AZ Specific

Trusts, Estates & Probate

Arizona Estate Administration From Start to Finish

Credits Available
Credit Status Total
Arizona CLE Approved 6.75 Total
New Mexico CLE Approved 6.75 Total
OnDemand
6 hours 38 minutes
Sarah Holcomb
Anya Witmer
Lisa Cosper
With Sarah Holcomb from The Law Offices of Sarah Holcomb PLLC + 2 others
Recorded March 10, 2025.
Product ID 99819

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Overview

A Comprehensive Step-By-Step Guide to Estate Administration

Whether you're new to estate administration or need a basic refresher, this course will provide you with a comprehensive overview of estate administration, including proper asset valuation and distribution, taxation, and account closing procedures. You'll also learn how to correctly deal with thorny estate administration debt issues, including jointly held assets, business ownership and complex tax issues. Equip yourself with real-life, practical knowledge to ensure you are fully prepared to handle the entire estate administration process from start to finish - register today!

  • Learn how to meet every deadline, follow procedures, and complete essential forms.
  • Identify key estate administration pitfalls you need to avoid.
  • Come away with helpful forms, sample documents, and checklists to assist in the process.
  • Acquire strategies to ensure you can help your clients through every step of the probate process.
  • Manage your client's entire estate administration procedures properly and effectively.
  • Learn how to tackle complex estate administration issues such as tax issues, jointly held assets, and will contests.
  • Understand how to properly transfer and distribute assets.
  • Explore proper procedures and processes when dealing with insurance claims and debt during estate administration.
  • Gain a better understanding of the probate court's procedures so that you can avoid common pitfalls and mistakes.
  • Get the latest information on allowances and elections against the will.
  • Identify how to properly distribute assets to minors, surviving spouses and trusts.

Abbreviated Agenda

  1. Commencement of Proceedings and Information Gathering
  2. Initial Steps to the Estate Administration Process
  3. Marshalling Assets
  4. Handling Creditor Claims and Debt
  5. Distribution and Closing of the Estate
  6. Handling Estate Administration Tax Issues
  7. Complex Issues in Estate Administration
  8. Ethics and Estate Administration
Product ID 99819

Credit Details

Credits Available
Credit Status Total
Arizona CLE Approved 6.75 Total
New Mexico CLE Approved 6.75 Total
Select Jurisdiction
CLE

Agenda

All times are shown in
  1. Commencement of Proceedings and Information Gathering

    1. Appointment of Estate Administration
      1. Formal vs. Informal Proceedings
      2. Sample Letters of Authority
    2. First Meeting With Family or Designated Personal Representative and Determination of Heirs
    3. Written Fee Agreements
    4. Tips to Locate Information Quickly Using Online and Government Resources
    5. Dealing with Multiple States
  2. Initial Steps to the Estate Administration Process

    1. Understanding the Laws of Intestacy
    2. Sample Estate Administration Checklists, Forms and Required Notices Needed
    3. Interpreting Provisions and Terms of Art Found in Wills
    4. Using Disclaimers Correctly
  3. Marshalling Assets

    1. Procedures to Locating and Marshalling Probate and Non-Probate Assets
      1. Safe Deposit Boxes and Bank Accounts
      2. Real Estate
      3. Brokerage Accounts, 401Ks, IRAs, Pensions and Life Insurance Policies
    2. Sample Forms and Documents Needed
    3. Appraisers and Valuing the Property of Probate Estates
  4. Handling Creditor Claims and Debt

    1. Sample Forms and Required Notices Needed
    2. Priority and Payment of Claims
    3. Late Claims and Contested Claims
    4. Steps to Ensure all Debt is Located and Handled Correctly
      1. What if the Assets Don't Cover the Bills?
      2. Bankruptcy and Foreclosure
    5. Selling of Assets and Properly Dealing with Creditors
  5. Distribution and Closing of the Estate

    1. Sample Forms, Agreements and Documents Needed
    2. Proper Transferring and Distribution of Probate and Non-Probate Assets and Timing of Distributions
      1. Real Estate
      2. 401Ks, IRAs, Pensions and Life Insurance Policies
      3. Distribution of Miscellaneous Assets (Automobiles, Jewelry, Etc.)
    3. Distributions in Kind
    4. Distribution to Minors, Surviving Spouse and Trusts
    5. Disposition of Unclaimed Assets
    6. Proper Settlement of the Estate
      1. Formal and Informal Estate Accountings
      2. Choosing the Appropriate Closing Procedure
      3. Compensation and Discharge of the Personal Representative
  6. Handling Estate Administration Tax Issues

    1. Examples of Forms Needed
    2. Federal and State Estate Tax Considerations
    3. Income Tax Issues for the Estate and the Heirs
    4. Resolving Disputes With Taxing Authorities
    5. Deductions and Exemptions
    6. How the Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Affects Your Clients
    7. Tax Deadlines and Handling Extensions
    8. Sales of Real Property
  7. Complex Issues in Estate Administration

    1. Jointly Held Assets
    2. Spousal Claims
      1. Allowances and Elections Against the Will
    3. Handling Unmarried Couples and Stepchildren
    4. Will Contests, Trust and Estate Disputes
    5. Business Ownership
    6. Agency Problems Involving Guardianships, Conservatorships, Powers of Attorney or Other Agency Relationships
  8. Ethics and Estate Administration

    1. Breach of Fiduciary Responsibility
    2. Avoiding Conflicts of Interest
    3. Attorney-Client Privilege
    4. Fee Agreements

Who Should Attend

This basic level online seminar is designed for professionals who want to be more effective in the estate administration process, such as:

  • Attorneys
  • CPAs and Accountants
  • Paralegals
  • Wealth Managers
  • Tax Professionals
  • Trust Officers

Speakers

Sarah Holcomb
Sarah
Holcomb
The Law Offices of Sarah Holcomb PLLC
Anya M Witmer
Anya M.
Witmer
Dyer Bregman Ferris Wong & Carter, PLLC
Lisa Cosper
Lisa
Cosper
Sutin Thayer & Browne
Speaker bio
Sarah Holcomb

Sarah Holcomb

The Law Offices of Sarah Holcomb PLLC
Sarah Holcomb

is a solo practitioner in The Law Offices of Sarah Holcomb PLLC. She practices in the areas of asset protection; estate planning; wills, trusts, and probate estates; business formation; guardianships and conservatorships; mediation; and elder law. Ms. Holcomb serves as a court-appointed mediator through the Coconino County Superior Court Alternative Dispute Resolution Program, and is a court-appointed investigator for private guardianship and conservatorship cases as well as adoption cases. She is a member of the State Bar of Arizona (sections for Alternative Dispute Resolution, Mental Health and Elder Law, and Probate and Trust Law), the Coconino County Bar Association and the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. Ms. Holcomb is a graduate of the University of Kansas School of Law, where she earned certificates in both tax law and elder law. Prior to opening her own firm, she acted as a supervising attorney of the Child Support Program for Southern Arizona Legal Aid in Tucson, and then an associate with a private firm in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Speaker bio
Anya M Witmer

Anya M. Witmer

Dyer Bregman Ferris Wong & Carter, PLLC
Anya Witmer

is an attorney at Dyer Bregman Ferris Wong & Carter, PLLC, where she practices estate planning, probate administration, and trust formation and administration matters. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in English literature from Arizona State University and was a NALA certified paralegal prior to law school. Ms. Witmer then received her Juris Doctor degree from California Western Law School in San Diego, California, where she graduated, cum laude, and received an Academic Excellence Award for her research and writing on cryptocurrency in estate planning and probate. She is a member of WealthCounsel, the State Bar of Arizona (Probate and Trust Section), Maricopa County Bar Association, and the American Bar Association (Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Section). Ms. Witmer is admitted to practice law in Arizona and California.

Speaker bio
Lisa Cosper

Lisa Cosper

Sutin Thayer & Browne
Lisa Cosper

is a member of Sutin, Thayer & Browne’s Commercial Group, where she focuses her practice on estate planning, probate and trusts. She also works on corporate law matters, as well as liquor licensing. Ms. Cosper's practice involves helping clients protect their legacies by creating and implementing individualized estate plans. Additionally, she provides guidance to business owners in establishing and maintaining appropriate business structures. Ms. Cosper earned her B.A. degree in business law from Arizona State University W.P. Carey School of Business and her J.D. degree, magna cum laude, from Arizona Summit Law School. While in law school, she provided pro bono services including Community Legal Assistance and Wills for Heroes. Before joining the firm, Ms. Cosper worked as a paralegal at an Arizona-based law firm in 2014, focusing on estate planning and administration while pursuing her law degree full-time. Through her experience in estate planning and administration, she developed a strong foundation in writing, drafting, and managing trusts and estates. After becoming a licensed attorney, Ms. Cosper expanded her practice in estate planning and took on leadership responsibilities in the estate administration department, where she guided fellow attorneys on best practices and supervised the department’s paralegals. She has been a highly sought after speaker for estate and probate conventions and festivals since 2019. Ms. Cosper has won several awards for her work including Top Corporate Attorney, Albuquerque Journal Readers’ Choice Awards, 2023.

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