National Business Institute – Estate Planning from A to Z

Our own Margie Williams was a featured speaker at the National Business Institute seminar “Estate Planning from A to Z”. The seminar was held on December 13 and 14 at the Hampton Inn & Suites in Mobile. Margie offered her insight on estate planning topics and provided a detailed overview of estate planning procedure and strategy.

Margie’s topics included:

TRUSTS 101

A.        Types, Goals and Functions of Trusts

B.        Major Laws Governing Trust Creation and Administration

C.        Who are the Main Parties? Their Duties and Responsibilities to a Trust

D.        Revocable vs. Irrevocable

E.         Choosing Trust Situs

F.         Trust Funding Basics

ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

A.        Defining Who Your Client is from the Start

B.        Handling Clients with Diminishing Mental Capacity

C.        Lawyers Acting as Fiduciaries

D.        Estate Status Updates for Clients – Why it Pays Off and How to do it Efficiently

E.         Practicing before the IRS

F.         Getting Paid: Billable/Non-Billable Hour and Retainer Agreements

G.        Preventing Unauthorized Practice of Law by Legal Staff

Margie is a member of the Estate Planning Council of Mobile, the Alabama Bar Association, the Baldwin County Bar Association and the Mobile Bar Association.