Federal estate and gift taxes currently affect few clients, but there are many other issues involved in settling an estate or administering a trust. Clients who are beneficiaries of a trust or estate often turn to their financial advisors to understand the administrative process and its effect on their interests. This course enables the accountant to cut through the jargon to understand the legal concepts, communicate a real-world explanation to clients, and serve, in some instances, as an advisor to them. After taking this course, practitioners will feel more confident to serve in a fiduciary capacity. Updated for developments relative to estate taxation. Highlights
Issues involved when settling an estate – marshaling of assets, payment of creditors, & distribution and accounting to beneficiaries
Explaining the needs and limitations of durable powers of attorney, health care directives, and living wills
Why a will is probated, and on what grounds it may be challenged
Comprehensive checklists on how to read a will, duties of an executor and trustee, and much more
Identification and report of estate assets
What to do and what not to do as a fiduciary, executor, or trustee – duty of care, investment, informing, payment of debts and taxes, & defending a will contest
How executors and trustees interact with beneficiaries
Elective shares, and when a spouse might make that choice
What a trustee needs to know about incompetents and minors
Rights of creditors, third parties, and beneficiaries
Key issues in transferring property to a trust and from a trust or estate to a beneficiary
Identifying income, estate, and inheritance taxes
Fiduciary accounting – principal and income concepts
An introduction to drafting an account, and why it is relevant
Administration of revocable trusts
Estate basis reporting
Registration
PICPA Member: $259 Nonmember: $359
More Information
Course No. 715200Level: Basic
Prerequisites:
None
Notes
This is a 8 credit webcast
Speaker(s)
Don Cochran
Don Paul Cochran, JD, CPA, CFP®,
CRC®Don Cochran
is a solo practitioner in Apple Valley, Minnesota. His 30 years of
practice has been focused primarily in the areas of small business legal
and tax consulting, and individual tax, estate, and financial
planning.Don has
practiced law in both Iowa and Minnesota, was a CPA with the Small and
Emerging Business practice of then Big 8 accounting firm, Touche Ross, in
Bloomington, Minnesota, and was the Vice President of Tax and CFO with
various privately and publicly held companies. He also served as an
advanced sales consultant with Securian Financial, Nationwide Financial,
and Pacific Life Insurance Company. He developed and provided continuing
education on tax and legal planning strategies for small to medium size
businesses and wealthy individuals, and worked with insurance wholesalers
and financial advisors to understand and implement financial strategies
geared towards asset preservation and income in retirement.Don earned his
undergraduate degree, a Bachelor of Science in General Science, from the
University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, and graduated from the University of
Iowa College of Law with his Juris Doctorate. In addition to being an
attorney and Certified Public Accountant, he maintains his designations as
a Certified Financial Planner® and Certified Retirement Counselor®. He is
a member of the Minnesota and Iowa State Bar Associations, and the
Minnesota Society of CPAs.