Chicago's Legal Latte

  Under the Illinois Limited Liability Company Act, Illinois limited liability companies (LLCs) may be member-managed or manager-managed.  This podcast will explain the differing roles of manager and member in an LLC, explain how the management election is made, and the consequences attendant in each choice.  The podcast will conclude with a preferred choice of management structure.

Shoplifting is a serious crime in Illinois and the law imposes harsh penalties on anyone who is caught stealing from a store. The statute in Illinois governing the criminal offense of retail theft is 720 ILCS 5/16A-13. Anyone who is charged with retail theft for the first time is likely to be surprised at how easily this offense becomes a felony.

  Out of state divorces: how long must you be a resident of Illinois to file for divorce here?     Divorce isn’t always just about becoming single again. Many times, it is about getting a fresh start in life. Some people find that when they separate from a spouse and plan for a divorce, that process can involve moving to another city or another state. A question many of those people have is “Where should I file for divorce?” This Podcast addresses the issues of residency requirements for divorcing in Illinois, including discussions of residency of husbands, wives, and any minor children involved in a divorce proceeding. It also addresses what happens if a divorcing couple owns property or assets in another state.

  This podcast will discuss the modification of child support obligations, both from the obligor’s and obligee’s standpoint and necessary elements required to effectuate a modification of a support obligation.  

  Find out if you are currently misclassifying your employees as independent contractors, what can happen if you are, and an IRS program to help you resolve the problem at dramatically reduced cost.

  Effective January 1, 2012, the Illinois Residential Real Property Transfer on Death Instrument Act (“Act”), 755 ILCS 27/1 et seq., authorizes owners to transfer their Illinois residential real estate outside of probate using a prerecorded “Transfer on Death Instrument” (“TODI”).  This podcast will discuss the Act and its application.

  If You Don't Have an Estate Plan, the State of Illinois Will Provide One For You.  What happens to your possessions, your family, and your business if you die without an estate plan?  Find out with Lavelle Law, Ltd. Attorney Heather G. Walser.

95% of lawsuits settle – but when do they settle and why?

  On May 21st, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced a significant change in its Offer in Compromise (OIC) program by offering more taxpayer-friendly terms to its OIC program that will enable many more financially distressed taxpayers to clear up their tax problems.  You may be one of those taxpayers who now can benefit from the revised OIC program. This podcast will discuss one of the steps an individual or corporation could take when they cannot pay their taxes due.

  One of the most detrimental effects to businesses and individuals of incurring federal tax liabilities is the IRS’s filing of a federal tax lien. In addition to harming negatively impacting a taxpayer’s credit rating, a tax lien can affect an individual’s ability to sell assets, such as real estate, to obtain financing, or in certain circumstances to secure employment. In this podcast we will explain what a federal tax lien is, the impact the filing of a lien can have, and what can be done to address a lien.

  There are a lot of misconceptions about what it means to have “child custody.” While some people think that “child custody” just means which parent lives with the child, it also means which parent makes decisions regarding schooling, religion, medical care, and child care. Temporary child custody is an important part of many divorce and child support cases, especially when the cases can take a year or more to resolve. In this session, we explore what temporary child custody entails and how you get it.

  Before you sell a home, you have an obligation to disclose defects to the buyer.  It is better to disclose a defect up front than be sued later for failing to disclose it.   And before buying a home, make sure you do an inspection!  If you don’t inspect, you could miss serious defects that might cost you thousands of dollars to repair.

There are cost effective ways for clients to use the services of a collections attorney to collection past due accounts receivables.

Due to the delay in obtaining Medicare certification, those agencies with provider numbers rose in value.  A market for Medicare certified home health agencies developed, where entities were created for the sole purpose of “flipping” them to others for a significant profit.  Medicare viewed such transactions as abusive.  Ultimately the party who turned out to be the operator of the entity was not the party who underwent the certification process.  As a result, changes were made and now the “36 month rule” applies to certain transfers of home health agencies.

Illinois law prohibits a person under age 21 from purchasing, accepting, possessing or consuming alcoholic beverages. Infractions result in the suspension or revocation of driving privileges. Any person under age 21 who receives court supervision for the transfer, possession, and consumption of alcoholic beverages will receive a 3-month suspension of driving privileges. Aside from the loss of driving privileges, possible fines and jail time, other consequences caused by drinking and driving may include high insurance costs, mandatory alcohol evaluation and treatment, court and attorney fees and negative long-term effects on your driving record and job opportunities.