Agenda / Content Covered

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1. INITIAL FILING IN PROBATE COURT AND ESTATE TIMELINE
   8:30 - 9:15, Megan S. Farr
   
   1. Small Estate Administration
   2. Probate Court Procedure
   3. Estate Timetable/Checklist
   4. Formal vs. Informal Probate Administration
   5. Opening the Estate
      1. Petition for Probate and Administration and Notice of Hearing
      2. Required Notices (to Creditors, Heirs, DHS, IRS)
      3. Sample Forms
   6. What the Personal Representative Needs to Know and Do
   7. When is Ancillary Administration Necessary?
2. LAW OF INTESTATE SUCCESSION
   9:15 - 9:45, Jennifer Modak
   
   1. Who Can Inherit - Degrees of Kinship and Order of Inheritance
   2. Determining the Share Size
   3. Exceptions and Bars to Inheritance
3. INVENTORY AND APPRAISEMENT
   10:00 - 10:45, Sarah L. Moen
   
   1. Locating Insurance Policies, Deeds and Other Ownership Documents
   2. Obtaining a Tax ID and Marshaling Property
   3. Preparing the Inventory and Appraisal Forms
   4. Managing Decedent's Assets During Probate
   5. Handling Common Valuation Issues
   6. When to Hire a Valuation Specialist or Appraiser
4. PROBATE PROPERTY VS. NON-PROBATE ASSETS
   10:45 - 11:15, Steven B. Boyd
   
5. HANDLING CLAIMS AGAINST THE ESTATE
   11:15 - 12:00, M. Geoffrey Jones
   
   1. Required Creditor Notice
   2. Determining Priority of Claims
   3. Allowing and Rejecting Claims, and Paying Them
   4. Handling Lawsuits Against the Estate and the Decedent
   5. Insolvency Issues
6. TAX REPORTING AND POST-MORTEM TAX MATTERS
   1:00 - 2:00, Steven B. Boyd
   
   1. Final Tax Returns Timeline, Forms and Filing Procedure
   2. Requesting Deadline Extensions
   3. Income Tax Considerations in Probate
      1. Selecting a Tax Year: Calendar or Fiscal?
      2. Decedent's Final Income Tax Return
      3. Estate Income Tax Return
      4. Tax on Income Earned by Estate after Decedent's Death
      5. Beneficiary Income Tax Considerations
   4. Claiming Estate Tax Portability
   5. Estate and Gift Tax Considerations - When Do You Need to File Form 706?
   6. Coordinating with Decedent's Accounting or Investment Advisors
   7. GST Tax Implications
7. SALE OF PROPERTY AND DISTRIBUTIONS
   2:00 - 2:30, Jennifer Modak
   
   1. Disposition of Real Estate - Title Issues in Probate
   2. Retirement Plans and IRA Distributions
   3. Life Insurance and Other Beneficiary Designations and Accounts
   4. Preliminary and Final Distributions
   5. Calculating Augmented Estate and Spousal Elective Share
   6. Dealing with the Surviving Family Members and Other Beneficiaries
   7. Solving the Problem of Liquidity
   8. Distributions to Trusts
8. FINAL ACCOUNTING AND CLOSING THE ESTATE
   2:45 - 3:20, Sarah L. Moen
   
   1. Estate Accounting Procedure
   2. Closing Decedent's Remaining Accounts
   3. Personal Representative and Attorney Compensation
   4. Extraordinary Services Compensation
   5. When Reopening the Estate is Warranted
9. ETHICS
   3:20 - 4:20, James W. Spencer
   
   1. Who is Your Client? Avoiding Conflicts of Interest
   2. Protecting Client Confidentiality
   3. Attorney Fees
   4. Malpractice Liability Risks
      1. Negligence
      2. Breach of Fiduciary Duty
      3. Fraud
10. PROBATE DISPUTES AND LITIGATION
    4:20 - 4:40, James W. Spencer
    
    1. Beneficiary Liability
    2. Fiduciary Liability
    3. Interpreting Testamentary Intent - Burdens of Proof, Presumptions, Evidence Rules
    4. Revoked, Multiple, Contested Wills
    5. Common Will Construction Problems
    6. Objections to Accounts and Petitions

Accreditation Details:

STEVEN B. BOYD is a senior wealth advisor in the Seattle office of Northern Trust. Mr. Boyd counsels business owners, executives, high net worth individuals and their families regarding tax, charitable giving, estate planning and business succession matters. Prior to joining Northern Trust, Mr. Boyd was a principal with the Amicus Law Group and a senior manager with Deloitte Tax, where he was a frequent lecturer at national seminars. Mr. Boyd earned his B.B.A. degree from Gonzaga University, his J.D. degree from Seattle University and his LL.M. (tax) degree from the University of Washington.

MEGAN S. FARR is a member of Farr Law Group, PLLC, where she focuses her practice exclusively on estate planning, probate and trust administration, and elder law. She is a member of the Washington State Bar Association. Prior to law school, Ms. Farr worked in the U.S. Senate and continues to work on public policy and legislative issues in her role on the Washington State Bar Association's Elder Law Section Executive Committee. She earned her B.A. degree from Western Washington University and her J.D. degree from the University of Washington School of Law.

M. GEOFFREY JONES is managing partner in the Everett firm of Newton Kight L.L.P. He has a general practice, concentrating primarily in the area of elder law and guardianships. His practice emphasizes probate, guardianship and estate planning, and other areas relating to elder law. Mr. Jones previously worked as an assistant attorney general for the Washington State Attorney General's Office in Olympia, where he represented several state agencies in civil matters, including the Department of Employment Security, the Department of General Administration, and the Department of Information Systems. Mr. Jones is a member of the Washington State Bar Association. He earned his B.A. degree from The Evergreen State College and his J.D. degree from the University of Oregon.

JENNIFER MODAK is an attorney with the Law Office of Jennifer Modak PLLC, in Bothell, Washington. Ms. Modak practices exclusively in the field of real estate and estate planning. She earned her B.A. degree from Scripps College and her J.D. degree from Seattle University School of Law.

SARAH L. MOEN is an attorney with Moen Law Offices, P.S., where she focuses her practice on fiduciary administration and related litigation. She receives appointments from the court to serve as the personal representative of estates as well as the guardian ad litem in probate proceedings. Ms. Moen received her B.A. degree from the University of Washington, her J.D. degree from Whittier College School of Law, and her LL.M. degree (taxation) from Villanova University School of Law. She is admitted to practice before the U.S. Tax Court, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. Ms. Moen currently serves as the chair-elect for the Guardianship and Elder Law Section of the King County Bar Association and previously served as the section’s Seattle vice-chair and treasurer. She is currently a member of the Client Protection Board of the Washington State Bar Association and previously served on the WSBA Continuing Legal Education Committee from 2016 to 2019. Ms. Moen also serves as a pro tempore court commissioner for the King County Superior Court.

JAMES W. SPENCER is an attorney with Brothers & Henderson, P.S., in Seattle. His practice focuses on business formation and general representation, trust and estate administration and litigation, and estate planning for traditional and nontraditional families and small business owners. Mr. Spencer teaches as adjunct faculty at Seattle University School of Law in the areas of community property, business planning, and law practice management. He also taught property courses in the Paralegal Studies program at Edmonds Community College. He is admitted to practice in the state of Washington and the United States Federal District Court. He earned his B.A. degree from The Evergreen State College and his J.D. degree, cum laude, from Seattle University School of Law. He is a member of the Washington State Bar Association and the Greater Seattle Business Association.