Trusts, Estates & Probate

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Estate Planning for Blended and Nontraditional Families

Credits Available
Credit Status Total
California MCLE Paralegal Approved 6 Total
Alaska CLE Reciprocity 6 Total
Alabama CLE Approved 6 Total
Arkansas CLE Approved 6 Total
Arizona CLE Approved 6 Total
California CLE Approved 6 Total
Colorado CLE Approved 7 Total
Connecticut CLE Approved 6 Total
Delaware CLE Approved 6 Total
Florida CLE Approved 7 Total
Georgia CLE Approved 6 Total
Hawaii CLE Approved 6 Total
Iowa CLE Approved 6 Total
Idaho CLE Approved 6 Total
Illinois CLE Approved 6 Total
Indiana CLE Approved 6 Total
Kansas CLE Approved 7 Total
Kentucky CLE Upon Request 6 Total
Louisiana CLE Approved 6 Total
Maine CLE Approved 6 Total
Minnesota CLE Approved 6 Total
Missouri CLE Approved 7.2 Total
Northern Mariana Islands CLE Approved 6 Total
Montana CLE Pending 6 Total
North Carolina CLE Approved 6 Total
Nebraska CLE Approved 6 Total
New Hampshire CLE Approved 6 Total
New Jersey CLE Approved 7.2 Total
New Mexico CLE Approved 6 Total
Nevada CLE Approved 6 Total
New York CLE Approved 7 Total
Ohio CLE Approved 6 Total
Oklahoma CLE Approved 7 Total
Pennsylvania CLE Approved 6 Total
Rhode Island CLE Upon Request 7 Total
South Carolina CLE Approved 6 Total
Tennessee CLE Approved 6 Total
Texas CLE Approved 6 Total
Utah CLE Approved 6 Total
Virginia CLE Approved 6 Total
Vermont CLE Approved 6 Total
Washington CLE Approved 6 Total
Wisconsin CLE Approved 7 Total
West Virginia CLE Approved 7.2 Total
Wyoming CLE Approved 6 Total
Arizona CPE for Accountants Approved 7 Total
New York CPE for Accountants Approved 7 Total
Washington CPE for Accountants Approved 7 Total
Wisconsin CPE for Accountants Approved 7.2 Total
Delaware Certified Paralegal Program Approved 6 Total
Florida Registered Paralegal Approved 7 Total
Indiana Paralegal CLE Approved 6 Total
Montana CLE Credit for Paralegals Approved 6 Total
CPE for Accountants/NASBA Approved 7 Total
North Carolina Continuing Paralegal Education Approved 6 Total
New Mexico Paralegal Division, State Bar of Approved 6 Total
Ohio Certified Paralegals Approved 6 Total
NFPA Approved 0 Total
Texas State Bar of Paralegal Division Approved 6 Total
Live Online
6 hours
Miriam Rhoden-Shedden
Thomas Begley
Wesley Dickson
Aaron Esman
Mary Greenwood McDermott
With Miriam Rhoden-Shedden from Shedden Law LLC + 5 others

Wed, Dec 02, 00:00 AM – 00:00 PM

Product ID 102761

Register For Course

Course Includes
$429

Live Webinar Registration

OnDemand Recording

Course Book Download

OnDemand content will be available within 7 days of event date.

Overview

When "Standard" Doesn't Fit Your Client's Family, Neither Should Your Planning

Blended families, unmarried partners, same-sex couples, and single parents are now the norm, not the exception. Yet most estate planning defaults are built around the traditional nuclear family model, leaving nontraditional clients exposed to unintended disinheritance, contested distributions, and fractured relationships. This course delivers practical strategies for drafting plans that reflect your clients' real family structures, navigate competing interests across generations, and hold up when relationships and family dynamics get complicated. Register today!

  • Identify planning gaps that trigger disputes in blended and nontraditional families.
  • Draft documents that account for stepchildren, half-siblings, and unmarried partners.
  • Protect surviving spouses without disinheriting children from prior relationships.
  • Counsel unmarried cohabitants who have no automatic inheritance rights.
  • Protect families formed through adoption, IVF, and surrogacy with thoughtful estate planning.
  • Spot and manage ethics issues in complex family representations.

Abbreviated Agenda

  1. Intestacy Laws and Client Intake Essentials
  2. Planning for Blended Families: The Competing Interests Problem
  3. Unmarried Cohabitants and Domestic Partners
  4. Drafting Strategies and Document Pitfalls (With Sample Language)
  5. Same-Sex Couples, Parentage, and Estate Planning Issues
  6. Ethics in Complex Family Representation

Can't Attend Live?

Get the OnDemand Instead

Watch the recording of this event on your own schedule. We'll notify you when its ready.

Related Topics

Product ID 102761

Credit Details

Credits Available
Credit Status Total
California MCLE Paralegal Approved 6 Total
Alaska CLE Reciprocity 6 Total
Alabama CLE Approved 6 Total
Arkansas CLE Approved 6 Total
Arizona CLE Approved 6 Total
California CLE Approved 6 Total
Colorado CLE Approved 7 Total
Connecticut CLE Approved 6 Total
Delaware CLE Approved 6 Total
Florida CLE Approved 7 Total
Georgia CLE Approved 6 Total
Hawaii CLE Approved 6 Total
Iowa CLE Approved 6 Total
Idaho CLE Approved 6 Total
Illinois CLE Approved 6 Total
Indiana CLE Approved 6 Total
Kansas CLE Approved 7 Total
Kentucky CLE Upon Request 6 Total
Louisiana CLE Approved 6 Total
Maine CLE Approved 6 Total
Minnesota CLE Approved 6 Total
Missouri CLE Approved 7.2 Total
Northern Mariana Islands CLE Approved 6 Total
Montana CLE Pending 6 Total
North Carolina CLE Approved 6 Total
Nebraska CLE Approved 6 Total
New Hampshire CLE Approved 6 Total
New Jersey CLE Approved 7.2 Total
New Mexico CLE Approved 6 Total
Nevada CLE Approved 6 Total
New York CLE Approved 7 Total
Ohio CLE Approved 6 Total
Oklahoma CLE Approved 7 Total
Pennsylvania CLE Approved 6 Total
Rhode Island CLE Upon Request 7 Total
South Carolina CLE Approved 6 Total
Tennessee CLE Approved 6 Total
Texas CLE Approved 6 Total
Utah CLE Approved 6 Total
Virginia CLE Approved 6 Total
Vermont CLE Approved 6 Total
Washington CLE Approved 6 Total
Wisconsin CLE Approved 7 Total
West Virginia CLE Approved 7.2 Total
Wyoming CLE Approved 6 Total
Arizona CPE for Accountants Approved 7 Total
New York CPE for Accountants Approved 7 Total
Washington CPE for Accountants Approved 7 Total
Wisconsin CPE for Accountants Approved 7.2 Total
Delaware Certified Paralegal Program Approved 6 Total
Florida Registered Paralegal Approved 7 Total
Indiana Paralegal CLE Approved 6 Total
Montana CLE Credit for Paralegals Approved 6 Total
CPE for Accountants/NASBA Approved 7 Total
North Carolina Continuing Paralegal Education Approved 6 Total
New Mexico Paralegal Division, State Bar of Approved 6 Total
Ohio Certified Paralegals Approved 6 Total
NFPA Approved 0 Total
Texas State Bar of Paralegal Division Approved 6 Total
Select Jurisdiction
CLE
Paralegal
Other

Agenda

All times are shown in

  1. Intestacy Laws and Client Intake Essentials

    1. Who Counts as "Family"? Intestacy Defaults and Their Failure Points for Nontraditional Clients
    2. Stepchildren, Half-Siblings, and Legally Unrecognized Children: Status Under State Law
    3. Common Fact Patterns: Remarriage With Children, Unmarried Cohabitation, Single Parenthood, Same-Sex Couples
    4. Intake and Client Identification: Asking the Right Questions From the Start

  2. Planning for Blended Families: The Competing Interests Problem

    1. Balancing the Surviving Spouse's Needs Against Children From Prior Relationships
    2. QTIP Trusts and Other Mechanisms for Staged Distribution Across Family Lines
    3. Structuring Trusts to Protect Children While Providing Spousal Income
    4. Tax Considerations in Blended Family Planning: Marital Deduction, Portability, Basis, and GST Issues
    5. Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreements as Estate Planning Tools: Coordination Considerations

  3. Unmarried Cohabitants and Domestic Partners

    1. Planning Without Default Inheritance Rights: What the Law Does and Doesn't Provide
    2. Cohabitation Agreements, Joint Ownership Structures, and Beneficiary Designation Strategy
    3. Healthcare Proxies, Financial POAs, and Advance Directives: Ensuring Legal Standing for Partners
    4. Planning for Relationship Dissolution: Revocation-on-Divorce Analogs and Their Limits

  4. Drafting Strategies and Document Pitfalls (With Sample Language)

    1. Defining "Children," "Descendants," and "Family" in Governing Instruments: Precision Matters
    2. Beneficiary Designation Disasters and Coordination Across Retirement Accounts, Life Insurance, and Trusts
    3. No-Contest Clauses, in Terrorem Provisions, and Managing the Risk of Family Disputes
    4. Incapacity Planning
    5. Planning for Every Member of the Family: Pet Trusts and Care Provisions
    6. Practical Checklist: Document Audit for Blended and Nontraditional Family Clients

  5. Same-Sex Couples, Parentage, and Estate Planning Issues

    1. Planning After Obergefell: Remaining Legal and Practical Considerations
    2. Modern Parentage Issues: Adoption, Assisted Reproduction, Surrogacy, and Inheritance Rights
    3. Couples With Existing Pre-Marriage Plans: Review Triggers and Update Priorities
    4. Interstate Portability Issues and Planning for Clients Who May Relocate

  6. Ethics in Complex Family Representation

    1. Conflicts of Interest: Representing Spouses, Partners, or Multiple Family Members
    2. Confidentiality Across Joint Representations: What to Disclose and to Whom
    3. Competence Obligations When Family Structures Raise Unfamiliar Legal Questions
    4. Withdrawal and Disengagement: Navigating Client Relationships When Family Dynamics Shift

Who Should Attend

This legal course is designed for attorneys. Accountants, fiduciaries, and paralegals will also benefit.

Speakers

Miriam Rhoden-Shedden
Miriam
Rhoden-Shedden
Shedden Law LLC
Thomas D Begley III
Thomas D.
Begley, III
Thomas D. Begley III, LLC
Wesley J Dickson
Wesley J.
Dickson
Three Oaks Law
Aaron M Esman
Aaron M.
Esman
Ziering & Esman PLLC
Mary L Greenwood McDermott
Mary L.
Greenwood McDermott
Brandon Family Law Center, LLC
SF
Sharyn
Fisk
Cal Poly Pomona
Speaker bio
Miriam Rhoden-Shedden

Miriam Rhoden-Shedden

Shedden Law LLC
Miriam Rhoden-Shedden

is an attorney and owner of Shedden Law LLC. She is a dedicated estate planning attorney with a passion for educating her clients and ensuring their needs are at the forefront of every decision. Ms. Rhoden-Shedden is licensed to practice in Maryland, Washington D.C., Vermont, and Jamaica.

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Speaker bio
Thomas D Begley III

Thomas D. Begley, III

Thomas D. Begley III, LLC
Thomas Begley

is the president of Thomas D. Begley III, LLC, where he concentrates his practice in the areas of estate and tax planning, estate administration, small business representation, elder law, and probate litigation. Mr. Begley is a certified elder law attorney (CELA) as accredited by the National Elder Law Foundation. He is an accomplished author and lecturer. Mr. Begley is a member of the New Jersey State Bar Association (former director of the Elder Law Section) and the Burlington County Bar Association (former chair of the Estate Planning and Probate Committee). He is admitted to practice in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Mr. Begley earned his B.A. degree from Georgetown University College of Arts and Sciences and his J.D. degree from Georgetown University Law Center.

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Speaker bio
Wesley J Dickson

Wesley J. Dickson

Three Oaks Law
Wesley Dickson

is an attorney at Three Oaks Law. He focuses his practice on real property, probate, and trusts. Mr. Dickson earned his B.A. degree from Stetson University and his J.D. degree from Stetson University College of Law. He is admitted to practice law in Florida.

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Speaker bio
Aaron M Esman

Aaron M. Esman

Ziering & Esman PLLC
Aaron Esman

is an attorney at Ziering & Esman PLLC. He is a tax controversy and litigation attorney based in New York, representing individual and entity taxpayers before the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Justice, and state and local taxing authorities. Mr. Esman represents taxpayers in all stages of tax controversy, including audits, appeals, and litigation. He also advises clients on tax matters related to corporate transactions, mergers & acquisitions, compliance, and corporate governance. Mr. Esman is an active member of the American Bar Association Section of Taxation, where he serves as chair of the Standards of Tax Practice Committee and vice-chair of the LGBTQ+ Lawyers in Tax Forum. He received his undergraduate degrees from the University of Miami and his J.D. degree from Emory University School of Law. Mr. Esman then went on to receive his LL.M. degree in taxation from New York University School of Law. He is admitted to practice law in New York, New Jersey, District of Columbia and before the Supreme Court of the United States, U.S. Tax Court, U.S. Court of Federal Claims, Southern, Eastern and Western districts of New York, and Northern District of Illinois.

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Speaker bio
Mary L Greenwood McDermott

Mary L. Greenwood McDermott

Brandon Family Law Center, LLC
Mary Greenwood McDermott

is an attorney at Brandon Family Law Center, LLC. Her practice includes personal client services in the areas of adoption and surrogacy, elder law, estate planning, probate and guardianship. She also has extensive experience advising clients in family law matters, including pre-marital and post-marital planning. Ms. Greenwood McDermott earned her undergraduate degrees from Hillsdale College and her J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School. She is a member of the American Bar Association, Florida Bar Association, the Hillsborough County Bar Association, the Brandon Bar Association, the Florida Adoption Council, and the National Association of Elder Law Attorneys. She is also proud to offer service to the community through the Brandon Foundation, and as President of the Board of Directors for Apostles Village, an affordable housing community for seniors. Ms. Greenwood McDermott is admitted to practice law in Florida.

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Speaker bio
SF

Sharyn Fisk

Cal Poly Pomona
Sharyn Fisk

is an Associate Professor at Cal Poly Pomona, Department of Accounting. She is also a tax attorney who specializes in federal and state tax controversy matters. Ms. Fisk is a Certified Tax Law Specialist with the California State Bar. In 2017, she was appointed to the IRS Advisory Council (IRSAC). Ms. Fisk has served as Chair of the Los Angeles County Bar Association Taxation Section Executive Committee, a board member of the Inland Empire Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, and a member of Taxation Section of both the American Bar Association and California Bar Association. She earned her J.D. degree from Rutgers School of Law and her LL.M. in Taxation from the New York University School of Law.

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