Estate Planning for the Blended Family
July 27, Friday 1:15 pm to 4:30 pm
Wilshire Grand Hotel & Centre
Golden State Room
930 Wilshire Blvd. |
Kathryn A. Ballsun (Moderator), Ballsun & Associates, Los Angeles
Kenneth G. Petrulis, Goodson and Wachtel, Los Angeles
Bruce D. Sires, Valensi, Rose & Magaram PLC, Los Angeles |
3 hours MCLE credit, including .5 hour in Legal Ethics
Specialization: Estate Planning, Trust, & Probate Law, Taxation Law, and Family Law
You’ve been there, and it is not pleasant. Both sides of a “blended” family—decedent’s spouse, children from the first marriage, and stepchildren—are in your office and you are attempting to explain how the decedent has provided for them. Tension mounts as the children from the first marriage are made aware that instead of being “well provided for” as they had always believed, they have been left with nothing until the death of their parent’s new spouse—who happens to be their age! The opening volleys lead to hostility and you are faced with a potential riot in your office. What to do? Could this situation have been prevented?
Learn how to recognize warning signals and nip blended family conflicts in the bud by attending Estate Planning for the Blended Family. Leading practitioners in the field will show how to restore peace and prevent abuse of power by family member fiduciaries. Panelists will focus on important issues such as conflicts of interest, the marital deduction, generation-skipping planning, trustee selection, administrative powers, community vs. separate property, and drafting. They will also discuss the greatest single challenge estate planners face when dealing with the blended family: how to diplomatically suggest alternatives that will anticipate objections and then synthesize a plan which both find acceptable. All trustee issues unique to estate planning will be thoroughly explained, especially how to avoid improper trustee allocation or property, while leaving sufficient trustee discretion.
Assumes some estate planning experience.
FEES & DISCOUNTS
ENROLLMENT FEE ES-06323, $175
2001 Passport holders: FREE*
(Assumes adequate hours on Passport; unexpired 2000 Passports are honored under the terms and conditions of purchase.)
Program handbook may be purchased separately: ES-46323, $40
Program Highlights
Rich spouse/poor spouse
- “Who dies first” contingencies
- Use of credits and exemptions
- Disclaimers
- Spousal interest in retirement benefits
Young spouse/former spouse
- Fairness to new spouse and children of former spouse
- Remarriage of younger spouse if former dies first
- Disposition of family residence
First family/second family needs and wants
- Tax planning vs. family planning
- Rewarding self-sufficiency
- Family heirlooms
- Stepchildren vs. siblings
Drafting trust provisions
- QTIP trust alternatives
- GSTT provisions
- Joint vs. separate trust
Discussion of issues
- Conflict of interest and joint representation
- Who is the client
- Conflict letters
- Family waivers and disclosure
- Recognition of hidden conflicts
Choosing and removing a trustee
- Positive and negative aspects of family member as client
- Necessity of independent trustee
- Avoiding family conflict
- Planning removal or resignation
- What to do when trustee becomes a loose cannon
Trustee discretion
Mandatory vs. discretionary distribution of income Conditional distribution Direct payment to third parties How discretion can thwart the plan Tax effects of allocation of property on the first death
Treatment of separate and community property
- Separate to community
- Community to separate
- Prenuptial agreements
Equalizing gifts to children
- Need based on age
- Alternative distribution among siblings
- Using irrevocable trusts
Consideration of potential inheritance from others
- Wealth of former spouses
- Wealth of parents and grandparents
Attendees will learn how to:
- Defuse emotionally charged conflicts of interest
- Elicit information without jeopardizing clients’ self-interest
- Draft trusts
- Dispose of separate and community property
- Use the marital deduction for maximum benefit
- Get clients to agree on community versus separate property status
- Explain the structure of the estate plan
