Heard at Heckerling 2022 - Day 3

Day three of the Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning conference started with the profound title, “One Hundred Percent of Marriages End.”

• Terry Turnipseed presented on issues related to what happens when a marriage ends. He touched on divorce and the use and recognition of pre- and post-nups, but mainly focused on issues relating to property distributions on the death of the first spouse, which included a shallow, but informative dive into the differences among community property states. He also explained some of the landmines we can encounter when planning for clients who move between community property and right of election states.
• M. Read Moore covered how trust law has been evolving in many states, including the adoption by 34 of all or part of the Uniform Trust Code. His focus was mainly on four areas: a trustee’s duty to provide information to their beneficiaries; trust decantings; non-judicial settlement agreements; and directed trusts. Every state has its own laws, duties, and interpretations, and a practitioner can be tripped up if they are not on top of those current rules.

In the afternoon there were 2 sets of 3 concurrent sessions, so we were forced to divide and conquer! 

• Bernie Krooks and Robert Fleming spoke on elder law and special needs planning. They shared that according to the US Department of Health and Human Services, 70% of people over age 65 will need some form of long-term care during their lifetime. Against this backdrop, Medicaid planning often conflicts with traditional estate planning. After trying to explain the boggling world of programs and options for funding long term care, they concluded with the reminder that while its never to late too plan, it is best to address these issues early to offer the best control over long-term care decisions.

• There was another session on avoiding, facing, and correcting attorney mistakes, and one featuring highlights of recent fiduciary litigation. Both sessions were thought-provoking and enjoyable - as long as they were happening to someone other than us and our clients!

• The final session of the afternoon featured Akane Suzuki, Leigh-Alexandra Basha, Michelle Graham, and R. Ray Rubin discussing the complexities of estate, inheritance, and gifting issues arising in Mexico, France, Canada, and Japan. They talked in general and answered questions from the “room.” It was a lively and interesting session!

There’s another full day of stimulating sessions with experts from across the country waiting for us tomorrow. Be sure to check back to see what we Heard at Heckerling.