Fred H. DicksonEstate & Tax Planning | Trust, Estate & Probate Administration |
Trust & Estate Litigation | Business Structuring & Counseling Email fred@dicksonlaw.net • Phone 630.897.8840 • Fax 630.897.8870
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Fred is a fellow of the American College of Trusts and Estate Counsel, an honor bestowed upon very few attorneys. He focuses in the areas of estate and tax planning, trust, estate and probate administration, and business structuring and counseling.
Fred enjoys helping people accomplish their personal goals. He has an extensive background assisting clients in the transfer of small businesses and farms during their lifetime or at death while minimizing taxes and expenses. Many of his estate plans are sophisticated and involve using wills, trusts, limited liability companies, family limited partnerships and other closely held entities. He has represented fiduciaries as well as beneficiaries in various estate and probate disputes in state courts. In addition, he has represented taxpayers in income and estate tax matters before the IRS and in federal court.
In doing this work, Fred has received recognition of the American College of Trusts and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), an international association of approximately 2,600 trust and estate attorneys whose fellowship is granted solely by invitation, based upon the individual member’s presentations and publications to fellow lawyers.
Fred is a former chairman of the Illinois State Bar Association’s Federal Tax Section and council member of the Illinois State Bar Association’s Trust and Estate Section. He is also a former editor of the Illinois State Bar Association’s Federal Tax Newsletter. He is a Martindale-Hubbell AV-rated attorney. He was also honored by his peers as an Illinois “Super Lawyer” and “Leading Lawyer” in the area of trusts, wills, and estate planning law, honors accorded to less than five percent of eligible practitioners.
Fred enjoys helping people accomplish their personal goals. He has an extensive background assisting clients in the transfer of small businesses and farms during their lifetime or at death while minimizing taxes and expenses. Many of his estate plans are sophisticated and involve using wills, trusts, limited liability companies, family limited partnerships and other closely held entities. He has represented fiduciaries as well as beneficiaries in various estate and probate disputes in state courts. In addition, he has represented taxpayers in income and estate tax matters before the IRS and in federal court.
In doing this work, Fred has received recognition of the American College of Trusts and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), an international association of approximately 2,600 trust and estate attorneys whose fellowship is granted solely by invitation, based upon the individual member’s presentations and publications to fellow lawyers.
Fred is a former chairman of the Illinois State Bar Association’s Federal Tax Section and council member of the Illinois State Bar Association’s Trust and Estate Section. He is also a former editor of the Illinois State Bar Association’s Federal Tax Newsletter. He is a Martindale-Hubbell AV-rated attorney. He was also honored by his peers as an Illinois “Super Lawyer” and “Leading Lawyer” in the area of trusts, wills, and estate planning law, honors accorded to less than five percent of eligible practitioners.
Education
- Undergraduate & Bachelor of Laws Degrees - University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1962 & 1964
- Master of Laws Degree (L.L.M.) in Taxation - Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago Kent College of Law, 1986
Practice Areas
- Estate & Tax Planning
- Trust, Estate & Probate Administration
- Trust & Estate Litigation
- Business Structuring & Counseling
Admissions & Licensure
Bars & Courts
- Illinois State Bar, 1964
- United States District Court - Northern District of Illinois, 1965
- United States Tax Court, 1987
- American Bar Association
- Illinois State Bar Association
- Kane County Bar Association
- DuPage County Bar Association
LECTURES & PRESENTATIONS
As a frequent lecturer, Fred has presented informative and timely seminars and lectures in the areas of estate planning and tax issues.
Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education:
Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education:
- Estate and Gift Tax Returns
- Preparing and Filing Estate Tax Returns
- How to Avoid an IRS Examination of a Federal Estate Tax Return
- Practical Guidance to Planning and Drafting Family Limited Partnerships
- Family Partnerships
- Tax Apportionment – The Most Dangerous Paragraph in the Will (Law Education Series on Estate Planning)
- Planned, moderated, and presented at the Annual Tax Course, Law Ed Seminar, for practicing attorneys on a variety of tax and probate issues, including tax treatment of qualified retirement benefits of decedents, use of disclaimers in post-mortem planning, and tax apportionment.
- Moderated and planned several Federal Tax Short Courses.
Publications
Fred has authored numerous articles for the Illinois State Bar Association’s Federal Tax Section Newsletter, Trust and Estate Section Council, and “Bar News.”
Publications include:
Publications include:
- “Estate and Gift Tax Returns”
- “Preparing and Filing Estate Tax Returns”
- “How to Avoid an IRS Examination of a Federal Estate Tax Return”
- “Practical Guidance to Planning and Drafting Family Limited Partnerships”
- “Family Partnerships”
- “Tax Apportionment – The Most Dangerous Paragraph in the Will”
other highlights
- Served as editor of the Federal Tax Newsletter for the Illinois State Bar Association.
- Led a statewide initiative to establish voluntary certification programs for Illinois estate planning attorneys in specialized practice areas.
- Established the Kane County Bar Association Estate and Probate Collegium for local attorneys interested in problem solving estate planning issues.