O'Neil, Cannon, Hollman, DeJong & Laing S.C.

The attorneys at O’Neil, Cannon, Hollman, DeJong & Laing S.C. focus on meeting the many needs of businesses and their owners. Our experienced attorneys work with businesses and their owners at all stages of the business life cycle, helping them start, grow, and transition their businesses. We also assist business owners with their personal legal needs, including tax and estate planning, and family law.

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Latest from O'Neil, Cannon, Hollman, DeJong & Laing S.C.

Donor-advised funds, or DAFs, are a popular way for individuals to support charitable organizations they care about while also receiving potential tax benefits. A DAF is essentially a charitable investment account that allows individuals to make a tax-deductible donation and then invest those account funds for tax-free growth. The individual can then recommend grants to virtually any IRS-qualified public charity.

Creating a DAF is simple and straightforward. First, an individual must establish a “giving account” with a public charity.
Continue Reading Donor-Advised Funds, a Great Way to Do Charitable Giving

A Qualified Personal Residence Trust (QPRT) allows a homeowner to transfer their personal residence to a trust for a specified period of time, after which the residence is transferred back to the homeowner or to a designated beneficiary. QPRTs are often used as a tax-saving strategy for homeowners who want to reduce the value of their estate for estate tax purposes.

One of the main benefits of a QPRT is the ability to remove the value of a personal
Continue Reading Qualified Personal Residence Trusts – A Planning Technique to Save the Family Home from Estate Taxes

An Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust (ILIT) is a special kind of trust that is designed to own life insurance. The key characteristic of an ILIT is that it is irrevocable, meaning that it cannot be changed or dissolved once it is created. This characteristic is important because it allows the trust assets to be removed from the estate of the person who creates it, which can help to reduce estate taxes.
An ILIT requires at least one trustee to
Continue Reading Tax & Wealth Advisor Alert: Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust, a Technique to Eliminate Estate Taxes on Life Insurance Proceeds and to Provide Liquidity to an Estate Plan

Inheritance Disputes are Common Even Among the Wealthy

An inheritance dispute appears to be brewing following the recent death of Elvis Presley’s only child, Lisa Marie. According to various news outlets, Lisa Marie appointed her mother, Priscilla Presley, and her then manager, Barry Siegel, as co-trustees of her trust in 1993. Following Lisa Marie’s death on January 12, 2023, Priscilla discovered an amendment to the trust purportedly signed in 2016 that replaced both Priscilla and Barry Siegel as co-trustees.
Continue Reading The Recent Death of Lisa Marie Presley Leads to Brewing Trust Dispute

The Spousal Lifetime Access Trust (SLAT) is a type of irrevocable trust that allows married couples to transfer assets to their spouse and other family members while removing those assets from their combined estates. This type of trust can help high net worth individuals take advantage of the federal lifetime gift and estate tax exclusion, which is currently $12.92 million per person in 2023, or $25.84 million per married couple, while still retaining limited access to the assets, if
Continue Reading Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts, A Powerful Estate Planning Tool for Complex Estates

In recent years, the U.S. Supreme Court has made major employment law headlines with its Bostock  decision (holding sexual orientation and gender identity are protected classes under Title VII) and Epic Systems decision (holding class-action waivers are enforceable against employees), among others. It looks like 2023 will be no different. In addition to taking up the rights of employers to sue unions for damages incurred during strikes and asking the Solicitor General to weigh in on what actions can
Continue Reading Religious Accommodation in Employment Will Have Its Day at the High Court

In a year-end gift of sorts to tax professionals, payment processing companies, and individuals pursuing eBay and other small-transaction side hustles, the IRS has delayed a new transaction reporting requirement that some believed would cause confusion among taxpayers and tax preparers alike.
Many More Payments Were to Be Reported to the IRS
The new reporting requirement would have required companies such as Venmo, PayPal, eBay, and Etsy that process business-related payments to provide each individual who received more than
Continue Reading IRS Postpones $600 Payment Processor 1099-K Reporting Requirement

In April of 2022, Wisconsin passed new business entity laws, greatly impacting limited liability companies and their members, and largely overhauling and replacing Chapter 183 of the Wisconsin Statutes, which governs LLCs. This article will help you identify the key changes under the new LLC laws, as well as point you towards the next steps in preparing for this overhaul—including decisions to be made before year-end. For purposes of this article, we’ll refer to the new Chapter 183, the
Continue Reading How Do Wisconsin’s New LLC Laws Impact My Company?

In the summer flurry of packing and planning to transition their high school student to college life, many parents overlook the legal documents that can help families in the event of a student’s financial or health emergency. As many parents learn the hard way when their child suffers a physical or mental health crisis, the law generally prohibits a hospital or medical provider from sharing information about their adult child without their child’s consent regardless of whether the child
Continue Reading Home for the Holidays: Give the Gift of Legal Planning for your College Student

Tuesday, November 8, 2022, is Election Day. Although early voting is underway, many people will want to vote in-person on Election Day. All Wisconsin employers, regardless of size, are required to provide employees who are eligible to vote up to three consecutive hours of unpaid leave to vote while the polls are open (from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m.). Employees must request the time off prior to Election Day. Employers cannot deny voting leave on the basis that employees
Continue Reading Vote! And Remember That Your Employees are Entitled to Time Off to Vote!

The circumstances involving Anne Heche’s estate are a stark reminder of the uncertainties that may exist following the death of a loved one and the issues that can arise even when someone thinks they have their estate plan in place.

Heche’s (Possible) Will

When the Emmy Award-winning actress died after a fiery car crash in August 2022, she left behind two sons. After her death, her former partner, James Tupper, the father of the younger of Heche’s sons, came
Continue Reading Anne Heche’s Will Contest: A Cautionary Tale

As individuals grow older, they are often inclined to add a child to their financial accounts to assist them with paying bills and managing assets. While this strategy is convenient, it can lead to financial abuse and can also derail estate plans.

A joint account is a financial account with one or more owners, who both have rights of survivorship. Upon the death of one owner, the balance of the account passes to the surviving owner without probate, regardless
Continue Reading How Joint Accounts Can Ruin Your Estate Plan

Although tax season may end for many individuals after returns are filed on April 15, for others it may be just the beginning. Many people receive a notice from the IRS as they process returns. These communications from the IRS are common and aren’t necessarily a sign of trouble. If you receive a notice, read it carefully, address it promptly, and consider whether you should contact a lawyer.

Most notices from the IRS are regarding incomplete or incorrect information
Continue Reading Understanding Common Notices Individuals Receive from the IRS

We must always expect the unexpected. We can be careful and prudent in our daily lives, but there are certain things that are out of our control, like death. In the event of your untimely death, are you able to provide ongoing support to your loved ones and important causes? By securing life insurance and establishing a comprehensive estate plan, you can help protect your family and loved ones and support your charitable causes after your death.

What is
Continue Reading How Does Life Insurance Work with an Estate Plan?

The IRS has reminded taxpayers who pay estimated taxes that the deadline to submit their third quarter estimated tax payments is September 15, 2022. The fourth and final estimated tax payment for tax year 2022 is due January 17, 2023.  Taxpayers not subject to withholding, such as those who are self-employed, investors, or retirees, may need to make quarterly estimated tax payments. Taxpayers with other income not subject to withholding, including interest, dividends, capital gains, alimony, cryptocurrency, and rental
Continue Reading IRS Reminds Individual Taxpayers of September 15 Deadline for Third Quarter Estimated Tax Payments

On August 16, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued a decision in EEOC v. Wal-Mart Stores East, L.P. (found here), holding that Wal-Mart did not discriminate against pregnant employees by reserving temporary light duty positions only for those employees injured on the job. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) commenced its action against Wal-Mart in 2018 by claiming that Wal-Mart’s denial of temporary light duty work to pregnant women violated Title VII of
Continue Reading Seventh Circuit Holds That Employer Did Not Discriminate Against Pregnant Employees