Revocable vs. Irrevocable Trusts: Drafting, Administration, Top Uses

Agenda / Content Covered

1. Trust Law: Key Terms and Concepts
   10:00 — 10:45, Travis Weaver
   1. Main Terms Defined
   2. Major Laws Governing Creation and Administration of Trusts
   3. Who are the Main Parties? Their Duties and Responsibilities to a Trust
   4. Determining Your Client's Planning Needs
   5. Reasons for Drafting a Trust
2. Revocable Trusts: Types of Trusts and Their Uses
   10:45 — 11:30, Travis Weaver
   1. Revocable Trusts vs. Wills
   2. Top Revocable Living Trust Structures
   3. Pour-Over Wills
3. Irrevocable Trusts: Top Structures and Their Uses
   11:45 — 12:30, Stephen Keogh
   1. Medicaid Income-Only Trusts
   2. Special Needs Trusts
   3. Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts
   4. Other Irrevocable Trust Structures
4. Tax Consequences, Treatment and Reporting: Revocable vs. Irrevocable
   12:30 — 1:15, John Bedosky
5. Trust Administration Differences
   1:45 — 2:30, Stephen Keogh
   1. Grantor Power in Administration of Revocable Trusts
   2. Trustee Powers
   3. Interpretation of the Trust Instrument
   4. Management of Trust Assets
6. Mistakes When a Revocable Trust Becomes Irrevocable
   2:30 — 3:15, John Bedosky
   1. Common Triggers of Conversion from Revocable to Irrevocable
   2. Trust Language that Triggers Upon the Death of the Grantor
   3. Asset Protection Oversights When Planning for Conversion from Revocable to Irrevocable
   4. Unwise Choice of Recipient Trust Structure When the Original Trust Splits into Multiple Irrevocable Trusts
   5. Incorrect Interpretation of Trust Language
   6. Improper Execution of Trust
   7. Incompletely Funded Revocable Living Trusts
7. Modifying the Trust: Decanting How-to's
   3:30 — 4:00, John Bedosky
8. Legal Ethics in Trusts and Estates Practice
   4:00 — 5:00, Stephen Keogh
   1. Who is the Client?
   2. Guarding Confidentiality
   3. Attorney Fees and Client Trust Accounts
   4. Client Communications

Accreditation Details:

John R Bedosky is of counsel to Hinman, Howard & Kattell, LLP, active in its estate planning practice group, and is a senior consultant with The Lustig Group, LLC. He has extensive experience representing individual and business clients in a variety of estate planning matters, including business succession planning; family wealth accumulation, preservation and transfer planning; estate and trust administration; fiduciary litigation; and related taxation matters. Mr. Bedosky has been an adjunct professor of law at the University of Minnesota Law School, the University of St. Thomas, and William Mitchell College of Law; an adjunct business taxation professor at the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management; and a visiting professor of law at William Mitchell College of Law. He earned his B.S. degree, magna cum laude, from Villanova University, and his J.D. degree, magna cum laude, Syracuse Law Review, from Syracuse University College of Law. Mr. Bedosky earned his L.L.M. (estate planning) from the University of Miami School of Law.

 

Stephen B Keogh is a partner in the Norwalk law firm of Keogh, Burkhart & Vetter, practicing primarily in elder law and probate law. A magna cum laude graduate of Yale College, Mr. Keogh earned his J.D. degree from Columbia University. He is a member of the Fairfield County, Connecticut and American bar associations; and the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. Mr. Keogh is a member of the Board of Directors of the Connecticut Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, a member of the Executive Committee of the Elder Law Section of the Connecticut Bar Association, and a past co-chair of the Elder Law Section of the Fairfield County Bar Association. He is also a member of the Community Bioethics Forum, which is sponsored by the Program for Biomedical Ethics at the Yale School of Medicine, and was the first recipient of the Glenn E. Knierim Pro Bono Award, given by the Connecticut Probate Assembly, in April 2012.

Travis R Weaver is a partner with the Weaver Firm, where he offers his clients and their families deep legal knowledge and strong personal commitment to helping them obtain nursing home benefits, protect assets through a will, claim ownership of inherited property or cash, and negotiate business transactions. Mr. Weaver is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law, the State Bar of Texas, the Tarrant County Bar Association, the Tarrant County Probate Bar Association, the Denton County Bar Association, and the Wise County Bar Association. He received his B.A degree from Texas A & M University; his M.B.A. degree from Texas Tech University; and his J.D degree from Texas Tech University School of Law.