We are taking our social media efforts full force by recently joining Twitter! We want to update and educate on the topic of Elder Law to everyone we can reach! You can follow us by searching: @ChicagoElderLaw.

Tomorrow Kerry Peck will be speaking on the topic of adult guardianship at the Illinois State Bar Association’s “Basic’s of Elder Law”conference at the ISBA regional office in Chicago. His seminar will also be available via webcast to attorneys outside of the Chicagoland area.

To learn more or to register for tomorrow’s seminar, please visit: www.isba.org/cle/calendar.html.

This Spring, Gabriel Viti will be climbing Mount Everest to raise money for Keshet and Peck Bloom is proud to be supporting his every step.

Keshet provides educational, recreational and vocational programs for children and young adults with special needs. The money Viti rasies will go towards the Alex Gerrard scholarship. This fund helps children with Autism and other developmental disabilities attend camps and recreational activities throughout Chicagoland.

For more information or to donate to the Climb for Keshet Kids please visit their website at: www.keshet.org.

Ken Bloom, Partner, was quoted in a front page article of the Chicago Tribune on January 18, 2010, which focused on the need for same-sex couples to have an estate plan prepared, due to not having the legal protections awarded to married heterosexual couples.  A gay couple Ken developed a comprehensive estate plan for was interviewed by the Tribune to discuss their estate planning  and then recommended the reporter also interview Ken. In addition to the documents mentioned in the article, Ken took steps to ensure that upon the death of the first partner, the couple’s assets would be protected in a trust from the creditors of the surviving partner and the children, as well as eliminating estate tax upon those trust assets, in addition to other significant planning. 

Due to the complexity of their estate plan, the cost was toward the higher end of the average fee range.  However, everyone has different needs and requires different estate plans.  No two plans are alike, thus prices do vary.  To ensure the protection this particular couple required, the work was extensive, but the couple was quite satisfied with the end result. 

As always, an initial half-hour consultation with us is complimentary, so feel free to call us to determine your options or to make a referral.

*See Ken’s quote and read the full article, here: 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-gays-pay-more-18-jan18,0,2205178.story