Probate and Estate Administration for Paralegals

Agenda / Content Covered

1. Estate Administration Process Overview and First Steps
   10:00 — 10:30, Louis Silverman
   1. Key Probate Process Steps in a Nutshell
   2. Forms of Administration (Supervised, Informal, Small Estate)
   3. Drafting Probate Pleadings for Attorney Review
   4. Documents to Include
   5. Required Notices
   6. Timeline for Proper Probate Filings
   7. Steps for Proving/Challenging the Will and Dealing With Intestacy
   8. Locating Beneficiaries
2. Setting Up the File
   10:30 — 11:00, Louis Silverman
   1. Creating and Maintaining Client Files
   2. Calendaring and Managing Deadlines
   3. Tracking Billable Time
   4. Scanning and Organizing Supporting Documents
3. Communicating with Executors, Clients, and Other Parties
   11:15 — 11:45, Louis Silverman
   1. Duties of Executors/Administrators During the Probate Process
   2. Paralegal Contact With Executors or Administrators
   3. Trustee Communications
   4. Creditor Notices and Communication
   5. Client Communications and Follow-Up Meetings
   6. Communicating with Client Advisors and Accountants
   7. Contacting Banks, Brokerage Houses, Appraisers, and More
   8. Contacting Tax Authorities and Other Government Agencies
4. Inventory: Preparing Asset Lists and Analyzing Records
   11:45 — 12:15, Louis Silverman
   1. Probate vs. Non-Probate Assets
   2. Analyzing Bank and Business Records
   3. Identifying Title and Character of Assets
   4. Should You Assess and Document Assets Before or After the Initial Filing?
   5. When to Arrange for the Valuation of Assets
   6. Collecting, Maintaining, and Managing Assets
   7. Requesting Insurance Policy Information and Insuring Remaining Property
   8. Treatment of Real Property (Mortgages, Foreclosures, Sales, Etc.)
   9. How Spousal Elective Share is Determined
   10. Preparing the Inventories of Assets and Spreadsheets to Show Allocation of Assets
5. Beneficiary Designation Accounts in Estate Administration
   12:45 — 1:15, Thomas Murphy
   1. IRAs and Pensions
   2. Survivor Benefits
   3. Life Insurance
   4. Securities/ Brokerage Accounts
6. Management of the Estate
   1:15 — 1:45, Thomas Murphy
   1. Assisting With Estate Cash Management
   2. Handling the Insolvent Estate
   3. Preparing Partial Distributions
   4. Maintaining Necessary Documents and Financial Records for Trusts and Estates
7. Trusts Management and Taxation in Estate Administration
   1:45 — 2:15, T. James Lee
8. Tax Forms, Timelines, Reporting in Estate Administration
   2:15 — 2:45, T. James Lee
   1. Obtaining Tax Identification Numbers
   2. Tax Basis of Assets
   3. Matching Estate Inventory and Tax Return
   4. Filing the Final Tax Returns
9. Final Account, Distributions, and Estate Closing
   3:00 — 4:00, T. James Lee
   1. Final Accounting and Distribution
      1. Principal vs. Income
      2. Receipts
      3. Capital Transactions
      4. Disbursements
      5. Distributions
      6. Schedule of Distribution
      7. Formal vs. Informal Accounting
   2. Property Ownership Disputes
   3. Discharge of the Fiduciary
10. Ethics in Probate
    4:00 — 5:00, Thomas Murphy
    1. Privileged vs. Non-Privileged Communications
    2. Unauthorized Practice of Law
    3. Safeguarding Against Malpractice Actions

Accreditation Details:

T. James Lee is a shareholder and director in the Phoenix office of Fennemore Craig, P.C., and chairs the firm’s private wealth preservation (trusts and estates) practice group. He is certified as a trust and estate specialist by the State Bar of Arizona; and practices in the areas of estate planning, trust and estate administration, charitable giving, business design and structuring, international taxation, and commercial transactions. Mr. Lee is a member of the American Bar Association, the Utah State Bar, the ABA's Committee on Estate and Gift Taxes (Taxation Section), and is a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC). He earned his undergraduate degree in business management from Brigham Young University, with distinction as the top business school graduate in the area of entrepreneurship. He graduated, with honors, from the J. Reuben Clark Law School at BYU.

 

Thomas J Murphy is an attorney located in the Ahwatukee area of Phoenix. His practice emphasizes estate planning, elder law (including nursing home issues), all probate matters (including contested matters and guardianships), and tax controversies. Mr. Murphy has regularly appeared before the Arizona Court of Appeals, litigating many of the cutting-edge appellate cases in probate law; and has successfully litigated cases in the U.S. Tax Court, the Arizona Tax Court, and the Arizona Board of Tax Appeals. He is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, the State Bar of Arizona (Tax Law, Probate and Trust Law, Mental Health and Elder Law sections), and the Arizona Medicaid Planning Council. He serves on the Advisory Board of the Phoenix Tax Workshop and the Editorial Board of NAELA News. Mr. Murphy graduated from Tufts University, with honors, and he earned his J.D. degree from Suffolk University Law School.

 

Louis A Silverman is an attorney at Silverman Law Offices, where he practices in the areas of estate planning, estate administration, probate law, and related tax matters. Mr. Silverman became board certified in estate and trust law by the State Bar of Arizona. His practice emphasizes estate planning, which includes wills and trusts and other estate planning devices; and trust administration and probate, which includes death probate, guardianship, and conservatorship. Mr. Silverman has served as judge pro tem on the Maricopa County Superior Court. He is a member of WealthCounsel and is a past member of the Elder Law, Mental Health and Special Needs Planning Section of the State Bar of Arizona. Mr. Silverman is on the Board of Trustees of Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine and past president of the Board of Directors of Tempe Leadership. Mr. Silverman earned his B.S. degree in business from Arizona State University and his J.D. degree from South Texas College of Law in Houston. He is admitted to practice in the state courts of Arizona and Texas, the U.S. District Court for Arizona, and the Western District of Texas.