Law Firm Overview

PRE-DEATH PLANNING STRATEGIES:
A major part of the firm's service is Estate Planning, which is the process of passing your accumulated wealth and net worth to your beneficiaries, either in trust or outright, either upon death or during lifetime, with a minimum of estate, income, and gift taxes and administrative expenses. This includes estate and income tax avoidance and probate avoidance. This is "pre-death planning."

In our estate planning efforts we become familiar with your goals and concerns, your assets and how they are owned, and your family structure. Estate planning covers the transfer of property at death as well as a variety of other personal matters and may or may not involve tax planning. The main documents associated with this process are the Will and Trust. It is important to understand what happens to your property at death in order to understand the role and value of the Will and Trust in estate planning.


POST-DEATH PLANNING STRATEGIES:
The balance of the firm's services are in Probate and the Administration of Estates and Trusts. This is "post-death planning."

After an individual's death, his or her assets will be gathered, business affairs settled, debts paid, necessary tax returns filed (US Form 706 or US 1041), and ultimately assets distributed as the deceased individual (generally referred to as the "decedent") directed. Legal service generally will be conducted on behalf of the decedent through a person acting in a fiduciary capacity, either as executor (in some states called a personal representative) or as trustee, depending upon how the decedent held his or her property.


GENERAL OVERVIEW:
Mr. Ferraro is both an Attorney and a CPA. and has been in practice for over 20 years. It may be helpful to know the firm adopts a multidisciplinary approach toward legal representation in the transfer of wealth and accumulated assets. Mr. Ferraro began his career as a CPA and then became Tax Manager and then Legal Counsel for a large multinational diversified finance company. Since then, Mr. Ferraro has conducted his own law practice in Wills, Estates, Trusts, Probate, Estate Planning, and Estate Taxation.

Also, as a member of the commercial faculty of the American Arbitration Association, past President of the Justinian Society of Lawyers, and being a member of the panel of participating attorneys for the American Association of Retired Persons, Mr. Ferraro has been able to develop and provide a wide and diverse array of services for clients in his areas of concentration.

His professional affiliations have included the American Bar Association, the Illinois State Bar Association, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, American Association of Attorneys-CPAs, Inc., and the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP).

Also, with highly trained paralegals, the client can be assured that pre-death and post-death matters will be undertaken with great confidence and great care.

Mr. Ferraro's law practice is fully automated with the latest computer technology, software, and legal research capabilities.

Areas of Practice

• Commercial Transactional Law
• Estate Planning
• Elder Law
• Probate & Estate Administration
• Medicaid Asset Protection Planning
• Long Term Care Planning & Qualification
• Guardianship
• Estate Tax Matters
• Commercial Arbitration & Mediation

Honors and Awards

• Past President, Justinian Society of Lawyers, 1996 - 1997

Published Works

• THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW IF YOU ARE NAMED EXECUTOR OF A WILL OR TRUSTEE OF AN ESTATE, Rosemont Chamber of Commerce CommuniquE, January, 2000
• SUMMARY OF ESTATE PLANNING ISSUES, Rosemont Chamber of Commerce CommuniquE, January, 1999

Classes and Seminars

• A Will of Living Trust? Which is Better? Estate Planning Makes the Decision Easy, AARP, Loyola University, 1996 - Present
• You've Been Named Executor or Trustee: What Now?, College of Lake County, 1996 - Present
• Faculty Member, Commercial Disputes Instruction Panel, American Arbitration Association

West Practice Categories

Alternative Dispute Resolution, Arbitration, Mediation, Business & Commercial Law, Contracts, Transactions, Business Organizations, Business Successions, Closely Held Businesses, Formation & Business Planning, Partnerships, Estate Planning, Elder Law, Guardianships & Conservatorships, Living Wills, Powers of Attorney and Appointment, Trusts, Wills, Medicare & Medicaid, Mergers & Acquisitions, Probate & Estate Administration, Estate Administration, Real Estate Law, Commercial Real Estate, Taxation Law, Estate & Gift Taxation, Income Taxation