Estate Planning Lawyers in Chicago
Sawyier & Williams, LLP
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425 West Buffalo Street U.S. 12 New Buffalo, Michigan 49117 USA |
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(269) 469-0082
or (886) 656-9303
(269) 469-6292
www.estateplanningattorneychicago.com
Contact the Firm
Law Firm Overview
Sawyier & Williams, LLP can help you determine the best way to transfer your assets before and after death to ensure that the people you want to get your money receive as much as possible, in the exact manner you desire. Our firm provides highly experienced, reasonably priced professional legal services in the areas of asset protection, trusts and estate planning, estate administration, elder law, real estate, and business law, including tax planning, to help its clients carry out their own customized legal plans in accordance with the firm’s motto, "Totally Committed To Client Service."
Our firm was established to serve clients throughout the Chicago area and Northwest Indiana. With the opening of our Michigan office, in New Buffalo, Berrien County, Michigan, we are now bringing the same level of client commitment and professional expertise that has been our motto and pledge from the start to clients in the entire Michiana area. We believe that this multi-state perspective and practice enable us to serve our clients in all three states better than if we confined our practice to only one state.
Licensed as an attorney in Illinois for more than 35 years and in Indiana for more than 25 years, Michael T. Sawyier, the founder of the firm, has long had the vision of creating a bi-state firm that brings top-quality, reasonably priced professional legal services to its clients. Thus, associate attorneys Charles Maupin and Claudia Neri are also licensed in Illinois and Indiana. Jason Williams, the firm's other partner, is presently licensed only in Illinois, but is regularly available for litigation in Indiana by motion (pro hac vice) to the court. Our Of Counsel attorneys, Herbert S. Lasser and Richard F. Ruby, are licensed in both Indiana and Illinois (in Mr. Ruby’s case, in Michigan as well) and bring a wealth of their own long-time professional experience to the service of the firm’s clients.
Practice Areas
Additional Practice Areas: Creditors' Rights; Limited Liability Entities; Guardianship; Long Term Health Care; Purchase and Sale of Businesses; Durable Powers of Attorney; Healthcare Proxies; Living Wills; Service Marks; Property taxes; Financial Restructuring; Debt Modification
Practice Areas Description
The Law Offices of Sawyier & Williams, LLP provides legal representation on the following areas of practice:- Asset Protection
An asset protection plan protects your personal assets from the claims of potential creditors. At its simplest, this planning begins with umbrella liability insurance, married couples' ownership of their homes in tenancy by the entirety (as opposed to joint tenancy), and basic exemption planning by the preferential holding of assets in forms that are exempt from judgment execution.
- Trusts, Wills, & Estates
You have worked hard for many years building your estate. Upon your death, what will happen to all of your hard-earned money? Sawyier & Williams, LLP can help you determine the best way to transfer your assets before and after death to ensure that the people you want to get your money receive as much as possible, in the exact manner you desire.
- Healthcare Law
Our healthcare practice helps our clients manage the complex regulatory, commercial, and professional responsibilities of healthcare providers. The healthcare industry requires providers to navigate the labyrinth of state and federal regulation, insurance systems, and third-party payments. When necessary, our firm is prepared to vigorously represent our healthcare clients by litigating, arbitrating, mediating, or negotiating any related disputes.
- Tax Planning
Our firm believes that tax law is at the heart of business law and is critical to many aspects of estate and business planning. We consider the tax implications in every plan we develop for our clients. Our many years of professional experience in tax planning, combined with our founder’s advanced degree in Tax Law and on-going studies in taxation, enable us to help our clients minimize their income, employment, and transfer taxes consistent with their other planning objectives.
- Business Law
Our business law practice concentrates on forming, operating, and representing all forms of business and investment entities. This includes limited liability companies, privately held corporations, partnerships and other limited liability entities. In providing comprehensive services to our clients, we counsel our clients on the best tax-planning strategies to help minimize their tax liabilities and maximize the value of their businesses. We believe the best way to assist our business clients is to fully understand their respective businesses.
- Intellectual Property
The most valuable asset a business may possess is its intellectual property. The name brand of your company or the name of a product you manufacture may be more valuable than your infrastructure, equipment, and inventory. Whether you are an individual, a start-up company or an established company, our firm can help you discover what intellectual property you own and how best to protect that property.
- Real Estate
Our firm’s real estate practice relates to our core practice in estate planning, tax planning, trusts and estates, and asset protection. Because real estate is such an important part of many clients’ estates, creating an estate plan requires legal restructuring of the ownership of the real estate. For example, new limited liability entities may need to be formed to own and operate investment property, entities themselves owned by clients’ trusts or by other entities owned in turn by clients’ trusts. The logical reasons for such restructured ownership are compelling, but there are, of course, numerous technical details involved in carrying out the necessary transfers. Mr. Sawyier and all the attorneys of the firm personally attend to all these details as part of our core practice.
- Litigation
Although administering wills, guardianships, or any estates in the probate court necessarily involves legal proceedings, these proceedings only become litigation if they are contested. Contested estates are often the result of inadequate estate planning. Indeed, many disputes involving trusts, wills, real estate, intellectual property rights, asset protection, business and corporate law—even tax law—could be avoided by careful advance planning. These are the best preventive measures against unnecessary litigation and are far better than "no contest" or similar clauses.
Affiliations
- AARP
More Information on Sawyier & Williams, LLP
New Buffalo, MI Estate Planning LawyerElder Law Firm in New Buffalo, Michigan
New Buffalo, Michigan Business Law Firm
Real Estate Law Firm in New Buffalo, MI
New Buffalo, Michigan Tax Planning Lawyers
Litigation Attorneys in New Buffalo, Michigan
New Buffalo, MI Intellectual Property Lawyers
Asset Protection Attorneys in New Buffalo, MI
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