Overview
Richard L. Dees advises owners of privately and publicly held companies and wealthy families on control, tax, and business planning issues. Richard helps clients save estate taxes and develop succession plans targeted for S corporations, and regularly consults with other lawyers, accountants, financial planners, insurance consultants and trust officers on Internal Revenue Service (IRS) litigation and structuring business transactions. He also has experience on the farm estate tax valuation rules under Code Section 2032A and advises farmers, landowners, and real estate professionals on a variety of tax, leasing and business-planning issues.
Richard is nationally known for his experience in using partnerships to save estate and income taxes and is one of the foremost authorities on the special estate tax rules under Chapter 14 affecting family businesses. He is the author of numerous tax-related articles on subjects that include estate planning techniques and its applications, family limited partnership (FLP) litigation and the court’s often flawed analysis, and estate tax benefits for farmers. His writings appear in publications such as Taxes Magazine and Tax Notes.
In addition, Richard’s speaking engagements include lectures on the subject of partnerships as an alternative to other estate planning techniques at the preeminent estate planning conference at the Heckerling Institute.
Recognitions
- Best Lawyers in America, 1993–2025, Trust and Estates, youngest-ever Illinois lawyer to receive this designation at the time of first listing
- Chambers High Net Worth, Illinois: Private Wealth Law, 2016–2024
- Super Lawyers, 2005–2015
Community
Credentials
Education
University of Illinois College of Law, JD, magna cum laude, 1980
Southern Illinois University, BS, 1977
Admissions
Illinois
