8:00 am – 8:15 am
Opening Remarks & Welcome
Bruce Last | CEB
Monica Dell’Osso | Wendel Rosen Black & Dean LLP
Paul Gordon Hoffman | Hoffman, Sabban & Watenmaker, APC

Opening remarks and program information.

8:15 am – 9:45 am
Current California Developments
S. Andrew Pharies | Duane Morris LLP

Stay up to date with this discussion of the most important changes to California’s legal landscape and how they impact your estate and trust practice.

10:00 am – 11:00 am
Supported Decision Making: The Newest Least Restrictive Alternative
Hon. Mary Thornton House (Ret.) | Alternative Resolution Centers (ARC)
Peter Stern | Law Office of Peter S. Stern

Losing one’s autonomy due to age-related mental decline is a common fear among clients, and parents of children with physical and intellectual disabilities often fear their child, after their parents death, will lose autonomy through a conservatorship. However, practitioners have a new tool, the Supported Decision Making (SDM) agreement, to assist clients. Join the Honorable Mary Thornton House (Ret.) and attorney Peter Stern as they discuss the advantages and disadvantages of SDMs and the role SDMs play in your estate planning practice.

11:15 am – 12:15 pm
Directed Trusts, Now a Statutory Reality in California
Philip Hayes | Northern Trust
Michael Rosen-Prinz | Loeb & Loeb LLP

Directed trusts have been used to insulate a trustee from liability by placing asset management and distribution authorization authority in the hands of a second fiduciary, the trust director. However, until adoption of the California Uniform Trust Act, attorneys and trustees remained cautious about using them. Join Philip Hayes and Michael Rosen-Prinz to learn about the new act and how it can benefit your clients.

1:15 pm – 2:45 pm
“Unhappily Married” – Conflicts of Interest and Other Ethical Issues in Intergenerational and Marital Estate Planning
Elizabeth Carter | Louisiana State University School of Law
Linda Retz | Saul Ewing LLP

Linda Retz and Elizabeth Carter will discuss how to handle intergenerational estate planning and planning involving second (and further) marriages and the inherent conflicts and ethical issues surrounding joint representation of family members and marital planning with partners of disparate income and educational levels.

3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
“The Empty Chair” Statute – Expanding Trustee Duties under Probate Code 15800
Craig Weinstein | Withersworldwide
Susanna Kim | Withersworldwide

Amendments to Probate Code 15800 in 2021 and 2022 alter the trustee’s duties to successor and contingent beneficiaries when no person holding the power to revoke a trust remained competent. Join Craig Weinstein and Susanna Kim for an in-depth discussion of how the changes affect trust drafting and administration and what we have learned about the workings of Probate Code 15800 since its amendments.

8:00 am – 8:15 am
Opening Remarks and Comments
Bruce Last | CEB
Monica Dell’Osso | Wendel Rosen Black & Dean LLP
Paul Gordon Hoffman | Hoffman, Sabban & Watenmaker, APC

Opening remarks and program information.

8:15 am – 9:45 am
Federal Current Developments
Bill Sanderson | McGuireWoods LLP

Stay up to date with this discussion of the most important federal changes affecting your trusts and estates practice.

10:00 am – 11:30 am
Planning, Drafting, and Litigating QTIP Trusts
Jaime B. Herren | Hartog Baer Zobronsky
John A. Hartog | Hartog Baer Zobronsky

Join Jaime B. Herren and John A. Hartog who will discuss planning and drafting QTIPs trusts, including from a litigation perspective to assist you in avoiding common, and not so common, mistakes or generally accepted conventions that may lead to problems in administration, if not lengthy court proceedings.

12:30 pm – 2:00 pm
International Estate Planning for Canada and Mexico
Marsha Laine Dungog | Withersworldwide
Pedro E. Corona de la Fuente | Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch LLP
Raúl Villarreal-Garza | Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch LLP

Each day the United States becomes more of the international community. In addition to people immigrating from Canada and Mexico into the United States, it is estimated that more than 1 million Americans are living in Mexico either full or part time. Despite all the benefits of being part of an international community, it creates complications for estate planning when the client owns international assets or dies in a foreign county. Join Pedro E. Corona de la Fuente, Masha Dungog, and Raul Villarreal-Garza who will discuss estate planning for people living in California with assets in Canada and Mexico, and U.S. expats living in Mexico and owning assets in California.

2:15 pm – 3:45 pm
Corporate Transparency Act and Estate Planning
Gary Fletcher | Nystedt & Fletcher PLLC

The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) became effective January 1, 2024 and requires many businesses to report beneficial owner information to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCen) regarding the company and its beneficial owners. Because trustees, settlors, and trust beneficiaries can all be beneficial owners, as well as the use of various business entities in estate planning, your client and their trustees and beneficiaries may be required reporters under the CTA. Join Gary Fletcher who will discuss what you need to know about the CTA and FinCen reporting requirements in your estate planning practice.