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 - 9:20, Stephanie K. Burnham and Elizabeth N. Baron
   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
   9:20 - 10:20, Denis Dillon
   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
   10:35 - 11:35, Stephanie K. Burnham and Elizabeth N. Baron
   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
   11:35 - 12:05 and 1:05 - 1:35, Stephanie K. Burnham and Elizabeth N. Baron
   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
   1:35 - 2:35, Denis Dillon
   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
   2:50 - 3:50, Stephanie K. Burnham and Elizabeth N. Baron
   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
   3:50 - 4:40, Stephanie K. Burnham and Elizabeth N. Baron
   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?

ELIZABETH N. BARON is an attorney at Burnham & Associates, PLLC. Previously, Ms. Baron worked at Bernson & Burnham, PLLC as an associate attorney in the transactional law department. She also worked as a contracts administrator for Stonyfield Farm, Inc. At Stonyfield, she drafted and negotiated agreements in a multitude of areas. Her legal experience includes working as a law clerk for the office of executive counsel to the Governor of Rhode Island. As a law clerk, she conducted extensive research, drafted motions on a variety of subjects and analyzed proposed legislation. Ms. Baron also worked for New Hampshire Legal Assistance in the elder law division. As a law clerk, she conducted a review of transfer and discharge notice compliance for the office of long-term care and participated in the senior advice line. Ms. Baron graduated from The Pennsylvania State University Dickinson School of Law in 2008. While in law school, she was an editor of law review and a fellow of the Miller Center for Public Advocacy. She also participated in the Refugee Law Clinic, where she represented clients in immigration court. Ms. Baron earned her B.A. degree, cum laude, in politics from Mount Holyoke College and her J.D. degree from the Penn State Dickinson School of Law. She is a member of the New Hampshire Bar Association and is admitted to practice law in the State of New Hampshire and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

STEPHANIE K. BURNHAM opened her own law firm upon being sworn into the practice of law in 2001. In 2010, Ms. Burnham added two talented attorneys to form Burnham & Associates, PLLC. She has focused her practice in four primary areas: wills, trusts and estates; bankruptcy; small business; and real estate. Ms. Burnham assists people from all walks of life with their last wills and testaments, trusts, trust administration, estate administration, adult guardianships and powers of attorney. She works with clients to obtain a fresh start through discharging debts in bankruptcy. She also advises clients with small businesses on contracts, contract disputes, business formation and collections. Ms. Burnham was a licensed real estate broker, and she uses her experience to help clients develop property, with condominium and subdivision filings including attorney general filings, condominium conversions, title work and the purchase and sale of property. She is licensed in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, including New Hampshire District Court and Massachusetts District Court. Ms. Burnham is a member of the New Hampshire Bar Association, including the elder law, estate planning and probate section and the New Hampshire Bar Associations ethics committee. She is a member of the Wentworth Douglass Hospital and Health Foundation Planned Giving Advisory Council, for which she can advise clients on more appropriately titling and structuring their charitable gifts to Wentworth-Douglass Hospital. Ms. Burnham is an arbitrator for the Better Business Bureau, where she decides lemon law claims. She is also a member of the Rotary Club of Dover. She has authored and published many informative articles on elder law, estate planning and Medicaid in the Senior Beacon newspaper publication. She earned her B.S. degree in general biology from the University of New Hampshire in Durham. She is also a licensed real estate broker, a notary public and a justice of the peace.

DENIS DILLON is a director of the law firm of McLane, Graf, Raulerson & Middleton, P.A., where he practices in the areas of estate and business planning, probate and trust administration and taxation. He has lectured to various professional groups on estate planning and taxation issues. Mr. Dillon earned his B.A. degree from Assumption College, his M.B.A. degree from Nichols College, his J.D. degree, cum laude, from Western New England College School of Law and his LL.M. degree from Boston University School of Law. He is a member of the Massachusetts and the New Hampshire bar associations, the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and the Massachusetts Academy of Elder Law Attorneys.

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