Hugh Fenton Drake

Hugh Drake practices in the areas of estate and business planning. He represents clients in wealth transfer and estate administration matters. Hugh is experienced in designing and implementing sophisticated and personalized estate plans. Hugh can develop estate plans which leverage the use of gift, estate and generation-skipping transfer tax exemptions, to pass wealth in a manner which is both tax efficient and creditor protected. He regularly advises clients with illiquid estates, such as business owners and farmers, to achieve their tax and non-tax objectives, such as succession planning. Hugh also represents fiduciaries in the administration of estates and trusts, the formation and operation of public charities, private foundations and sophisticated charitable giving techniques. He graduated from the University of Illinois (B.A. 1992), Southern Illinois University (M.A. 1994), and the University of Illinois College of Law (J.D., cum laude, 1999). Mr. Drake is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. He serves on the Section Council for American Bar Association Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Section and on the Illinois State Bar Association Business and Financial Planning Section Council. He is a frequent lecturer both nationally and locally, has published numerous articles on tax and estate planning in such publications as Trusts and Estates, Practical Tax Lawyer and Probate & Property, as well as being quoted in the Wall Street Journal.