Agenda / Content Covered

1. INITIAL FILING IN PROBATE COURT AND ESTATE TIMELINE
   8:30 - 9:00, Stephen E. Diamond
   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
   9:00 - 9:30, Stephen E. Diamond
   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
   9:30 - 10:15, Maureen Crush
   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. Dealing with the Probate Referee
   5. Managing Decedent's Assets During Probate
   6. Handling Common Valuation Issues
   7. When to Hire a Valuation Specialist or Appraiser
4. PROBATE PROPERTY VS. NON-PROBATE ASSETS
   10:30 - 11:00, Stephen E. Diamond
5. HANDLING CLAIMS AGAINST THE ESTATE
   11:00 - 11:30, James K. Riley
   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
   12:30 - 1:30, Stephen E. Diamond
   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. Proper Use of Disclaimers and Valuation Discounts
   5. Claiming Estate Tax Portability
   6. Estate and Gift Tax Considerations - When Do You Need to File Form 706?
   7. Coordinating with Decedent's Accounting or Investment Advisors
   8. GST Tax Implications
   9. Handling Common Property Tax Issues
7. ETHICS
   1:30 - 2:30, Maureen Crush
   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
8. SALE OF PROPERTY AND DISTRIBUTIONS
   2:45 - 3:30, Kristin A. Canty
   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
9. FINAL ACCOUNTING AND CLOSING THE ESTATE
   3:30 - 4:00, Kristin A. Canty
   1. Estate Accounting Procedure
   2. Closing Certificate for Fiduciaries
   3. Closing Decedent's Remaining Accounts
   4. Personal Representative and Attorney Compensation
   5. Extraordinary Services Compensation
   6. When Reopening the Estate is Warranted
10. PROBATE DISPUTES AND LITIGATION
    4:00 - 4:40, James K. Riley
    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:

KRISTIN A. CANTY, managing partner of Donohue, O'Connell & Riley PLLC's Pearl River office, advises clients on how to navigate the complexities of estate planning, elder law, and estate administration, to provide the best protection available. Ms. Canty is admitted to practice in New York and New Jersey. She is a member of the New York State Bar Association. Ms. Canty earned her B.A. degree from the University of Richmond and her J.D. degree from Rutgers University School of Law, Newark.

MAUREEN CRUSH is a shareholder with Crush & Varma Law Group P.C., in Fishkill, New York, where she heads the corporate and commercial practice group. Ms. Crush practices primarily in general corporate and business transaction law, including banking and commercial finance, and has extensive not-for-profit law experience. She is a frequent lecturer on trusts and estates, corporate and not-for-profit law issues, and serves on numerous boards of directors and committees in the Orange, Sullivan, and Dutchess communities. Ms. Crush received the New York State Bar Association Root/Stimson Award for commitment to public service which has reflected honor on the legal profession. She is a former vice president of the Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York (2012-2015). Ms. Crush earned her B.S. degree from New York University and her J.D. degree from Fordham University School of Law.

STEPHEN E. DIAMOND is a partner in the law firm of Stenger, Roberts, Davis & Diamond, LLP. He practices primarily in the areas of estate planning and administration, business formation and transactions, real estate, and elder law issues. Mr. Diamond is past chairman of and current legal counsel to the Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce and a past member of the Board of Directors of The Community Foundation of Dutchess County. He is a frequent lecturer on the topics of estate and retirement planning and elder law issues. Mr. Diamond is admitted to practice in New York, Florida, and Massachusetts. He earned his J.D. degree from Pepperdine University and his LL.M. degree, in taxation, from the University of Florida.

JAMES K. RILEY is a partner in the law firm of Donohue, O'Connell & Riley PLLC, where his practice areas include estate planning, elder law, estate administration, and probate. Mr. Riley is a certified financial planner and an accredited estate planner (National Association of Estate Planning Councils). He is an adjunct professor in the fields of estate planning and financial planning with Pace University and also with Long Island University. Mr. Riley is a member of the Rockland County, New York State, and American bar associations. He served for three terms as a delegate to the New York State Bar Association House of Delegates. Mr. Riley earned his A.B. degree from Fordham College and his J.D. degree from Rutgers University.