Donald Higgins Email & Phone Number

Naperville, Il, Us

Naperville, Il, Us

Oak Brook, Illinois, United States

Oak Brook, Illinois

My emphasis was on estate planning and administration. I engaged in both standard and complex estate planning, including short-term (emergency) and long-term planning. In addition to my estate planning practice, I also assisted clients by guiding them through the complicated and complex world of Medicaid applications and planning. The rules and landscape of Medicaid are seemingly always changing, so having a passionate and dedicated advocate at the side of the client was incredibly important. I took that responsibility extremely seriously.I also incorporated my attention to detail and focus on long-term planning into small business administration. I assisted clients with business formation, annual compliance, modifications to corporate documents, and succession planning. The majority of small business owners in our county have not even considered business succession. With that in mind, I brought these ideas and suggestions to the table and got my clients thinking about this type of planning much earlier than the typical business owner. No one ever wants to think about the possibility of something going wrong, but the peace of mind that comes with planning these things early is priceless.The common denominator amongst estate planning, estate administration, and small business succession planning is relationships. While all of these have the benefit of providing security to clients, it is important to build familial relationships and maintain a great deal of trust throughout. The goal of each of my practice areas was to ensure that clients were prepared on the front end and that their family, friends, and loved ones are not overwhelmed on the back end. Understanding this propelled me to providing the very best counsel I could for all my clients.

Schaumburg, Il

I was responsible for the drafting of all firm documents, including revocable and irrevocable trusts, wills, powers of attorney, and other documents specific to the needs of the clients. For example, an estate plan for a married couple contains 40 separate documents.Being one of four attorneys in the firm, I was the primary point person for any client questions or concerns. This also included managing approximately 140 client files for drafting, funding, settlements, and the day-to-day needs of the clients.The position of Associate Attorney also included work as firm Funding Coordinator. The funding process begins as a meeting with the clients discussing their financial needs and what assets they do or do not want funded into their trusts. After the financial information is collected, a funding proposal is sent to the clients for their approval. Once the final plan is approved, it was my duty to contact the clients' financial institutions to make sure the assets are titled correctly. This way both the firm and the clients were able to confirm that the clients' trusts will properly work as designed, leaving all parties with peace of mind and a sense of security.While the firm continued to grow, I was able to branch out more into the area of business law. I developed and implemented a new process to streamline the establishment of new entities, including drafting operating agreements, filing documentation with the State, and providing a comprehensive suite of legal advisory and professional services for closely held companies.Utilizing the program Hot Docs in the firm allowed me to customize documents, letters, and forms for the firm, such as customized estate planning forms, state specific forms, corporate and LLC documents, and developing written procedures for the firm on their use and function.

Chicago, Illinois

As a full legal intern, it was my responsibility to do off-term research for the caucus legal staff. This included researching new areas of law in Illinois, such as new changes to the Illinois RICO laws; attending meetings with the Chief Legal Counsel, like the Joint Commission on Administrative Regulations (JCAR); and writing a letter to the Illinois Attorney General asking for a defined legal position on the use of Bitcoin in the State.When the members of the Caucus reached out to the House legal staff for information about new legislation or information about changing current legislation, I would oftentimes get the research and drafting started. Some of these areas included changes to the State adoption policies, enforcement of the State's workplace anti-bullying laws, qualifications for those registered in the State as sex offenders, and regulations requiring insurance companies to cover extreme weather or even weather events caused by climate change. No request was too big or too small, and no two requests were ever the same.Beyond all of that, I was also a regular member of the Caucus internship team. This collaborative effort between the Chicago and Springfield offices brought all of the interns together to help build and maintain a constituent-relations database for the party. At the end of the summer, the team was able to correctly identify nearly 13,000 constituent requests and help direct those to the proper member of the Caucus staff, thus promoting efficiency in local government, which is no small feat.

Doctor Of Law (J.D.), Law

Activities and Societies: Intellectual Property Law Association, Phi Alpha Delta law fraternity, Valpo Law Republicans, Sports.

"Ba", Political Theory And Constitutional Democracy