2015 Trustees and Beneficiaries Workshop

 

 

8:00 am | Registration and Breakfast 

 

8:30 am | Welcome and Program Introduction

 

8:45 am | The Foundation of Wise Trusteeship

 

A trustee’s success is highly dependent on how he or she approaches the job. There are five foundational principles that underlie the noble profession of trusteeship beyond such traditional duties as investing, distributions, and administration. Keith Whitaker will introduce us to the five qualities including Do No Harm, Fidelity, Regency, Discernment, and Courage. 

 

9:30 am | Duties and Powers of the Trustee

 

The trustee is the legal owner of all of the trust’s property and has a fiduciary duty to the beneficiaries. Our speakers address the many required duties and powers of the trustee. There is a complex canon of legal responsibilities the speakers will lay out simply and discuss to enable the trustee to knowledgeably approach their duties. 

 

10:45 am | Break

 

11:00 am | Building Positive Long-Term Relationships between the Trustee and Beneficiary

This session will explore how the trustee can build a positive long-term relationship with the beneficiary which will significantly impact the family’s long term wealth preservation plan. The discussion will develop the concepts that trusts are relationships dependent on care and feeding, communication, and expectation management by both the trustee and beneficiary.

 

12:15 pm | Lunch

 

1:00 pm | Distribution Provisions:  Understanding the Issues and Options

 

Two leading trust attorneys discuss the key issues related to trust distributions, including discretionary versus required distributions, the unitrust concept, and problems arising from exhausting trust assets. This session will also cover the many factors that trustees should consider when faced with requests for discretionary distributions.

 

2:15 pm | Break

 

2:30 pm | Selecting the Right Trustee–Know your Options

 

One of the most important decisions the grantor of a trust will make is picking the person or institution to be in-charge of the assets and executing the fiduciary duties the trust requires. Building on the prior sessions, Mark Harder will review various trustee options, the pros and cons of each option, and identify how to select the most qualified trustee for your family’s circumstances.

 

3:30 pm | Bringing It All Together–The Case Studies

 

Our moderator, a licensed attorney and career-long wealth management practitioner, will bring to life the learning from the morning and afternoon sessions by demonstrating its application through several intriguing case examples. This will be an interactive session with speakers and attendees addressing how they would respond to real-life situations and comparing their approach to the real outcome. The session will conclude with attendees having the opportunity to ask questions of the day’s speakers.

 

5:00 pm | Adjourn

 

5:00 pm | Group cocktails

 

 

 

 

8:00 am | Breakfast 

 

8:45 am | Understanding Prudent Investment Practices

 

This session examines the evolution of fiduciary standards for the investment of trust assets and the ramifications for trustees under the Uniform Prudent Investor Act. In addition to the Prudent Investor Rule, this session highlights certain practices that can be incorporated in trust administration as best practices.

 

10:15 am | Break

 

10:30 am | Fiduciary Risk:  Trustee: Honor or Risk?

 

Using real cases, our speakers–two leading fiduciary litigators–will discuss how fiduciaries can get into trouble. They will share the lessons learned from their cases so you can avoid litigation. They will provide a checklist of best practices to mitigate the risk of litigation.

 

11:30 am | Adjourn