Corporations and Limited Liability Companies

The use of corporations and Limited Liability Companies is an effective way to protect your personal assets from exposure to your business creditors. A corporation can provide this protection at a cheaper cost, but is not as effective as the Limited Liability Company. From the reverse side, a judgment creditor of an individual shareholder could attach the stock interest of the shareholder and take his interest in the corporation.

Limited Liability Companies are more costly to set up, but provide better protection from your LLC creditors attaching your personal assets. Again from the reverse side, a judgment creditor against an individual member will not be able to take over his interest but is limited to a charging order against the distributions the member actually receives from the LLC.

Illinois provides for the opportunity to create a Series LLC, which enables various investments to be held in separate LLC's. under the cover of the original LLC. Setting up series LLC's is much more cost effective than setting up individual ones for each separate investment and treats each as a separate entity in litigation.

Contract Litigation

Disputes and Conflicts will occur in your personal and business relations. Sometimes it's just a misunderstanding, but other times there is or will be real injury that must be addressed.

Generally, negotiated settlements are preferable to litigation. This requires the ability to decipher between the needs and wants of the respective parties, and determining wherein their respective leverage lies.

When settlement is not possible, then litigation becomes your only recourse.

Wills and Living Trusts

While no one likes to dwell on it, it is prefereable to plan out the disposition of your assets upon your death. If you don't make this decision, the state will make it for you.

In some cases a will is suficient, but in many cases a living trust will serve you better as it avoids the costly expense of Probate and court supervision and allows a more efficient and quicker disposition of assets to your heirs.