Agenda / Content Covered

1. STEP 1: OPENING THE ESTATE
   9:00 — 9:45, Leslie Levin
   1. What to Do in the First 48 Hours
   2. Obtaining the Will and Getting it Admitted
   3. Locating and Notifying the Beneficiaries
   4. Determining if the Estate Qualifies for a Small Estate Administration
   5. The Estate Timeline - What Must be Done When
   6. Filing the Initial Petition With the Probate Court: Forms and Procedures
   7. Sending Initial Notices to the Public and to State Agencies
   8. Closing the Decedent's Accounts
   9. Obtaining the Estate Tax ID
   10. Laws of Intestacy
2. STEP 2: PREPARING THE PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVES FOR THE JOB
   9:45 — 10:30, Leslie Levin
   1. Educating PRs on Their Duties, Powers, and Responsibilities
   2. Compiling Personal Representative Guide/Instructions
   3. Clarifying Executor Compensation
   4. Advising PRs on Potential Problems and Liability
3. STEP 3: MANAGING THE ESTATE: VALUATIONS, SPOUSAL SHARE, AND MORE
   10:45 — 11:30, Leslie Levin
   1. Marshalling and Valuing Decedent's Assets
   2. Initial Inventory
   3. Maintenance and Management
   4. Determining Elective Share and Homestead Allowance
   5. Spousal Rights: Electing vs. Disclaiming the Share
   6. Claiming Homestead Allowance
   7. Portability Rules; Claiming Unused Lifetime Exclusion
   8. Estate Expenses: Payment and Record-Keeping
   9. What to Do With the Income the Estate is Producing
4. STEP 4: ADDRESSING CREDITOR CLAIMS
   11:30 — 12:00, Kimberly Campbell
   1. Issuing Notices to Creditors: What Works Best
   2. Validating Claims
   3. Determining the Priority of Creditor Rights
   4. Selling Property to Satisfy Claims: What to Sell, How to Do it, and How to Properly Record it
   5. Satisfying Tax Claims and Liens
5. STEP 5: POST-MORTEM TAX PLANNING, DISTRIBUTIONS, AND TRUST ADMINISTRATION
   1:00 — 1:45, Kimberly Campbell
   1. Managing the Tax Consequences of Elections and Receipt of Non-Probate Assets (e.g. IRA Distributions)
   2. Tax Implications of Transfers
   3. Creating Trusts and Subtrusts for Multiple Beneficiaries to Receive Their Shares of the Estate
   4. What to Do With Bequests and Trust Distributions to Minors
   5. Post-Mortem Tax Planning Approaches: How Much Maneuver Room is Left?
   6. How to Calculate the Omitted Spouse Share or Omitted Child Share
   7. Guarding Disabled Adult Beneficiaries' Benefits Eligibility
6. STEP 6: HANDLING ESTATE CLOSING, FINAL ACCOUNTING, AND TAX RETURNS
   1:45 — 2:30, David DePinto
   1. Tax Returns and Deadlines - Estate and Income, State and Federal, Decedent's and the Estate's
   2. Informal Closing by Statement of Personal Representative
   3. Compiling and Balancing the Final Account
   4. Final Distributions to Beneficiaries and Liability of Distributees
   5. Closing the Estate and Discharging the Fiduciary
7. MAINTAINING AN ETHICAL PRACTICE
   2:45 — 3:45, Kimberly Campbell
   1. Whom do You Represent? Conflicts of Interest
   2. Protecting Client Confidentiality
   3. Attorney Fees
   4. Practicing Law in More Than One State
8. STEP 7: RESOLVING DISPUTES AND NAVIGATING PROBATE LITIGATION
   3:45 — 4:30, David DePinto
   1. Will Contests, Deed Contests, Allegations of Undue Influence and Other Causes of Action
   2. Obtaining Court Guidance for Proposed Actions Regarding the Estate Administration
   3. Probate Litigation Rules, Procedures, and Evidentiary Provisions
   4. Fiduciary Misconduct, Liability, Disputes with Beneficiaries
   5. Effective Approaches to Resolving Disputes Without Going to Court

Accreditation Details:

Kimberly J Campbell is an attorney with the law office of Brown Hutchinson LLP, in Rochester, New York. Ms. Campbell practices in the areas of civil litigation, commercial litigation, personal injury, business law and estate administration. She received her B.A. degree from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio and her J.D. degree from The Ohio State University Michael E. Moritz College of Law.

 

David J DePinto is managing partner at DePinto Faldetta LLP, where he practices in the areas of trusts, estate planning, asset protection, charitable entities, business and succession planning for closely held businesses, estate and gift taxation, income taxation, elder law, guardianship, probate and administration of trusts and estates, and estate litigation; and also provides representation to guardians, trustees and other fiduciaries. Mr. DePinto is an NYS certified public accountant and a certified elder lawyer certified by the National Elder Law Foundation as accredited by the American Bar Association. He is the recipient of the Edith Blum Foundation Award for Excellence in taxation and the Professor's Award for Academic Achievement in taxation. Mr. DePinto earned his LL.M. Master of Laws degree from NYU Law School; his J.D. degree from Brooklyn Law School; his M.S. degree, in taxation, with academic honors, from Long Island University CW Post; and his B.B.A. degree from Hofstra University.

Leslie E Levin is special counsel to the firm Cuddy & Feder LLP, in White Plains, New York, where she practices in estate planning, probate, estate and trust administration, gift and generation-skipping tax transfer planning, asset protection, IRA distribution planning, not-for-profit organizations, charitable planning, special needs and disability planning, Medicaid planning, and elder law. Ms. Levin earned her B.A. degree, summa cum laude, high honors, from Brandeis University, and her J.D. degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. She is admitted to practice in both New York and Connecticut.