Do you have a solid understanding of proper procedures surrounding estate administration? Do you feel confident that you can overcome the wide array of challenges you may face while working with each estate's unique requirements? Gain a comprehensive understanding of the estate planning process with this invaluable instruction so you can easily organize and manage your responsibilities. Order today!

1. Foundations of Estate Administration Defined
2. Preparing to Begin the Administration Process
3. Considerations for Collecting the Assets, Preparing the Inventory and Handling Claims Against the Estate
4. Being Thorough to Close the Estate Without a Hitch
5. Understanding Tax Procedures to Avoid Problems Later
6. Ethical Challenges in Estate Administration
7. Common Issues To Be Prepared for in Litigation and Probate

1. FOUNDATIONS OF ESTATE ADMINISTRATION DEFINED
   8:30 - 9:45, Thad A. Davis
   1. Identifying Probate and Non-Probate Assets
   2. Understanding the Various Forms of Administration
   3. Considerations for the Small Estate
   4. Knowing the Advantages and Disadvantages of Informal Administration and Complying With the Procedures
2. PREPARING TO BEGIN THE ADMINISTRATION PROCESS
   9:45 - 10:30 and 10:45 - 11:15, Thad A. Davis
   1. Understanding the Laws of Intestacy and How They Affect the Estate
   2. Knowing What to Get Out of the Client Interview
   3. Determining the Survivors' Immediate Needs
   4. Examining the Safe Deposit Box: Identifying Important Documents
   5. Locating the Will and Knowing What to Do Next
   6. Considerations in Appointing and Counseling the Personal Representative
   7. Practical Tips for Obtaining Information Concerning Assets
   8. Renunciations and Election of Statutory Share
   9. Using Disclaimers Correctly
   10. Notice Requirements
3. CONSIDERATIONS FOR COLLECTING THE ASSETS, PREPARING THE INVENTORY AND HANDLING CLAIMS AGAINST THE ESTATE
   11:15 - 12:00, Jonathan D. Green
   1. Practical Procedures for Opening Estate Accounts
   2. Obtaining Tax Identification Number and Title to Assets
   3. Canceling Utilities and Credit Cards
   4. Best Strategies for Preparing the Inventory
   5. Medicare, Insurance Claims and Public Assistance: Understanding the Paperwork Involved
   6. Priority of Concern: Following the Chain of Command in Allowances, Claims and Taxes
4. BEING THOROUGH TO CLOSE THE ESTATE WITHOUT A HITCH
   1:00 - 1:45, Jonathan D. Green
   1. Alternative Methods: Knowing Your Options
   2. Timing of Distributions: How Long Do Beneficiaries Have to Wait Until They Get Their Money?
   3. Steps Involved in Transferring Jointly-Held Assets
   4. Transferring Other Probate and Non-Probate Assets
   5. Considerations for Handling Distributions to Minors and Trusts
   6. Ensuring Thorough Accounting and Settlement of the Estate
   7. Compensation and Discharge of the Personal Representative
5. UNDERSTANDING TAX PROCEDURES TO AVOID PROBLEMS LATER
   1:45 - 2:45, Steven A. Benefield
   1. Overview of Tax Compliance and Post-Mortem Planning: What You Need to Know
   2. What You Need to Know to Prepare the Decedent's Final Income Tax Return
   3. Filing Requirements for Federal and State Estate Tax Returns
   4. How the Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Affects Your Clients
   5. Handling Distribution to Minors and Trusts
   6. Accurate and Inclusive Valuation of Assets
   7. Determining Alternatives for the Surviving Spouse: Disclaimers, Rights and Options
6. ETHICAL CHALLENGES IN ESTATE ADMINISTRATION
   3:00 - 4:00, Steven A. Benefield
   1. Determining Who the Client Is
   2. Representing An Estate: Avoiding Conflicts of Interest
   3. Informing the Client of the Status of the Estate
   4. Filing Claims: Why it is Imperative to Meet the Deadlines
7. COMMON ISSUES TO BE PREPARED FOR IN LITIGATION AND PROBATE
   4:00 - 4:40, Thad A. Davis
   1. Title and Discovery of Assets
   2. Contested Claims and Contingent Liabilities
   3. Marital Agreement Concerns
   4. Contested Wills and Alternatives: Is it Valid to Disagree?

STEVEN A. BENEFIELD is a partner in the Birmingham law office of Christian & Small LLP, where he practices in the areas of tax, business, and estate planning and administration. He earned his B.A. degree, summa cum laude, from Birmingham-Southern College and his J.D. and LL.M. degrees from the University of Alabama. Mr. Benefield was a law clerk for Judge James H. Hancock, U.S. District Judge. He is a member of the Birmingham and American (Real Property Probate and Trust Section) bar associations, the Alabama State Bar, and the Estate Planning Council of Birmingham.

THAD A. DAVIS is a member with The Law Offices of Davis & Davis, LLC. He focuses his practice on trusts and estates, including estate and trust litigation, estate planning, estate administration, and tax law and planning. Mr. Davis advises clients in planning their estates to accomplish their goals for distribution of assets to beneficiaries while minimizing tax liability. He also assists families of deceased persons in probate administration, especially those estates with estate, gift, or income tax issues. In the litigation areas, Mr. Davis represents fiduciaries and beneficiaries in trust and estate litigation matters and related controversies, including will contests, spousal elective share proceedings, fiduciary accounting cases, and intra-family business and real estate litigation. He earned his A.B. degree, cum laude, from Duke University and his J.D. degree, magna cum laude, from the University of Alabama School of Law, where he served as a senior editor of the Alabama Law Review and as an advocate for the National Moot Court Team. Mr. Davis earned his LL.M. degree from the University of Florida, where he received the John W. Thatcher full-tuition tax scholarship and served as a graduate editor of the Florida Tax Review. He published the law review article "Cotnam v. Commissioner and the Income Tax Treatment of Contingency-Based Attorneys' Fees? The Alabama Attorney's Charging Lien Meets Lucas v. Earl Head-on", 51 Ala. L. Rev. 1683 (2000). 

JONATHAN D. GREEN is an attorney in Birmingham, Alabama. Mr. Green devotes most of his practice to elder law (estate planning, special needs planning, Medicaid and probate). He earned his B.A. degree from Angelo State University and his J.D. degree from Cumberland School of Law of Samford University. Mr. Green is admitted to practice before all Alabama courts, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama and the U.S. Supreme Court. He is a member of the Elder Law Section of the Alabama Bar and the Medical Social Service Organization. Mr. Green is a Deacon in his church, and he serves in an ex officio capacity on the board of the Alabama Family Trust.

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