A tax attorney for the business you've built and the family behind it.
Tax is where the complexity hides — in the deal you're about to sign, the estate you're trying to protect, the notice you don't fully understand. My work is to make it make sense, then make it work in your favor. I'm a tax attorney; estate planning and business advisory come with the territory. Bring me the thing that's more complicated than it should be. Businesses, families, and individuals across Illinois, in person or virtually.
What matters most for you and the people you love.
Wills & trusts
The heart of a personal plan — a will, and often a revocable living trust — so your property passes the way you intend, privately and without unnecessary probate.
Powers of attorney & directives
Naming who handles your finances and medical care if you can't, so a hard moment doesn't force your family into court to decide for you.
Estate & gift tax
Keeping more of what you've built in the family, through exemptions, well-timed gifts, and the right trusts — with Illinois' own estate tax planned for, not overlooked.
Individual income tax
Personal tax planning and filing, worked in with the rest of your financial picture and your estate plan rather than handled off to the side.
Islamic wills & trusts
Plans that honor faith-based inheritance principles — the obligatory shares (faraid) and permitted bequests (wasiyyah) — and still hold up under Illinois law.
Probate & guardianship
Steady guidance for families settling an estate, and protection for a loved one who can no longer manage their own affairs.
What matters most for the business you've built.
Entity formation & structuring
Choosing and standing up the right entity, and arranging ownership — holding companies, subsidiaries, and the rest — so liability protection, tax, and control all line up the way you want.
Corporate governance
Bylaws, operating and shareholder agreements, and the meetings and formalities that keep your liability protection intact rather than on paper only.
Business tax
Income, payroll, and sales-and-use tax planned and handled year-round — with representation if a position is ever questioned by the IRS or Illinois.
Buy-sell agreements
Settling in advance what happens to an owner's share on death, disability, or exit, with funding and valuation worked out so a transition never becomes a dispute.
Succession & ownership transfers
Moving ownership to family, partners, or a buyer — with valuation, tax, and control settled ahead of time so the company keeps running the day you step back.
Business and estate, aligned
Your company and your personal estate aren't separate problems. I plan them together, so a decision in one doesn't quietly undercut the other.
Tailored to your profession.
A real share of my work already runs through healthcare entities — forming them, structuring ownership, reviewing the agreements, and planning the tax and the estate around them. Pick your profession below; most providers arrive with one of these questions and find the rest connected.
What tends to come up for MDs and DOs, whether employed or in private practice.
Corporate practice & MSO structure
Illinois limits who may own a medical practice. I structure PCs and management-services (MSO) arrangements that respect the corporate-practice-of-medicine rules and keep ownership and control where they belong.
Starting or restructuring a practice
The scaffolding of a private practice done right: entity formation, the office lease, vendor and EHR contracts, and the tax elections that set it on solid footing — or cleaning up a structure you've outgrown.
Hospital & group employment agreements
RVU and productivity compensation, call coverage, tail and malpractice provisions, and the non-compete — read and negotiated before you sign, not after.
Buy-in, buy-out & partnership
Joining a group as a partner, or leaving one: the buy-in math, deferred compensation, and the buy-sell terms that decide what your share is actually worth.
Compliance-aware arrangements
Compensation and referral structures drawn with the Stark and anti-kickback rules in mind, so the way a deal is built doesn't quietly create exposure.
Tax, protection & estate
S-corporation and retirement planning for high earners, asset protection against malpractice exposure, and an estate plan built for a physician's profile.
What tends to come up for practice owners and associates in dentistry.
Practice ownership & DSO structure
Owning a practice under the Illinois Dental Practice Act, and structuring any DSO relationship so the clinical and business sides are divided the way the rules require.
Starting or restructuring a practice
Standing up the practice entity, the office lease, and the equipment financing, with the tax elections to match — or reorganizing a practice that has outgrown its original setup.
Buying or selling a practice
Acquisitions and sales: the letter of intent, valuation, the asset-versus-stock decision, equipment and the real estate, and the associate-to-owner transition.
Associate & non-compete agreements
Associate employment terms, production-based pay, and the non-compete radius that decides where you can practice next.
Partnership & buy-in
Bringing on a partner or buying in as an associate: valuation, the buy-in structure, and the buy-sell terms that protect everyone if an owner leaves.
Tax, real estate & estate
Entity and retirement tax planning, holding the practice real estate the right way, and an estate plan that ties the practice to the rest of your wealth.
What tends to come up for DPMs in solo, group, or hospital-affiliated practice.
Practice structure
Setting up or restructuring your practice under the Illinois Podiatric Medical Practice Act — as a solo PC, a group, or part of a larger platform.
Starting or restructuring a practice
Opening or reorganizing your practice: entity, office lease, and vendor agreements, with the tax elections to match.
Surgical privileges & ASC interests
The agreements behind hospital and surgery-center privileges, and any ownership interest in an ambulatory surgery center, structured and reviewed with the regulatory rules in mind.
Employment & buy-in agreements
Group employment terms, compensation, non-competes, and the buy-in or buy-out when you join or leave a practice.
Compliance-aware arrangements
Referral and compensation arrangements structured with the fraud-and-abuse rules in mind — the same care a physician's practice needs.
Tax, protection & estate
High-earner tax planning, asset protection against professional liability, and an estate plan built for a provider's profile.
What tends to come up for psychologists, therapists, and group behavioral-health practices.
Group practice structure
Organizing a multi-clinician practice as a professional entity or PLLC, with any management-services (MSO) arrangement built so ownership and clinical control sit where the rules require — and built to scale as you add clinicians and locations.
Clinician classification & contracts
The W-2-versus-1099 question that trips up so many group practices, plus associate, supervision, and non-compete agreements for clinicians working toward and after full licensure.
Telehealth & expansion
The contract and structuring questions behind telehealth and adding clinicians across the state, so growth doesn't outrun the way the practice is set up.
Partnership & ownership
Bringing on owner-clinicians, with the operating agreement and buy-sell terms that keep a fast-growing group aligned.
Growth, affiliation & sale
Adding locations, bringing in partners, and — when the time comes — selling into or affiliating with a larger behavioral-health platform, with valuation and tax worked out in advance.
Tax, protection & estate
Entity and retirement tax planning as the practice grows, liability protection, and an estate plan that accounts for the value you're building in the practice.
Not sure which of these you need? That's usually the right reason to talk. I'll tell you plainly where I can add value — and where you don't need me. Start a conversation
Five areas of practice, tax at the core.
- Business income tax
- Federal and Illinois income tax for your business: year-round planning, the right way to have the entity taxed, and keeping your filings clean.
- Payroll tax
- Employer payroll taxes handled properly, from withholding and deposits to the quarterly and annual filings, plus sorting out any notices that land.
- Sales & use tax
- Illinois sales and use tax from start to finish: registering, collecting the right amount, working out where you have nexus, and standing with you through an audit.
- Individual income tax
- Income tax planning and filing for individuals and families, worked in with the rest of your financial picture.
- Nonprofit taxation
- Getting a nonprofit tax-exempt and keeping it that way: the exemption application, annual 990 filings, unrelated business income, and the state charitable registrations that go with it.
- Estate & gift tax
- Planning that lowers federal estate and gift tax over your lifetime and at death, through exemptions, well-timed gifts, and the right trust structures.
- Illinois estate tax
- Illinois has its own estate tax, and it starts well below the federal exemption. An estate that owes the IRS nothing can still owe Illinois, so your plan gets built around that gap.
- Income tax coordination
- Estate planning and income tax don't always pull the same way. Basis planning, how trusts are taxed, and the right entity choices keep them working together.
- Tax controversy & IRS representation
- Standing in for you with the IRS and the Illinois Department of Revenue: audits, appeals, disputes, and collections. I handle the letters and the back-and-forth so you're not facing them alone.
- Wills
- A will says who receives your property, names guardians for your children, and names the person who carries out your wishes. Without one, Illinois law makes those calls for you, and rarely the way you would have.
- Revocable trusts
- A revocable living trust holds your assets during your life and passes them on afterward, privately and without probate. You stay in full control the whole time, and you can change or undo it whenever you want.
- Islamic wills & trusts
- Plans that divide your estate according to Islamic inheritance principles, covering both the obligatory shares (faraid) and permitted bequests (wasiyyah). They're drafted as wills and trusts that hold up under Illinois law.
- Powers of attorney
- Powers of attorney let someone you trust handle your finances and medical decisions if you can't. That one step can spare your family a court guardianship at the worst possible time.
- Healthcare directives
- Healthcare directives put in writing the care you do and don't want, and name who speaks for you if you can't. When a crisis hits, your family isn't left guessing.
- Probate avoidance
- The right use of trusts, beneficiary designations, and how your assets are titled can move your estate to your heirs without the delay and public record of Illinois probate.
- Succession planning
- Who takes over, and how ownership and control actually change hands, whether that's to family, to partners, or to a buyer. A real plan means the company keeps running the day you step back.
- Entity formation
- Picking and standing up the right entity for a new venture, whether that's an LLC, an S corp, a C corp, or a partnership. That covers the filings, the operating or shareholder agreement, and the tax elections that get it started on solid footing.
- Entity structuring
- Arranging entities and ownership, from holding companies to subsidiaries to multi-entity structures, so liability protection, tax efficiency, and control all line up the way you want.
- Corporate governance
- The rules for how the company runs: bylaws and operating agreements, owner and officer roles, and the meetings, minutes, and formalities that keep your liability protection intact.
- Ownership transfers
- Moving ownership between owners, family, or trusts, whether by sale, by gift, or as part of an estate plan. What matters here is valuation, tax, and who ends up in control.
- Buy-sell agreements
- An agreement among owners that settles what happens to a departing owner's share on death, disability, or exit. Funding, valuation, and terms get worked out in advance, so a transition doesn't turn into a dispute.
- Probate administration
- Executors and administrators, walked through Illinois probate step by step: opening the estate, notifying heirs and creditors, taking inventory, settling debts and taxes, and distributing what's left.
- Trust administration
- Successor trustees take on real duties after a death, and they're easy to get wrong. Help with notifying beneficiaries, gathering and valuing assets, and distributing the trust the way its terms require, usually without any court involvement.
- Executor & trustee guidance
- If you've been named to run an estate or trust, you're on the hook for duties and deadlines you may not know about. Clear guidance so you can serve with confidence and stay out of personal liability.
- Estate & trust accountings
- The formal accountings that keep an administration honest and open. They document every asset, every dollar in and out, and every distribution, which keeps beneficiaries informed and protects the fiduciary.
- Guardianship of the estate
- Court-appointed authority to manage the money and property of an adult who can't safely do it anymore: paying the bills, protecting assets, and reporting to the court. Many people know this as financial guardianship.
- Guardianship of the person
- Authority to make personal, medical, and living decisions for an adult who can't make them alone, always with their dignity and their own preferences kept front and center.
- Guardianship of a minor
- Appointing a responsible adult to care for a child, or to manage money left to them, when a parent has died or can no longer serve.
- Standby guardianship
- Naming ahead of time who steps in if a parent or current guardian can't continue, so a child's care never falls through a gap.
Why clients bring the difficult matters to me.
Tax is the specialty
I hold an LL.M. in Taxation and have spent years on the tax questions that businesses, trusts, and individuals cannot afford to get wrong. For most estate attorneys, tax is a footnote. Here it is the discipline everything else is built on. I plan for it, argue it when it is contested, and represent you before the IRS and the Illinois Department of Revenue.
One advisor, the whole picture
Your tax, your business, and your estate are not separate problems, though they are usually handled by separate people. I treat them as one, because a decision in any of them tends to move the others. A single attorney holding the whole picture is how those connections get caught rather than missed.
Built for Illinois
Your plan is drafted to Illinois law, its own estate tax and probate rules included, rather than a national template that overlooks where you actually live and hold property.
A concierge approach
There is no office to visit. I come to you, whether that means your home, your place of business, a care facility, or a video call, anywhere in Illinois.
Jibran Ali
Jibran Ali is an Illinois tax attorney and the founder of J.Ali Advisory LLC. The practice is built on tax: the planning that keeps a business owner ahead of trouble, the compliance that keeps them in good standing, and the representation that matters when a position is questioned. Estate planning and business advisory extend from the same work. He advises individuals, families, and closely held business owners, and gives particular attention to Islamic estate planning, drafting wills and trusts that honor faith-based inheritance and hold up under Illinois law.
Before founding the firm, he spent years advising individuals, trusts, corporations, and partnerships through complex tax matters, and that is the experience he brings to every engagement. He holds a J.D. from the University of Missouri–Kansas City and an LL.M. in Taxation from Washington University in St. Louis, and is admitted to practice in Illinois.
A clear path from first call to signed plan.
Initial consultation
A candid conversation about your situation and what you want to accomplish, and a chance to see whether we're the right fit. No obligation.
Design meeting
A focused working session where we shape your plan and the decisions behind it: who receives what, who serves in which role, and how your wishes are carried out.
Drafting
I draft your documents to fit both Illinois law and your intentions. Then we review them together and refine until they say exactly what you mean.
Signing & funding
We execute your documents with the witnesses and notarization the law requires. Then we fund your trusts and align your beneficiary designations, the step overlooked most often, and the one that quietly undoes a plan when it's missed.
Ongoing care
Life changes, and so does the law. Optional maintenance keeps your documents current as your family, your assets, and the rules that govern them evolve.
Questions people ask before they start.
How does a tax attorney work with my CPA?
The two roles overlap and complement each other. A good CPA does far more than returns: accounting, reporting, and often sophisticated tax planning. What I add is the legal dimension, from structuring transactions and entities to interpreting how the law applies to your particular facts and representing you if a position is questioned, along with the protection of attorney-client privilege. The best results usually come from a CPA and an attorney working together, and I'm always glad to coordinate with the one you already rely on. Plenty of CPAs are colleagues, referral partners, and clients of mine.
Can you represent me in an IRS or Illinois audit?
Yes, that's a core part of what I do. Audits, appeals, disputes, collection problems, with the IRS and with the Illinois Department of Revenue. I take over the correspondence and the negotiation so you're not dealing with the agency on your own.
I already have an accountant. Do I still need a tax attorney?
Often yes, for different reasons. Your accountant keeps the books and files the returns; I handle the legal questions around them, plan ahead of the big decisions, structure entities and transactions, and step in when something is disputed. The two roles fit together, and I'm happy to work directly with whoever already does your taxes.
Do I need a trust, or is a will enough?
It depends on your goals. A will says who gets your property and names guardians and an executor, but it still has to go through probate. A living trust can keep things private, skip probate, and make out-of-state property easier to handle. Plenty of Illinois families use both. We'll figure out what actually fits you instead of forcing one answer.
What happens if I die without a plan in Illinois?
Illinois intestacy law decides who inherits, in fixed shares that may not match your wishes, and the court appoints who administers your estate and, if needed, who raises your minor children. A plan lets you make those decisions yourself instead of leaving them to a statute.
How does the concierge process work?
There's no office to come to. We meet wherever works for you: at home, at your business, at a care facility, or over video, anywhere in Illinois. You'll know the steps and what to expect from the first conversation.
Do you handle Islamic estate planning?
Yes. I build wills and trusts that follow faith-based inheritance principles, both the obligatory shares (faraid) and permitted bequests (wasiyyah), and that still hold up under Illinois law.
When should I update my plan?
After the big moments: marriage or divorce, a birth or a death, a move into or out of Illinois, or a real change in your assets or business. It's also worth a look now and then as tax and estate law shifts. Optional maintenance keeps everything current.
Can you help settle an estate after someone passes away?
Yes. Alongside planning, I guide executors and trustees through Illinois probate and trust administration, from the first filings all the way to the final distribution.
It begins with a conversation.
The first conversation is just that: a chance to lay out your situation, ask what you need to ask, and decide whether we are a good fit. There is no pressure and no obligation.
Book a consultation →By appointment throughout Illinois. I am based in the Chicago area and come to you, whether at your home or your place of business, or by video wherever you are.