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Overview
Get Critical Tools for Shaping Your Clients' Legacies
This no-nonsense introduction to estate planning breaks it down to its key working documents and fundamental steps. Learn how to map out asset transfers during life and distributions in probate, prepare clients for incapacity and nursing home care, and more. Whether you're just getting started or looking for a practical refresher, you'll find our expert faculty's insights helpful. Get the tools and tactics you'll need to ensure your client's estates function as intended. Register today!
- Explore the top types of wills and trusts used in the practice, and pick the right one for each client.
- Build Medicaid eligibility planning into your overall plans and avoid unintentional tax and creditor exposure.
- Prevent POA abuse through wise choice of proxy and careful drafting.
- Help clients plan for medical decision-making and diminishing capacity.
- Plan for the tax consequences of trusts and other planning techniques and find ways to minimize the tax burden.
- Spot common mistakes that will land you in hot water in joint representation of spouses.
Abbreviated Agenda
- Essential Will and Trust Drafting
- Gifts, Joint Accounts, Intervivos Transfers, LLCs, IRAs, and Annuities
- Probate in a Nutshell: What to Expect
- Essential Tax Tactics
- Financial and Medical Decision-Making, Guardianships
- Special Needs Trusts and Medicaid Planning
- Legal Ethics
Credit Details
Credits Available
| Credit | Status | Total | Until |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas CLE |
|
6 Total | 09-30-2026 |
Select Jurisdiction
CLE
Agenda
-
Essential Will and Trust Drafting
- Client Intake and Crafting the Overall Plan
- Wills vs. Trusts
- Top Trusts to Use
- Drafting Essential Provisions (With Sample Language)
- Fiduciary Powers
- Distributions
- Special Clauses
-
Gifts, Joint Accounts, Intervivos Transfers, LLCs, IRAs, and Annuities
-
Probate in a Nutshell: What to Expect
-
Essential Tax Tactics
- Current State and Federal Tax Rates and Exclusions
- Tax Tactics for Small vs. Large Estates
- Valuation of Assets
- Taxation and Tax Consequences of Trusts
-
Financial and Medical Decision-Making, Guardianships
- Choosing the Right Proxies
- "Dangerous" Powers
- Adult Guardianships
- Medical POAs and Advance Directives
-
Special Needs Trusts and Medicaid Planning
- Medicaid Eligibility Criteria
- Medicaid Planning Tools
- Types of Special Needs Trusts
- Essential SNT Provisions
- Preserving Benefits
- ABLE Accounts
-
Legal Ethics
- Who Is Your Client?
- Conflicts of Interest
- Joint Representation of Spouses
- Client Capacity
- Effective Communication
- Practicing Before the IRS
- Attorney Fees, Engagement Agreements, and Client Trust Accounts
- Preventing UPL
Who Should Attend
This basic level online seminar is designed for:
- Attorneys
- Accountants and CPAs
- Tax Professionals
- Trust Officers
- Estate Planners
- Paralegals
Speakers
Speaker bio
Don D. Ford, III
is the managing partner with the law firm of Ford + Bergner LLP, and is board-certified in estate planning and probate. He has lectured to various professional groups on tax and estate planning, probate, and guardianships topics, and practices exclusively in these areas. In 2014, Mr. Ford was appointed by the chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court to serve as a commissioner on the Judicial Branch Certification Commission as a subject-matter expert in the area of guardianships. Additionally, he served from 2006 to 2014 on the Texas Guardianship Certification Board, where he served as the vice-chair of the committee and chaired the Rules Committee. Mr. Ford has also served on the editorial board of the Houston Lawyer Magazine, and the Board of Trustees for the Houston Lawyer Referral Service. He is a member of the Probate, Trusts and Estates sections of both the Houston and Dallas bar associations. Mr. Ford earned his B.B.A. and J.D. degrees from Baylor University, and worked on his Masters in taxation while in law school.
Speaker bio
Clifton Coufal
is principal attorney at the Clifton Coufal Law Firm, with locations in Plano, Ft. Worth and throughout Texas. He primarily focuses on meeting the legal needs of the elderly preparing for long term care facilities including wills, trusts, estate and legal benefits planning to save money and preserve assets. Mr. Coufal is a VA accredited attorney and provides solutions for veterans and veteran widows to qualify for the VA Aid and Attendance (VA Pension) program. He earned his B.A. degree from Dallas Baptist University, his M.S. degree from Texas A&M University - Mays Business School, his M.B.A. from Tsinghua University and his J.D. degree from Duke University School of Law.
Speaker bio
Cole Shooter
is an attorney with Greak, Shooter, & Uryasz. He practices mainly in estate planning and probate, business formation and planning, real estate and elder law. He is a member of the Lubbock Area Bar Association and the State Bar of Texas. Mr. Shooter earned his undergraduate degree from Texas Tech, his M.B.A. degree from Wayland Baptist University and his J.D. degree from Texas Tech School of Law, with a business law concentration. Prior to law school, he worked for several years as a broadcast journalist in Texas.
Speaker bio
Joseph G. Epstein
is a managing member at Joseph G. Epstein PLLC. His practice focuses primarily on bankruptcy and business law. Mr. Epstein earned his B.B.A degree from the University of Texas at Austin and his J.D. degree from the University of Houston Law Center. He is a member of the American Bar Association-Business Law Section, State Bar of Texas (Business and Bankruptcy Law sections), and Houston Bar Association (Bankruptcy and Oil, Gas & Mineral Law sections). Mr. Epstein is licensed to practice in Texas; Supreme Court of Texas; U.S. District and Bankruptcy courts for the Southern, Northern, Eastern and Western districts of Texas; and U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.
Speaker bio
Terry L. Garrett
works in elder, estate and special needs planning, guardianship, and probate at The Garrett Law Firm, PLLC, in Austin, Texas. She is a certified elder law attorney. Ms. Garrett graduated with honors from Cornell University, was on the Dean's List at Wharton, earned the Parker Award and a Mellon Fellowship at Columbia University School of Law, and did post-graduate work at Harvard. She serves on the board of the Texas chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and the federal advocacy committee of Elder Law Attorneys. Ms. Garrett presents for the Alzheimer's Association, has taught for the National Alliance on Mental Illness and is a member of the Estate Planning Council of Central Texas.
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