However, the Illinois estate tax works in mysterious ways.  Although the exclusion amount rises, a $5,000,000 estate will generate the same Illinois estate tax due for a decedent dying in 2011 or 2012.

Of course, estate planning is a major part of the work we do at Culbertson & Allen, LLC.  If you need assistance with estate planning, please give us a call at the office at (309) 244-8204.

Paul A. Reed, John R. Reed, and Jonathan F. Reed will sell the following:

Tract 1:

The East Half (E½) of the Southwest Quarter (SW¼) of Section 3, Township 21 North, Range 5 West of the Third Principal Meridian, Mason County, Illinois; EXCEPTING THEREFROM the following described parcel, to wit:

Part of the East Half (E½) of the Southwest Quarter (SW¼) of Section
3, Township 21 North, Range 5 West of the Third Principal Meridian,
Mason County, Illinois, described as follows:

Commencing at the Southwest corner of the East Half (E½) of the
Southwest Quarter (SW¼) of said Section 3; thence Northerly along the
West line of the said East Half (E½) of the Southwest Quarter (SW¼) a
distance of 1097.00 feet to the Point of Beginning; thence continuing
Northerly along said West line a distance of 465.00 feet; thence Easterly,
perpendicular to the last described course, a distance of 265.00 feet;
thence Southerly, parallel with the West line of said East Half of the
Southwest Quarter a distance of 465.00 feet; thence Westerly,
perpendicular to the last described course, a distance of 265.00 feet to the
Point of Beginning, containing 2.829 acres, more or less,

AND FURTHER EXCEPTING THEREFROM the following described parcel, to wit:

The East 75 feet of even width of the East Half (E½) of the Southwest
Quarter (SW¼) of Section 3, Township 21 North, Range 5 West of the
Third Principal Meridian, Mason County, Illinois.

Tract II:

The South Half (S½) of the Northwest Quarter (NW¼) of the Southwest Quarter (SW¼) of Section 3, Township 21 North, Range 5 West of the Third Principal Meridian, Mason County, Illinois.

Tract III:

The South Half (S½) of the Northeast Quarter (NE¼) of the Southeast Quarter (SE¼) of Section 4, Township 21 North, Range 5 West of the Third Principal Meridian, Mason County, Illinois.

Location. The farm is located 2¾ miles West of the Mason-Logan County Line at San Jose on Rte 136, and approximately one-half mile South, near Allen Station, and is commonly known as the John F. L. Reed farm.

Improvements. The tract is unimproved.

Soils, FSA cropland. Supervisor of Assessment records show acreages totalling 111.62 A. FSA records indicate 104.8 cropland acres. Predominant soils appear to be Thorp, Elburn, and Drummer.

Contract. The successful bidder will be called upon to enter into a contract for the purchase of the property on the following terms: 10% of the sale price on acceptance of the bid and the balance on or before November 8, 2011. Buyer will receive an ALTA title policy subject to usual exceptions for roads and highways, drainage, and easements of record; a credit will be given for the 2011 taxes, and any 2011 drainage taxes will be paid by Seller or credited at closing. Seller retains landlord’s rights to 2011 rent or crop; tenant’s lease ends December 31, 2011, and full possession will be given on January 1, 2012.

Procedure. Bids should specify the name of the bidder and the bid per acre. Per acre bids will be multiplied by 110 acres, and the resulting sale price will be the sale price in gross. Sealed bids may be mailed or delivered to the office of Culbertson & Allen, LLC, any time prior to October 7, 2011, at 4:30 P.M. or may be brought to the bid opening. Bids will be opened at the basement community room of First Farmers State Bank, 301 S. Locust Street, Delavan, Illinois 61734, on Saturday, October 8, 2011, at 10:00 A.M. and any bidder may be present at the bid opening for the purpose of raising his or her bid. Seller reserves the right to reject any and all bids. Any of the above terms of sale may be modified by an announcement made at the time the bids are opened.

For further information, visit our website at www.culbertsonandallenlawfirm.com or contact the following:

Culbertson & Allen, LLC
Mark E. Allen
Attorney for Seller

306 Locust St., P.O. Box 200
Delavan, IL 61734
(309) 244-8204

SALE BY SEALED BIDS

100 ACRES OF FARMLAND

TOWNSHIP OF HOPEDALE, TAZEWELL COUNTY, ILLINOIS

Saturday, September 17, 2011, at 10:00 A.M.

At First Farmers State Bank, 301 S. Locust Street

Delavan, Illinois 61734

Theresa Bajor will sell as one parcel the following:

Tract 1:    The Southeast Quarter (SE¼) of the Southeast Quarter (SE¼) of Section 14 and the South one-fourth of the Southwest Quarter (SW¼) of the Southeast Quarter (SE¼) of Section 14, all in Township 23 North, Range 3 West of the Third Principal Meridian (3rd P.M.), Tazewell County, Illinois.

PIN #18-18-14-400-005

AND

Tract 2:    The North half (N½) of the Northwest Quarter (NW¼) of the Northeast Quarter (NE¼) of Section 23; and 29.5 acres off of the North side of the Northeast Quarter (NE¼) of the Northeast Quarter (NE¼) of Section 23, Township 23 North, Range 3 West of the Third Principal Meridian (3rd P.M.), Tazewell County, Illinois.

PIN #18-18-23-200-001

Location.  The farm is located one-half mile east and one mile north of Hopedale, Illinois.

Improvements.  None.

Soils, FSA cropland.  FSA records indicate 101 farmland acres of which 95.9 acres are cropland acres.  Predominant soils appear to be Ipava, Sable, Stronghurst, and Tama.

Contract.  The successful bidder of a tract will be called upon to enter into a contract for the purchase of the property on the following terms: 10% of the sale price on acceptance of the bid and the balance on or before October 17, 2011.  Buyer will receive an ALTA title policy subject to usual exceptions for roads and highways, drainage; a credit will be given for the 2011 taxes, and any 2011 drainage taxes will be paid by Seller or credited at closing.  Seller retains landlord’s rights to 2011 rent or crop, and CRP payments for fiscal year ending September 30, 2011.  Tenant’s lease ends February 29, 2012, and full possession will be given on March 1, 2012, subject to CRP Contract for 1.4A. which Buyer will assume.

Procedure.  Bids should specify the name of the bidder and the bid per acre.  Per acre bids will be multiplied by 100 acres, and the resulting figure will be the sale price; Buyer may obtain a survey at Buyer’s sole expense, but the sale price shall not be affected by the number of acres disclosed by any survey.  Sealed bids may be mailed or delivered to the office of Culbertson & Allen, LLC any time prior to September 16, 2011, at 4:30 P.M. or may be brought to the bid opening.  Bids will be opened at the basement community room of First Farmers State Bank, 301 S. Locust St., Delavan, IL 61734, on Saturday, September 17, 2011 at 10:00 A.M. and any bidder may be present at the bid opening for the purpose of raising his or her bid.  Seller reserves the right to reject any and all bids.  Any of the above terms of sale may be modified by an announcement made at the time the bids are opened.

Culbertson & Allen, LLC

Mark E. Allen

Attorney for Seller

306 Locust St., P.O. Box 200

Delavan, IL 61734

(309) 244-8204

What is a Power of Attorney?

A power of attorney is a legal relationship by which the principal appoints an agent to deal with property or make personal and health care decisions for the principal.  The agent should be someone in whom the principal places great trust and confidence, as the agent may be given very broad powers to act for the principal.

I typically recommend as a part of each estate plan that a person have an Illinois Statutory Short Form Power of Attorney for Property (POAP) and an Illinois Statutory Short Form Power of Attorney for Health Care (POAHC) in place.  This is a very inexpensive way of guarding against the possibility that a principal may become disabled during the course of his or her lifetime.  In the absence of a POAP, an estate guardianship proceeding may be required to appoint someone with authority to invest, or sell, or use the principal’s assets for the benefit of the principal.  The proceeding may be time-consuming, expensive, embarrassing to the principal or painful for the family, inconvenient, cumbersome, and a lengthy and continuing process to obtain court approval of acts that could have been performed by an agent chosen by the principal if a POAP had been executed by the principal and properly witnessed before the disability arose.  The Illinois Statutory Short Form POAP is a durable power of attorney which remains in effect during the disability as specified by the principal.  Successor agents, each to act in the order named, may be designated in the form to replace an agent who becomes unable or unwilling to serve.

An Illinois Statutory Short Form POAHC addresses personal and health care decisions, and typically addresses issues at the end of the principal’s life, such as the possible cessation of life-sustaining treatment and disposition of the body upon death.

While the statutory short forms are amended by the recent legislation, forms properly signed and witnessed prior to the effective date will remain in effect after July 1.

What Changes are Coming to the Power of Attorney Act on July 1?

The amendments to the Act provide a form of notice to the principal for a POAP and for a POAHC as to the purpose and effect of each form.  The agent receives a notice for each form which reinforces the duties of the agent and acts which should be avoided.  The person designated as the agent must now formally accept appointment and certify that the principal is alive, had capacity to execute the power of attorney, has not revoked or altered the power of attorney, and that the power of attorney remains in full force and effect.

The new statutory short form POAP by its terms revokes all prior powers of attorney for property, and the new statutory short form POAHC by its terms revokes all prior powers of attorney for health care.  There was a concern that this automatic revocation in the POAP may have been a trap for the unwary, as a person could by signing a new POAP unwittingly and unintentionally revoke a very limited power of attorney, e.g., a bank power of attorney with respect to a particular bank account, or a vehicle power of attorney, or a power of attorney with respect to Farm Service Agency (FSA) benefits.  House Bill 1712 would include a statement in the statutory short form POAP that the revocation does not apply to “excluded” powers of attorney like those just cited.  H.B. 1712 has passed both houses of the Illinois General Assembly and on June 15, 2011, was sent to the governor.

If you have any questions about how these changes to the law affect you, please give me a call at my office here in Delavan.