Thursday, June 13, 2024
4:15 - 5:00 pm
Trust and Estate Ambassador and New Attendee/New Attorney Meetup
5:00 - 7:00 pm
Welcome Reception - Sponsored by Parkside Financial Bank & Trust
Friday, June 14, 2024
7:30 - 8:15 am
Registration and Breakfast - Sponsored by FORVIS
8:15 - 8:30 am
Welcoming Remarks
Extended by Jody Davis, Esq., CBA-CLE Program Attorney, and Dylan Metzner, Esq., Jones & Keller, P.C.
8:30 - 9:30 am
2050: Moving Towards Equal Partnership in Colorado's Legal Community
According to the census projections, less than 50% of Colorado's population will consist of non-Hispanic whites by the year 2050. This presentation lays out the unrealized promises of the future of Colorado's legal profession, discussing actual equal access to the legal system, responsible representation of all populations, and the recognition and elimination of systemic bias in the legal profession.
Presented by Qusair Mohamedbhai, Esq., Rathod | Mohamedbhai LLC, and Jason St. Julien, Esq., Lead Counsel of Community Trust, Airbnb
Submitted for 1.2 EDI Credits
9:30 - 9:50 am
Transition to Breakout Sessions
9:50 - 11:00 am
Round A Breakout Sessions
If you are attending in-person, choose from Sessions 1, 2, 3 or 4 during registration.
If you are attending virtually, you will have the choice of Sessions 1 or 2 via Zoom.
Breakout Session #1
Business Appraisal Fundamentals for Estate and Gift Tax Purposes
This session will focus on the valuation of closely held businesses and intellectual property under a Fair Market Value standard of value for estate and gift tax planning and reporting purposes. Explore the planning opportunities ahead due to the sunset of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act limits. Learn what constitutes a qualified appraisal and qualified appraiser under applicable IRS rules and regulations. Gain an understanding of how to screen and engage a qualified appraiser and what the costs and timing are for a typical estate and gift appraisal assignment.
Presented by Ronald Seigneur, MBA, CPA/ABV, ASA, CVA, Seigneur Gustafson LLP, and Herbert E. Tucker, Esq., Wade Ash, LLC
Breakout Session #2
Rabin: An All-Access Pass?
This presentation will review the implications of In re Estate of Rabin for estate planners and litigators. In addition to analyzing the case itself, the presentation will discuss similar rulings in other jurisdictions. The presentation will also focus on best practices as both a litigator and estate planner when an estate plan is requested pursuant to Rabin. Lastly, the presentation, from the perspective of two litigators, will offer practical solutions for estate planners dealing with a planning file request from a litigator and what the estate planner can do, before and after the request, to stand on solid ground.
Presented by Casey C. Breese, Esq., and Alison E. Zinn, Esq., Lathrop GPM LLP
Submitted for 1.4 Ethics/Professionalism Credits
Breakout Session #3 (Small group, In-Person only)
Bringing Your Firm into the Modern World and Overcoming the Generational Divide
In this workshop, we will explore ways to incorporate technology into your legal practice to transform your business into a more successful, mobile, and modern organization. We will also address working with multi-generational clients and how your practice can be adaptable in communication methods and processes to better serve your firm's clients.
We will facilitate discussion around these topics: 1) Incorporating technology into your firm; 2) Intake, practice and project management, client interface and portal, scheduling; 3) Working with multi-generational clients and adopting communication/process; 4) Breakdown of different generations: Silent Generation, Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, Gen Z; 5) Adopting communication/process; 6) Gender diversity and inclusion - nonbinary, neutral pronouns; and 7) Identifying your ideal client.
Presented by Colleen T. Scarola, Esq., Scarola Law, LLC; Kiera F. Schwartz, Esq., RBS Law; and Rachel Bernstein Sheikh, Esq., RBS Law
Submitted for .6 Ethics/Professionalism Credits
Breakout Session #4 (Small group, In-person only) - FULL
Probate Settlements with Real Estate: 3 Case Studies
The presenters, a mediator and a probate and real estate practitioner, will present 3 scenarios for resolution of probate disputes involving real estate. The planned scenarios will include buyouts by one beneficiary of other beneficiaries (including using promissory notes and deeds of trust to provide time flexibility), co-ownership agreements in the case of multiple co-owners, and life estate with remainder situations.
Presented by Angela Schmitz, Esq., Homestead Law, and Kathy L. Seidel, Esq., JAMS Denver
11:00 - 11:20 am
Networking Break
11:20 am - 12:30 pm
Round B Breakout Sessions
If you are attending in-person, choose from Sessions 3, 4, 5 or 6 during registration.
If you are attending virtually, you will have the choice of Sessions 5 or 6 via Zoom.
Breakout Session #3 (Small group, In-Person only)
Bringing Your Firm into the Modern World and Overcoming the Generational Divide
In this workshop, we will explore ways to incorporate technology into your legal practice to transform your business into a more successful, mobile, and modern organization. We will also address working with multi-generational clients and how your practice can be adaptable in communication methods and processes to better serve your firm's clients.
We will facilitate discussion around these topics: 1) Incorporating technology into your firm; 2) Intake, practice and project management, client interface and portal, scheduling; 3) Working with multi-generational clients and adopting communication/process; 4) Breakdown of different generations: Silent Generation, Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, Gen Z; 5) Adopting communication/process; 6) Gender diversity and inclusion - nonbinary, neutral pronouns; and 7) Identifying your ideal client.
Presented by Colleen T. Scarola, Esq., Scarola Law, LLC; Kiera F. Schwartz, Esq., RBS Law; and Rachel Bernstein Sheikh, Esq., RBS Law
Submitted for .6 Ethics/Professionalism Credits
Breakout Session #4 (Small group, In-Person only) - FULL
Probate Settlements with Real Estate: 3 Case Studies
The presenters, a mediator and a probate and real estate practitioner, will present 3 scenarios for resolution of probate disputes involving real estate. The planned scenarios will include buyouts by one beneficiary of other beneficiaries (including using promissory notes and deeds of trust to provide time flexibility), co-ownership agreements in the case of multiple co-owners, and life estate with remainder situations.
Presented by Angela Schmitz, Esq., Homestead Law, and Kathy L. Seidel, Esq., JAMS Denver
Breakout Session #5
Best Practices for Estate Planners in Preventing a Will or Trust Contest and the Role of an Estate Planning Attorney if a Contest is Filed.
This presentation will inform estate planners how to avoid/minimize challenges to their estate plans due to alleged undue influence and/or lack of testamentary capacity. We will use hypothetical fact patterns to discuss best practices for planners from the perspective of litigation. Attendees will learn from the perspective of an experienced geropsychologist about evaluating testamentary capacity and undue influence, as well as strategies for addressing concerns of diminished capacity with clients. This presentation will also address what happens if a will or trust contest is filed, including when and how the estate planning attorney must produce the legal file, give a deposition or attend court. Additionally, attendees will learn essential tips for testifying as the planner in a contest case.
Presented by Andrew W. Callahan, Esq., Wick & Trautwein LLC, Sheri Gibson, PhD, Sheri Gibson, PhD, LLC, and Andrea N. Mahoney, Esq., Olsen & Mahoney, LLP
Submitted for .6 Ethics/Professionalism Credits
Breakout Session #6
Six Months into the CTA: A Collaborative Discussion of Lessons Learned, Best Practices, Shared Experiences, and Unanswered Questions for Trusts and Estates
It is now six months after the enactment of the Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”). This seminar is for the trusts and estates (“T&E”) community to come together to discuss the CTA, now that it is in effect. Nikki McCain with Wells Fargo and Ashley Thompson with Robinson, Diss & Clowdus, P.C., will address T&E specific CTA matters to help your practice. Discussion topics include professional fiduciary experiences, sample language, division of responsibilities amongst advisors, estate administration procedures, and various roles in a trust agreement.
Nikki and Ashley will discuss T&E nuances in the CTA world and seek audience participation during the seminar. In your T&E practice, what works (and perhaps more importantly, what does not work) for the CTA? What documents and language have you developed? Have your procedures changed? What challenges have you faced?
Presented by Nikki McCain, J.D., Wells Fargo, and Ashley L. Thompson, Esq., Robinson, Diss & Clowdus, P.C.
12:30 pm
Adjourn
6:00 - 7:30 pm
Annual Wine Reception - Sponsored by Midwest Trust Company
Saturday, June 15, 2024
7:30 - 8:15 am
Breakfast - Sponsored by Holland & Hart LLP
8:15 - 8:30 am
Welcome Back and Presentation of the 2024 R. Sterling Ambler Award
8:30 - 9:30 am
ChatGPT, Please Tell Me My Ethical Duties: The Shifting Paradigms of Professional Judgment With Generative AI and Outsourced Estate Planning
With the rise of generative AI, attorneys are presented with more opportunities and pressure to utilize this technology. Attorneys are also facing an environment where clients use AI as a do-it-yourself tool, further compounding issues with self-representation. These developments have special importance to trusts and estates practitioners, as a wave of software solutions have promised increased productivity and lower overhead through automation. How can today's trust and estate practitioner ethically navigate these issues and choices? In this presentation, The Honorable Elizabeth Weishaupl (Ret.) and Griffin Bridgers discuss the various ethical rules and issues implicated under the Colorado Rules of Professional Conduct when it comes to the use, non-use, and misuse of automation and AI. Areas of focus include the various forms of AI, legal developments and misconduct cases involving use and misuse, and the challenges of maintaining one's duty of independent judgment when software and non-attorneys take the lead in the estate planning and administration process.
Presented by Griffin H. Bridgers, Esq., Hutchins & Associates, LLC, and The Honorable Elizabeth Weishaupl (Ret.), JAMS Denver
Submitted for 1.2 Ethics/Professionalism credits.
9:30 - 9:50 am
Transition to Breakout Sessions
9:50 - 11:00 am
Round C Breakout Sessions
If you are attending in-person, choose from Sessions 7, 8, 9 or 10 during registration.
If you are attending virtually, you will have the choice of Sessions 7 or 8 via Zoom.
Breakout Session #7
Planning for a Loved One with Special Needs
Understanding the unique needs and experiences of people with disabilities and their families is essential for promoting an inclusive estate planning practice. This presentation will allow attendees to understand the essential planning considerations to provide financial security to someone who may never be fully independent due to a disability. The content includes discussion of a Letter of Intent, the importance of a vision of the quality of life desired for the loved one and the related financial needs and various potential resources available to provide security. Resource discussion includes an introduction to Supplemental Security Income, Social Security Disability Income (Title II Childhood Disability Benefits), Medicaid and its invaluable Waivers. Public resource qualification and maintenance strategies will be discussed including the use of ABLE accounts, various Supplement Needs Trusts and quantifying the required funding of these trusts. Lastly, a discussion of the importance of the integration of Special Needs Financial Planning within the family's holistic financial plan will conclude the presentation.
Presented by Nancy "Susie" Germany, Esq., The Germany Law Firm P.C., and Kevne Sharpe, CFP, CHSNC, AEP, Mariner Wealth Advisors
Submitted for .4 EDI Credits
Breakout Session # 8
What Happens AFTER the Estate Planning Documents Are Signed? The Missing Link to the Traditional Estate Planning Process Explained
Proper estate planning does not end with the signing of the documents. This presentation will provide practitioners with the tools, practical processes and best practices needed to address the important work that must be completed after the documents are signed in order to create successful estate plans for our clients, such as (1) ensuring that living trusts are properly funded and beneficiary designations are updated consistent with the estate plan, (2) implementing a formal update and maintenance program so changes in the law and changes in the client's life and circumstances can be properly addressed, and (3) encouraging and facilitating family meetings so that the client's successor trustees and agents, who are typically family members, can be prepared and properly educated about what their roles and responsibilities will be when the time comes. By implementing these and other post document signing processes into their practices, practitioners can differentiate themselves from other planning professionals and increase the quality of the plans they are helping their clients create.
Attendees will receive informative handouts, tools, and materials to help them incorporate an update program, funding assistance processes, and other processes into their practice. They will also learn how to get compensated for these “extra” services and why clients are happy to pay for them.
Presented by Richard Selinger, J.D., LL.M., Selinger Law Firm, PA
Breakout Session # 9 (Small group, In-person only)
Hot Powers under Colorado's Uniform Power of Attorney Act: Discussions on Practical Use and Limitations
Kristin and Kelianne will lead an interactive discussion on the practical use and limitation of the hot powers under Colorado's Uniform Power of Attorney Act. We hope to provide a platform for practitioners to share their ideas, preferences (and fears) about including each of the hot powers, the interaction with other aspects of an estate plan, communicating about the hot powers with clients, and drafting appropriate limitations on use. The format will be an open discussion about each of the hot powers in turn, following CRS 15-14-724, with reference to the statutory form and the orange book form and notes on use.
Presented by Kelianne Chamberlain, Esq., Hoskin Farina & Kampf, PC, and Kristin Dittus, J.D., LL.M., Life & Legacy Planning, Ltd.
Breakout Session # 10 (Small group, In-person only)
Trier of Fact: Exploring Unanswered Questions of Law Through Colorado's New Pattern Civil Jury Instructions on Wills
Attendees will hear the relevant facts as presented by two opposing attorneys, David Struthers and Letty Maxfield, and apply them to relevant statute and common law as instructed by the judge, Jody Pilmer, to reach their verdict.
Jurors will hear short presentations of the relevant facts in the form of direct-examination, cross-examination, and closing arguments in three contested matters where the key questions are:
(1) did the proponent of a paper copy of a lost electronic will introduce evidence sufficient to overcome the presumption of revocation and meet the burden of proof;
(2) did the contestant establish that the terms of the will are a product of undue influence even if the alleged undue influencer did not monetarily benefit from the affected terms; and
(3) did the contestant establish that the testator suffered from an insane delusion that materially affected the terms of the will without evidence that the testator suffered from illness or disorder.
The presentation will also offer inclusive approaches when laying foundation and presenting relevant evidence related to biological sex and gender identity, neurodiversity, and ideology.
Presented by Letitia "Letty" M. Maxfield, Esq., Wade Ash, LLC; Jody J. Pilmer, Esq., Wade Ash, LLC; and David R. Struthers, Esq., Evans Case, LLP.
Submitted for .9 EDI Credits
11:00 - 11:20 am
Networking Break
11:20 am - 12:30 pm
Round D Breakout Sessions
If you are attending in-person, choose Sessions 9, 10, 11, or 12 during registration.
If you are attending virtually, you will have the choice of Sessions 11 or 12 via Zoom.
Breakout Session # 9 (Small group, In-person only) - FULL
Hot Powers under Colorado's Uniform Power of Attorney Act: Discussions on Practical Use and Limitations
Kristin and Kelianne will lead an interactive discussion on the practical use and limitation of the hot powers under Colorado's Uniform Power of Attorney Act. We hope to provide a platform for practitioners to share their ideas, preferences (and fears) about including each of the hot powers, the interaction with other aspects of an estate plan, communicating about the hot powers with clients, and drafting appropriate limitations on use. The format will be an open discussion about each of the hot powers in turn, following CRS 15-14-724, with reference to the statutory form and the orange book form and notes on use.
Presented by Kelianne Chamberlain, Esq., Hoskin Farina & Kampf, PC, and Kristin Dittus, J.D., LL.M., Life & Legacy Planning, Ltd.
Breakout Session # 10 (Small group, In-Person only)
Trier of Fact: Exploring Unanswered Questions of Law Through Colorado's New Pattern Civil Jury Instructions on Wills
Attendees will hear the relevant facts as presented by two opposing attorneys, David Struthers, and Letty Maxfield, and apply them to relevant statute and common law as instructed by the judge, Jody Pilmer, to reach their verdict.
Jurors will hear short presentations of the relevant facts in the form of direct-examination, cross-examination, and closing arguments in three contested matters where the key questions are:
(1) did the proponent of a paper copy of a lost electronic will introduce evidence sufficient to overcome the presumption of revocation and meet the burden of proof;
(2) did the contestant establish that the terms of the will are a product of undue influence even if the alleged undue influencer did not monetarily benefit from the affected terms; and
(3) did the contestant establish that the testator suffered from an insane delusion that materially affected the terms of the will without evidence that the testator suffered from illness or disorder.
The presentation will also offer inclusive approaches when laying foundation and presenting relevant evidence related to biological sex and gender identity, neurodiversity, and ideology.
Presented by Letitia "Letty" M. Maxfield, Esq., Wade Ash, LLC, Jody J. Pilmer, Esq., Wade Ash, LLC, and David R. Struthers, Esq., Evans Case, LLP.
Submitted for .9 EDI Credits
Breakout Session #11
Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts
What is the SLAT? The why, when, and how of implementing Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts. Also included, how to address conflicts of interest in joint representation of spouses when creating SLATs.
Presented by W. Douglas (Doug) Hoak, J.D., LL.M., Illumine Legal LLC
Submitted for .2 Ethics/Professionalism Credits
Breakout Session #12
I Wish I Knew Then What I Know Now.: Practical Advice From 23 years in the Trenches.
With wit and humor, Erica will discuss practical everyday actions that will make you a better estate planning attorney. How the 'sacred cows' of springing POAs, appointing co-agents and lumping tangible personal property in with the residuary are harming your clients, not helping them. Plus 23 other 'little' things that you can do for your clients now, as a newer practitioner, rather than taking 23 years to learn. Not letting your clients do things such as: naming trusts as “living,” making all accounts POD/TOD, telling their loved ones not to have a service when they die, signing Beneficiary Deeds with multiple grantees, sending copies of the documents to their agents, and assuming they have a DNR when they have a Living Will. And telling your clients to do things like: write down assets/important contacts, use their real legal names (middle initials, suffixes) in documents, store their medical directives on-line for access (Docubank and other resources), keep their own originals, and let you review their vesting deed to confirm joint tenancy.
Presented by Erica Johnson, Esq., Ambler | Keenan | Mitchell | Johnson
12:30 pm
Adjourn
Optional Add-on Activity
Saturday, June 15, 2024 - 1:00 pm
Golf at Vail Golf Club
Where: Vail Golf Club, 1775 Sunburst Dr., Vail, CO 81657
Cost: $184 per person
Fee Includes: Green fee, cart, range ball, bag handling fees, and box lunch.
First come, first served. Tee times fill up quickly!
Deadline to sign up for golf is June 7, 2024.
