Agenda

1. Opening the Estate

   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 the Public and to State Agencies
   8. Closing the Decedent's Accounts
   9. Obtaining the Estate Tax ID
   10. Laws of Intestacy

2. Managing the Estate: Valuations, Spousal Share, and More

   1. Preparing the Personal Representative for the Job
   2. Marshalling and Valuing Decedent's Assets
   3. Initial Inventory
   4. Maintenance and Management
   5. Determining Elective Share and Homestead Allowance
   6. Spousal Rights: Electing vs. Disclaiming the Share
   7. Claiming Homestead Allowance
   8. Portability Rules; Claiming Unused Lifetime Exclusion
   9. Estate Expenses: Payment and Record-Keeping
   10. What to Do With the Income the Estate is Producing

3. Maintaining an Ethical Practice

   1. Whom do You Represent? Conflicts of Interest
   2. Protecting Client Confidentiality
   3. Attorney Fees
   4. Practicing Law in More Than One State

4. Post-Mortem Tax Planning, Distributions, and Trust Administration

   1. Managing the Tax Consequences of Elections and Receipt of Non-Probate Assets (e.g. IRA Distributions)
   2. Tax Implications of Transfers
   3. Creating Trusts and Subtrusts for Multiple Beneficiaries to Receive Their Shares of the Estate
   4. What to Do With Bequests and Trust Distributions to Minors
   5. Post-Mortem Tax Planning Approaches: How Much Maneuver Room is Left?
   6. How to Calculate the Omitted Spouse Share or Omitted Child Share
   7. Guarding Disabled Adult Beneficiaries' Benefits Eligibility

5. Handling Estate Closing, Final Accounting, and Tax Returns

   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

6. Addressing Creditor Claims

   1. Ascertaining Creditors
   2. Creditors’ Deadlines: Exhibition, Demand, & Suit
   3. Issuing Notices to Creditors and Validating Claims: What Works Best
   4. Determining the Priority of Creditor Rights
   5. Contested Claims and Other Case Law

7. Resolving Disputes and Navigating Probate Litigation

   1. Will Contests, Allegations of Undue Influence and Other Causes of Action
   2. Probate Litigation Rules, Procedures, and Evidentiary Provisions
   3. Effective Approaches to Resolving Disputes Without Going to Court