Articles
Plain-English articles on Illinois estate planning, real estate, tax and small-business law, written under the byline of Hani H. Khatib, Attorney at Law · CPA · LL.M. (Taxation). Each article shows when it was published and last updated.
- Tax and IRS matters
Currently Not Collectible: When the IRS Pauses Collection
Currently not collectible status pauses IRS levies when paying would leave you unable to meet basic needs. What it stops, what it does not, and how to ask.
- Tax and IRS matters
First-Time Penalty Abatement: Who Qualifies and How to Ask
First-time penalty abatement removes IRS late-filing and late-payment penalties when your prior three years are clean. Who qualifies and how to ask.
- Estate planning
How Long Does Probate Take in Cook County? Time and Cost
A realistic Cook County probate timeline, from filing at the Daley Center to closing the estate, and what drives the cost: fees, bond and legal work.
- Estate planning
How Much Does Estate Planning Cost in Illinois?
What drives the cost of an Illinois estate plan: will or trust, deeds and recording fees, family and tax complexity, and how to read a lawyer's quote.
- Estate planning
Illinois Estate Tax: Exemption, Who Pays, and Planning
Illinois taxes estates over $4,000,000 with no portability. How the tax is computed, who files Form 700, the deadline, and what planning changes it.
- Business
Illinois LLC Annual Report: Due Date, Fee, and Late Penalty
When the Illinois LLC annual report is due, the $75 fee, the $100 late penalty, administrative dissolution, reinstatement, and the corporation rules.
- Estate planning
Illinois Small Estate Affidavit: Limit and How to Use It
When an Illinois small estate affidavit can replace probate: the $150,000 limit, the vehicle rule, the real estate exclusion, and how to present it.
- Tax and IRS matters
IRS Collection Notices Explained: CP504, LT11, Letter 1058
What each IRS collection notice means, from CP14 to the final notice of intent to levy, why some are certified, and how the 30-day CDP window works.
- Tax and IRS matters
IRS Fresh Start Program: What It Is and Is Not
Fresh Start is not an IRS program you can apply for. What the 2011-2012 changes did, what payment and settlement options exist today, and how to use them.
- Real estate
Land Trust vs LLC for an Illinois Rental Property
Illinois land trust or LLC for a rental: privacy, liability, the due-on-sale clause, the homeowner exemption, transfer tax, replacement tax and upkeep.
- Real estate
Quitclaim Deed vs Warranty Deed in Illinois: Which to Use
What an Illinois warranty deed promises and a quitclaim deed does not, when each is used, special warranty deeds, after-acquired title and transfer tax.
- Real estate
What Does a Real Estate Attorney Do in Illinois?
What an Illinois real estate attorney does for a buyer and a seller: attorney review, inspection and loan deadlines, title, deed, transfer tax, closing.
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