2012 Summer Estate Planning Forum

Gain valuable estate planning knowledge at Foulston Siefkin’s popular Estate Planning Forums. These forums are designed to inform financial planners, accountants, insurance brokers, trust officers, and philanthropic advisors on topical estate planning developments and subject areas such as asset protection, tax minimization,  retirement plans & IRAs, business succession, family harmony, governmental resource maximization, and charitable giving.

Join us on Thursday, June 21st for the 2012 Summer Estate Planning Forum.
This Forum is especially attractive for four reasons:

• During the Forum we will address: Recent Developments in Estate Planning, and Legal Support and Discretionary Trusts
• Attendees will receive seminar presentation handout materials.
• The program is designed to qualify for CPA, CE, CLU, CFP, & ChFC continuing education credits.
• The registration fee for the Forum is only $85 per attendee.

How To Register:

Register online with a credit card. You may mail your registration form with check for $85 for the Forum made payable to Foulston Siefkin LLP c/o Estate Planning Forum, Foulston Siefkin LLP, 1551 N. Waterfront Parkway, Suite 100, Wichita, KS 67206. For more information contact Judy Phipps at jphipps@foulston.com or 316.291.9548.
Seating is limited and spaces will be available on a first come, first serve basis.

Who Should Attend.

This seminar has been designed to benefit CPAs, accountants, trust officers, financial planners, philanthropic advisors, CLU’s, and general insurance agents whose professional practice encompasses estate planning matters.

Who Will Be Presenting?

Timothy O’Sullivan,  Stewart Weaver, and Matthew Bish, estate planning attorneys with Foulston Siefkin.

What Materials Will Be Provided?

Attendees will receive seminar presentation handouts in a seminar manual to take home as a desk reference.

When and Where The Seminar Will Be Held.

Our seminar will be offered on Thursday, June 21, 2012 in Wichita, Kansas at The DoubleTree by Hilton Wichita Airport, 2098 Airport Road.  The Forum runs from 1:15 p.m. – 4:30 pm. Registration will begin at 12:45 p.m.

Cancellation/Refund Policy.

A full refund, less a $25 administrative fee, will be issued for cancellation up to 5 business days before event. No shows and cancellations received less than 5 business days prior to the seminar are not eligible for a refund. Substitutions may be made at any time, including the day of the seminar.

What Subjects Will Be Addressed?

Recent Developments in Estate Planning
Our attorneys will discuss what our estate planning department considers the most significant developments since our previous Forum. Such developments will include federal and state legislative developments, judicial decisions, and IRS regulations and rulings that have the greatest impact on estate planning professionals.

Why Most Support and Discretionary Trusts Fail to Carry Out the Grantors Intent
Long-term trusts are on the ascendancy for asset protection and governmental resource planning purposes. Although serving such goals is quite important to most clients, nothing is more important to grantors than ensuring that the distribution of the trust estate to trust beneficiaries comports with their goals and desires. This includes the circumstances which merit a distribution, the purpose of the distribution and the amount thereof. Unfortunately, the vast majority of trusts are drafted in a manner that almost guarantee that will not be the case, typically giving far too much discretion to the trustee, too little direction to the trustee, and little or no recourse to a disaffected beneficiary to be able to legally compel a trust distribution in circumstances the grantor would have desired. Tim and Stewart will discuss the “ins and outs” of “support trusts” and “discretionary trusts” in addressing these issues, how Kansas courts construe specific distribution provisions in the trust instrument, and specific clauses and wording which are necessary in order to greatly enhance the prospect that a trust will be administered in a manner which comports with the grantor’s intent. Finally, while serving that end, the speakers will address attendant trust provisions necessary to avoid the trust estate from being considered a resource for Medicaid or SSI purposes, as well as from being exposed to creditor, spousal and SRS estate recovery claims.

This seminar will address comprehensive “goal oriented” governmental resource estate planning strategies designed to better maximize and enhance qualification for "need based" government resources such as Medicaid and SSI. In addition, estate planning techniques, including “special needs trusts,” crafted to preclude assets which are to pass to other family members either by gift or upon death from disqualifying them for “need based” governmental programs, will likewise be discussed.  Further, the presenters will review the importance of so-called “d4A trusts,” which provide a mechanism to exclude assets of “disabled” individuals under the age of 65 from being considered a resource so as to disqualify them from such “need based” programs.  Moreover, the role and advantages of long term care insurance will also be addressed.  Finally, in order to complete the picture, there will be a discussion of strategies which minimize the State of Kansas' ability to recover Medicaid benefits paid from the estate of the recipient or the estate of the recipient's surviving spouse.