Robert J. Kolasa, a principal in The Law Offices of Robert J. Kolasa, Ltd., in Lake Forest, is the author of “Making Gifts Can Reduce Illinois Estate Taxes,” an article which appears in the December 2012 issue of the Illinois Bar Journal, the monthly magazine of the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA).

In the article, Kolasa writes that recent legislation makes the Illinois estate tax permanent and set exclusion amounts at $3.5 million in 2012 and $4 million in future years. While the higher limits exempt many estates, wealthier clients should consider making gifts to substantially reduce Illinois estate taxes.

The 33,000-member ISBA (isba.org), with offices in Springfield and Chicago, provides professional services to Illinois lawyers, and education and services to the public through a website (illinoislawyerfinder.com), a cable television program (“Illinois Law”), consumer brochures, and distribution of legal information.