may be terrific at sales and have an idea for a wonderful new product, but you may not have any production expertise or ability or plant and equipment. Having someone else make the product for you in this situation makes sense.

Inventors sometimes take this step even further. They may be good inventors, but have no sales or production abilities. They may be good inventors, but have no sales or production abilities. They frequently have someone else sell as well as produce their invention. They license the rights of manufacture and sale to someone else and in return are paid a royalty. This goes much further than subcontracting, but it represents the extreme extension of the process of turning over parts of the business to others. Of course, if you turn over all parts of your business to others on a subcontract basis, there will be little left for you to do, or be paid for.

Subcontracting also can be used as a form of financing. If you turn over production to someone else they have to finance it. They must invest in the plant, equipment, wages and supplies. You will no longer have to buy the plant and equipment or provide the working capital. Your costs will be limited to the price of what you buy for resale as you need it.

There are drawbacks to subcontracting. One is that the subcontractor gets the profit attributable to the part of the work it does. Another is that you will not longer be in control of quality or production schedules. Your job may not be the highest priority job for the contractor either. You are also subject to the subcontractor's own problems. If its creditors close it down, you have a supply problem.

Hiring sales reps or using a distributor to sell your products is another from of subcontracting, although not usually thought of as such. This enables you to expand your sales opportunities or even to obtain sales skills if you do not have any. You should be aware that the sales rep or distributor will usually have other products to sell and may neglect yours. Or it may do something which gives your product a bad name.

Subcontracting involves contracting. You are making a contract with someone else. Who gets the better end of the deal will depend on relative bargaining strength. Whatever the terms of the particular deal, you should always retain the right to terminate it on short notice without giving any reason. Otherwise, you may be stuck with someone making your product wrong or late or someone who is mistreating the customers.

Part of the business you are buying can also be resold to the subcontractors. This can be done at the same time as your purchase. This reduces your cash needs in the purchase.

This site contains basic information on business law. It is not legal advice for your particular situation. The information in this site is based solely on Illinois law and is applicable only to Illinois residents.

For a preliminary consultation about your business law issues in the areas listed below or other areas, please feel free to call Chicago Business Attorney Donald Thompson here.

Chicago Illinois Asset Protection Attorney

This refers to preventing creditors from getting your assets. There are no magic techniques. A variety of techniques are used which may include:

    1. Transferring your assets to your spouse - or someone else who is cooperative. There is an unlimited gift tax exemption for transfers to a spouse.

    2. Tenancy by the Entireties. This is a type of joint tenancy between married people for their residence. The creditors of one spouse cannot levy on the residence as they can when it is owned in an ordinary joint tenancy.

    3. Putting your assets into a form exempt from execution by judgment creditors. A good example is a retirement plan or IRA (in Illinois.) Another exempt asset is life insurance payable to a spouse or dependant, including the cash value. (Creditors can levy on distributions from these plans or insurance).

    4. Putting your assets in limited partnerships or LLC's created under the laws of a few states where the creditors can get only a charging order (a right to get distributions from the entity) rather than an order to sell the ownership interest. You can get the money out in salary - not distributions on the ownership interest.

    5. Trusts in general. An irrevocable trust (for someone else's benefit) puts assets in it (but not distributions) beyond the claim of your creditors. A revocable trust that provides how its assets are distributed after your death protects the assets from your (not the beneficiary's) creditor's claims after your death - but not before.

    6. Spendthrift trusts. These are trusts that do not allow a creditor of a beneficiary to attach the beneficiary's interests. They are valid, but only if the beneficiary is someone other than the creator of the trust.

    7. Domestic irrevocable asset protection trusts are now permissible in several states. In effect they are spendthrift trusts for the benefit of the creator of the trust. They basically provide that a creditor of the grantor cannot get the trust assets. Illinois has no such law. To have the law of one of these other states apply to a trust set up by an Illinois resident that state must have a substantial relationship to the trust such as a trustee being in that state and/or location of the assets there. Since domestic asset protection trusts are new, certain questions, such as what state's laws will apply, are not yet settled.

    8. Foreign asset protection trusts. Some countries don't grant "full faith and credit" to a foreign judgment. A creditor having a U.S. judgment cannot enforce it in those countries. The creditor must institute a new law suit there. This alone discourages creditors. If a creditor does sue the trust assets can be distributed to another trust in another country with similar laws before the creditor gets judgment.

    9. Limited liability entities. These are corporations, limited liability companies, limited partnerships and limited liability partnerships. If these are set up and operated properly creditors of the business can only get the business assets. They cannot go outside the business and collect from assets of the owners. Note that creditors of the owners can get the owner's interests in the corporation or partnership and to some degree, the limited partnership and limited liability company.

    10. Keeping ownership of assets used by a business outside the business. The creditors of a business can get its assets. They cannot get assets it leases. For this reason owners of assets like real estate used by businesses they own often do not put the real estate in the entity owning the business. They lease it to the entity. This goes for any valuable asset and often includes equipment or other things used by the business. If the asset is of a type which can generate claims, then the asset can be owned by another limited liability entity.

    11. Separating risks. If two businesses are conducted or a single business is conducted in separate locations each can be owned by a separate limited liability entity. That way if one goes under the assets of the other will not be exposed.

Some of these devices can be attached by creditors under fraudulent transfer laws. If a transfer is not for equivalent value and is intended to defeat known and existing claims and the transferor does not retain sufficient assets there is a fraudulent transfer which a creditor can get a court to revoke.

Contact Chicago Business Attorney Don Thompson Today.