Conference Objectives & Description

This two day conference consists of a series of lecture sessions designed to examine in detail current developments in the estate and gift tax field; strengthen the practitioner’s knowledge and application of estate planning techniques to a multitude of diverse and complex problems; and to provide a forum for the discussion of important estate planning problems and their solutions. Sessions will be led by a group of conference faculty members comprised of estate planning and tax practitioners and legal scholars. Faculty members have been selected for their knowledge of the subjects, presentation skills, and ability to communicate.

39^th Annual Duke Estate Planning Conference – October 12-13, 2017

Thursday, October 12, 2017

Registration & Continental Breakfast

7:00 am – 8:15 am

Welcome & Opening Remarks

8:15 am – 8:30 am

Recent and Pending Transfer Tax Developments – Part I

8:30 am – 9:30 am

Ronald D. Aucutt, McGuireWoods LLP and Stephen R. Akers, Bessemer Trust

This presentation will discuss the most significant recent developments affecting estate planning.  It will also discuss whether the estate tax is really permanent, or will be permanently repealed, and other pending legislative and administrative changes, including regulations affecting consistent basis and valuation discounts. The discussion will include practical planning implications in the face of legislative uncertainty and potential estate tax repeal.

Break

9:30 am – 9:40 am

Recent and Pending Transfer Tax Developments – Part II

9:40 am – 10:40 am

Ronald D. Aucutt, McGuireWoods LLP and Stephen R. Akers, Bessemer Trust

This presentation will discuss the most significant recent developments affecting estate planning.  It will also discuss whether the estate tax is really permanent, or will be permanently repealed, and other pending legislative and administrative changes, including regulations affecting consistent basis and valuation discounts. The discussion will include practical planning implications in the face of legislative uncertainty and potential estate tax repeal.

Break

10:40 am – 10:50 am

Fiduciary Litigation Topics in Depth

10:50 am – 11:50 am

Jessica A. Uzcategui, Sacks, Glazier, Franklin & Lodise LLP

The program will consist of a discussion of several topics (4-6) of current interest across the country in fiduciary litigation. Potential topics include the application of the attorney-client privilege in trust and estate litigation, statutes of limitations and other defenses, attorneys’ fees and costs, amendment or revocation of trusts, and others.

Lunch

11:50 am – 1:00 pm

Asset Protection After 20 Years

1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

John A. Terrill, II, Heckscher, Teillon, Terrill & Sager P.C.

In 1997, two states, Alaska and Delaware, passed the first “domestic asset protection trust” or “DAPT” legislation. In the ensuing twenty years, there has been an explosion of asset protection laws in the United States; there are now 18 states that have DAPT laws. There has been some but relatively little case law and IRS responses addressing the application and effectiveness of DAPT statutes, both with regard to creditors and with regard to the tax consequences of DAPTs. Mr. Terrill will review the history of DAPTS over these twenty years and will address how asset protection has evolved over these two decades. He will also share his own observations as to how asset protection will continue to evolve in coming years.

Break

2:00 pm – 2:10 pm

The Tax and Practical Basics of Private Foundations

2:10 pm – 3:10 pm

Alan F. Rothschild, Jr., Page, Scrantom, Sprouse, Tucker & Ford, P.C.

Private foundations are subject to very different rules than public charities—including lower charitable deduction limitations, stringent grant making requirements and excise taxes on self-dealing and taxable expenditures. This session will provide a practical overview of common foundation operational issues and how to address these issues under current legal and best practice guidelines.

Break

3:10 pm – 3:20 pm

Art in Estate Planning and Administration

3:20 pm – 4:20 pm

Anne-Marie Rhodes, Loyola University Chicago School of Law

When an estate includes works of art, the normal rules of planning and administration may not apply.   Questions of title, ownership, authenticity, and valuation arise routinely in the global art market.   Legislatures and courts – domestic as well as foreign – are more actively engaged in many of those controversies. This presentation will present an overview of some of the issues that can confront and confound an estate planner when dealing with works of art.

Pixar for Estate Planners: Who Gets Your Digital Stuff When You’ve Logged Off for the Final Time

4:20 pm – 5:20 pm

Robert K. Kirkland, Kirkland Woods & Martinsen PC

The objectives are to impress upon the participants the need to understand the nature of clients’ digital property, to discuss the many unique obstacles to planning for and administration of digital property, to introduce many planning techniques for digital property, to summarize the impact (or lack thereof) of the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, and to inform of the many administrative tasks associated with digital property in an estate or trust.

Friday, October 13, 2017

Continental Breakfast

8:00 am – 8:30 am

Income Tax Developments

8:30 am – 9:30 am

Andrea C. Chomakos, McGuireWoods LLP

This session will cover recent legislative developments affecting income taxes of individuals and corporations. In addition, the presenter will discuss various federal and state income tax issues applicable to estates and trusts.

Break

9:30 am – 9:40 am

Discretionary Distributions: The Garment is Bigger than its HEMS

9:40 am – 10:40 am

Hugh Magill, Northern Trust Company

Discretion over trust distributions is one the two most important responsibilities given to trustees. We will examine a wide range of discretionary standards, including the often used ascertainable standards emanating from Treasury Reg. Sec. 20.2041-1(c), and consider how to creatively express and interpret grantor intent in this vital function of trust management.

Break                                                                                                                                                

10:40 am – 10:50 am

Knowing the Ropes and Binding the IRS: Income and Transfer Tax Issues of Settlements and Modifications that Every Fiduciary Should Know

10:50 am – 11:50 am

Melissa J. Willms, Davis & Willms, PLLC

Being a fiduciary can be a thankless job, but dealing with taxes is part of the job. If litigation ensues or a trust construction, decanting, or other modification is sought, it’s vital to know the income, estate, gift, and GST tax consequences that may arise when a fiduciary is a party to a settlement or takes part in a modification. Also learn the importance of language used when documenting the outcome, and how to bind the IRS to the deal.

Lunch

11:50 am – 1:00 pm

I Have It Because Mom Liked Me the Best: How to Help Protect Vulnerable Seniors from Financial Exploitation

1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

Stuart C. Bear, Chestnut Cambronne

It is a well-known fact that elder abuse throughout the country is on the rise. This presentation will identify what is financial exploitation, and legal remedies available to help a vulnerable senior. This presentation will also address the considerations and obligations of the advisor, in helping a vulnerable senior. Finally, this presentation will address measures to take with proper planning, to prevent a senior from financial exploitation.

Break

2:00 pm – 2:10 pm

Internal Affairs: Ethical Challenges in a Trusts and Estates Practice

2:10 pm – 3:10 pm

Beth Shapiro Kaufman, Caplin & Drysdale and Randy J. Curato, ALAS, Inc.

Potential ethics issues abound in an estate planning practice. Implementing simple procedures to avoid ethical problems can substantially reduce your risk. This session will address best practices in the following areas: client intake procedures, referrals from others and referrals to other professionals, and lawyer impairment due to substance abuse, mental illness, and aging. This practical discussion will also disclose the most common malpractice risk areas for estate planners.

A New World Order for Estate Planners (or Why Is It So Hard to Open a Bank Account)

3:10 pm – 4:10 pm

Read Moore, McDermott Will & Emery LLP

In advising clients, U.S. estate planners rely on the widespread use and acceptance of trusts, simplicity in organizing companies, confidentiality, and expediency in financial transactions. Developments in the fight against money laundering and tax evasion, including the automatic sharing of tax information among countries, however, have the potential to significantly change.  This presentation will address developments in anti-money laundering rules and tax information sharing inside and outside the United States and how those developments may affect important features of the U.S. estate planning practice.