Agenda / Content Covered

10:00 am to 5:00 pm - All times are shown in Eastern time

1. STEP 1: OPENING THE ESTATE
   10:00 - 11:00, George S. Peek
   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 Creditors and State Agencies
   8. Closing the Decedent's Accounts
   9. Obtaining the Estate Tax ID
   10. Laws of Intestacy
2. STEP 2: PREPARING THE PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR THE JOB
   11:00 - 11:30, George S. Peek
   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
   11:45 - 12:15, T. James Lee
   1. Marshalling and Valuing Decedent's Assets
      1. Initial Inventory
      2. Maintenance and Management
   2. Determining Elective Share and Homestead Allowance
      1. Spousal Rights: electing vs. Disclaiming the Share
      2. Claiming Homestead Allowance
   3. Portability Rules; Claiming Unused Lifetime Exclusion
   4. Estate Expenses: Payment and Record-Keeping
   5. What to Do with the Income the Estate is Producing
4. STEP 4: ADDRESSING CREDITOR CLAIMS
   12:15 - 1:15, Louis A. Silverman
   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
   1:45 - 2:15, Louis A. Silverman
   1. Managing the Tax Consequences of Elections and Receipt of Non-Probate Assets (e.g. IRA Distributions)
   2. Creating Trusts and Subtrusts for Multiple Beneficiaries to Receive Their Shares of the Estate
   3. What to do with Bequests and Trust Distributions to Minors
   4. Post-Mortem Tax Planning Approaches: How Much Maneuver Room is Left?
   5. How to Calculate the Omitted Spouse Share or Omitted Child Share
   6. Guarding Disabled Adult Beneficiaries' Benefits Eligibility
6. MAINTAINING AN ETHICAL PRACTICE
   2:15 - 3:15, Louis A. Silverman
   1. Whom do You Represent? Conflicts of Interest
   2. Protecting Client Confidentiality
   3. Attorney Fees
   4. Practicing Law in More Than One State
7. STEP 6: HANDLING ESTATE CLOSING, FINAL ACCOUNTING, AND TAX RETURNS
   3:30 - 4:30, T. James Lee
   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
8. STEP 7: RESOLVING DISPUTES AND NAVIGATING PROBATE LITIGATION
   4:30 - 5:00, Louis A. Silverman
   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:

T. JAMES LEE is a shareholder and director in the Phoenix office of Fennemore Craig, P.C., and chairs the firm’s private wealth preservation (trusts and estates) practice group. He is certified as a Trust and Estate Specialist by the State Bar of Arizona, and practices in the areas of estate planning, trust and estate administration, charitable giving, business design and structuring, international taxation, and commercial transactions. Mr. Lee is a member of the American Bar Association, the Utah State Bar, the ABA's Committee on Estate and Gift Taxes (Taxation Section), and is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC). He earned his undergraduate degree in business management from Brigham Young University, with distinction as the top business school graduate in the area of entrepreneurship. He graduated, with honors, from the J. Reuben Clark Law School at BYU.

GEORGE S. PEEK is a shareholder with Crivello Carlson, S.C. He concentrates his practice in the areas of secured lending and transactions, creditor/debtor litigation, business and commercial litigation, and products liability litigation. In the course of his practice, Mr. Peek also provides transactional services in the areas of business entity creation and dissolution, real estate, trusts, and estates. He is a member of the American and Milwaukee bar associations. Mr. Peek's bar admissions include the State of Wisconsin, the State of Illinois, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit. He earned his B.A. degree from the University of Nebraska-Omaha and his J.D. degree from Marquette University Law School.

LOUIS A. SILVERMAN is an attorney at Silverman Law Offices, where he practices in the areas of estate planning, estate administration, probate law, and related tax matters. Mr. Silverman became board-certified in estate and trust law by the State Bar of Arizona. His practice emphasizes estate planning, which includes wills and trusts and other estate planning devices, and trust administration and probate, which includes death probate, guardianship, and conservatorship. Mr. Silverman has served as judge pro tem on the Maricopa County Superior Court. He is a member of WealthCounsel and is a past member of the Elder Law, Mental Health and Special Needs Planning Section of the State Bar of Arizona. Mr. Silverman is on the board of trustees of Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine and past president of the Board of Directors of Tempe Leadership. Mr. Silverman earned his B.S. degree in business from Arizona State University and his J.D. degree from South Texas College of Law in Houston. He is admitted to practice in the state courts of Arizona and Texas, the U.S. District Court for Arizona, and the Western District of Texas.