2023 Estate Planning & Probate Law Survey Course

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2023

8:00 Registration and Continental Breakfast

8:25 Welcome and Introductions

8:30 Wills

Mark J. Hale Jr., Baddour Parker Hine & Hale P.C., Goldsboro

Hear an overview on wills in North Carolina, including the capacity to create a will and requirements for execution.

9:30 Break

9:40 North Carolina Uniform Trust Code

S. Kyle Agee, Johnston Allison & Hord PA, Charlotte

This session reviews the law on trusts in North Carolina, including the North Carolina Uniform Trust Code, and related concepts.

10:40 Break

10:50 Probate Law

Sara Page H. Waugh, Moore & Van Allen PLLC, Charlotte

During this overview on North Carolina probate law, the presenter walks through the process and requirements for dealing with assets in an estate.

11:50 Lunch Break

12:30 Transfer Taxes: Estate, Gift and Generation-Skipping Transfer

James C. "Jim" Purnell V, White & Allen, Kinston

Review the basic rules regarding federal transfer taxes, including estate tax, gift tax and generation-skipping transfer tax. Learn about the calculation of deductions and credits related to the federal estate tax for a decedent's estate; the various available exclusions, exemptions and deductions from gift tax and the valuation of taxable gifts; and the fundamentals of generation-skipping trusts and transfers.

2:00 Break

2:10 Gross Estate and Estate Valuation

Crissy R. Dixon, Craige Jenkins Liipfert & Walker LLP, Winston-Salem

This segment covers generally the types of property and transfers that are includible in the gross estate for federal tax purposes, followed by a review of the general statutory, judicial and administrative treatment of valuation of the gross estate.

3:10 Break

3:20 Partnerships, LLCs and Corporations

Elinor J. "Elie" Foy, Wyrick Robbins Yates & Ponton LLP, Raleigh

Examine the types of business entities available to clients and considerations for choice of entity. This session also discusses various estate tax and probate issues that arise from the death of an owner of a closely held business.

4:20 Break

4:30 Estate Planning With Powers of Attorney, Guardianship and Ward

Linda Funke Johnson, Senter Stephenson & Johnson PA, Fuquay-Varina

This session explores planning opportunities utilizing a power of attorney drafted under the 2018 enactment of N.C.G.S. § 32C. Review the practical application of guardianship law to guardianships located in North Carolina, as well as transfers of guardianships into and out of North Carolina.

5:30 Adjourn for the day

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2023

8:00 Continental Breakfast

8:25 Announcements and Introductions

8:30 Charitable Giving

Douglas W. "Doug" Benson, Foundation for the Carolinas, Charlotte

Discuss charitable giving strategies and vehicles, as well as the related tax implications.

9:30 Break

9:40 Fiduciary Income Taxation of Trusts and Estates

Sandi O. Thorman, GreerWalker CPAs & Advisors, Charlotte

Dive into a discussion of fiduciary income taxation, starting with the definitions of fiduciary accounting income (FAI), taxable income, and distributable net income (DNI). The presenter then shares planning ideas to minimize regular tax, alternative minimum tax (AMT), and the 3.8% net investment income tax (NIIT) for both the trust or the estate and the beneficiaries.

10:40 Break

10:50 The Intersection of Elder Law and Estate Planning

Aimee Smith, Craige Jenkins Liipfert & Walker LLP, Winston-Salem

Learn why traditional estate planning documents may not work as intended for your clients facing long-term care and what simple changes you can make to your documents to cover clients concerned about long-term care for themselves or their family members.

11:50 Lunch Break

12:30 The Intersection of Family Law and Estate Planning

Jessica B. Heffner, Wyrick Robbins Yates & Ponton LLP, Raleigh

Estate planning and family law can overlap in many situations since both practice areas involve spouses, money and death. Many myths and misconceptions surround the topic of separation and divorce, making the process even more difficult. This presentation covers 10 things estate planning lawyers should know about family law.

1:30 Break

1:40 Retirement Benefits and Life Insurance

John R. Cella Jr., Ragsdale Liggett PLLC, Raleigh

Explore planning considerations for retirement benefits, including beneficiary designation forms, naming trusts as a beneficiary, and tax implications resulting from the SECURE Act. Additionally, this session provides a general overview of estate planning and business succession planning opportunities with life insurance, including practical drafting considerations and planning opportunities, such as traditional irrevocable life insurance trusts (ILITs) and buy-sell agreements.

2:40 Adjourn

Description

Designed for individuals who practice or are beginning to practice in the estate planning and probate law areas, the 2023 Estate Planning & Probate Law Survey Course provides an overview of key concepts and discusses practical considerations, planning strategies and opportunities.

Contributors

S. Kyle Agee

S. Kyle Agee is a partner with Johnston Allison & Hord PA in Charlotte. He primarily represents the business owners of closely-held and family companies in tax, business succession and estate planning matters. When tax laws change, such as the enactment of the 2018 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Kyle works with clients to ensure their business and estate plans are as tax-advantaged as possible.

Estate and trust administration are additional strengths of Kyle's practice. Representing both professional fiduciaries and families, he works with them to ensure the wishes of the family are carried out. He also represents banks who serve as fiduciaries, executors and advisors on highly complex and emotionally-charged estate issues that involve estranged or difficult family members. He is frequently brought in to help bank clients problem-solve when contentious disputes arise among their clients' representatives. In addition, working closely with in-house counsel, he serves as an outside authority to multi-office regional banks, assisting with matters relating to agency, estate and trust accounts, plus other fiduciary concerns.

Kyle is a Certified Specialist in Taxation by the South Carolina Supreme Court.

Kyle received his B.S. degree in Mathematics from The Citadel, his J.D. degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law and his LL.M. degree in Taxation from the University of Florida.

Click here for more information about Kyle.
Douglas W. "Doug" Benson

Douglas W. "Doug" Benson is General Counsel and Senior Vice President at Foundation For The Carolinas in Charlotte, the fifth-largest community foundation in the United States. manages its legal and investment teams and plays a lead role in the Foundation's philanthropic advancement work. He oversees governance and compliance for the Foundation and its affiliates, including 11 supporting organizations.

Doug works closely with donors and professional advisors to implement sophisticated lifetime and testamentary giving techniques to accomplish the donors' philanthropic and tax objectives. He coordinates the negotiation and acceptance of complex gifts, including closely held business interests, real estate and other non-cash assets. Since joining the Foundation, he has helped facilitate charitable gifts of non-cash assets in excess of $300 million.

Previously, Doug practiced law for 12 years with Moore & Van Allen PLLC in Charlotte and with Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP (now Eversheds Sutherland) in Washington, D.C. During this time, he advised families of substantial wealth on estate, tax and charitable planning matters.

Doug serves on several boards and committees, including the CMS Foundation, the Queens University Estate Planners Day Steering Committee (Chair 2019/2020), and the Duke University Estate Planning Council. He is a frequent speaker on a broad range of charitable and estate planning topics, including charitable gifts of closely held business interests, planned giving, board governance and tax-exempt entities.

Doug earned his B.A. in Economics from the University of Rochester and his J.D. from Duke University School of Law.

Click here for more information about Doug.
John R. Cella Jr.

John R. Cella, Jr. is Of Counsel with Ragsdale Liggett PLLC in Raleigh. He counsels clients in trust, estate, business, and related tax planning matters. His estate planning representations include simple will planning, pour-over will and revocable trust planning, and taxable estate planning with irrevocable grantor and non-grantor trusts. He also advises on North Carolina probate and federal income, estate, gift, and generation-skipping tax (GST) law consequences of lifetime and post-mortem transfers.

John's ERISA and compensation background is valuable when advising clients regarding their qualified retirement plans, IRAs, equity compensation, and deferred compensation. John also works with executors, trustees, and beneficiaries in simple and complex estate administration matters, routine or contentious, including trust termination, modification, and decanting matters.

John has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America for trusts and estates, ERISA, and tax law since 2018. Business North Carolina magazine also has included John in its Legal Elite for tax and estate planning. He is a member of the North Carolina Bar Association's Business and Estate Planning and Fiduciary Law Sections, South Carolina Bar and the Wake County Estate Planning Council.

John received his B.A. in History from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, his B.A. in Economics from the University of South Carolina, his J.D. from the University of South Carolina School of Law, and his LL.M. in Employee Benefits, with honors, from The John Marshall Law School.

Click here for more information about John.
Cristine R. "Crissy" Dixon

Cristine R. "Crissy" Dixon is a partner at Craige Jenkins Liipfert & Walker LLP in Winston-Salem. She focuses her practice on estate planning, estate administration, trust administration, and taxation. She also has experience in fiduciary litigation matters, contested estate matters, guardianship matters, and general corporate matters.

Crissy regularly creates estate plans for clients that incorporate planning techniques ranging from basic succession planning, to special needs trust plans, to taxable estate planning. As a part of her practice, she regularly prepares gift tax returns, estate tax returns, fiduciary income tax returns for trusts and estates, individual income tax returns, partnership tax returns, split-interest trust tax returns, tax returns for organizations exempt from income tax, and tax returns for corporations.

Crissy has recently been selected to participate in the Southeast Fellows Institute of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. She is the past president and a current member of the Estate Planning Council of Winston-Salem. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of Financial Pathways of the Piedmont and volunteers with a local chapter of Adult Children of Aging Parents. She is the supervising attorney for the Wake Law Pro Bono Wills Project and has been a guest lecturer for Decedents' Trusts and Estates course at Wake Forest University School of Law.

Crissy is a member of the estate planning & fiduciary law and tax sections of the North Carolina Bar Association, where she currently serves on the Estate Administration Manual Committee. She is also a member of the Forsyth County Women Attorneys Association, the Forsyth County Bar Association, and the American Bar Association.

Crissy earned her B.A. from Rutgers University, graduating Phi Beta Kappa, and J.D. from Wake Forest University, receiving the Outstanding Female Law Graduate award. She also served as editor-in-chief of the Wake Forest Journal of Law and Policy.

Click here for more information about Crissy.
Elinor J. "Elie" Foy

Elinor J. "Elie" Foy is a partner at Wyrick Robbins Yates & Ponton in Raleigh. Her practice focuses on wealth transfer planning, charitable planning, and trust and estate administration. She advises individual clients on various estate planning issues, including the tax-efficient transfer of wealth and business succession planning. In addition, she advises private foundations, supporting organizations, public charities and other nonprofit organizations about governance, tax compliance, grant-making, and fundraising issues.

Elie is a Fellow in the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and is certified as a Specialist in Estate Planning and Probate Law by the North Carolina State Bar Board of Legal Specialization. She is a frequent speaker on trusts and estates topics.

Elie earned her B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, her J.D. from Wake Forest University, where she was a Dean's Merit Scholar, and her LL.M. in Taxation from Georgetown University, with distinction.

Click here for more information about Elie.
Mark J. Hale Jr.

Mark J. Hale Jr. is a member of Baddour Parker Hine & Hale PC in Goldsboro. He concentrates his practice in estate planning and probate, wills and trusts, guardianships, corporate and business matters and taxation. He is the Wayne County Public Administrator and Public Guardian. He is a Board-Certified Specialist in Estate Planning and Probate Law.

Mark is currently a member of the North Carolina Bar Association's Estate Planning and Fiduciary Law section. Other NCBA activities include previously serving as the Editor of the Will and the Way and Chair of the Newsletter Committee, current Chair of the Task Force with NC Clerks of Court, and a member of legislative committee where he is currently Co-Chair of the electronic wills subcommittee.

Mark graduated from North Carolina State University with a B.A. in Chemistry. He earned his J.D. from Campbell University School of Law. Following law school, Mark spent a year in Miami, FL, where he earned his LL.M. in Taxation from the University of Miami School of Law.

Click here for more information about Mark.
Jessica B. Heffner

Jessica B. Heffner is an attorney at Wyrick Robbins Yates & Ponton LLP in Raleigh. She focuses her practice exclusively on family law matters, such as premarital agreements, marital contracts (such as postnuptial, reconciliation, and separation agreements), divorce, equitable distribution, spousal support, child support, and child custody.

Jessica is a North Carolina Board Certified Family Law Specialist and the Secretary and a Council Member of the Family Law Section of the North Carolina Bar Association. She is also a member of the Wake County Bar Association.

Jessica earned her B.A. in History from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her J.D., magna cum laude, from Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law at Campbell University.

Click here for more information about Jessica.
Christopher N. "Chris" Hewitt

Christopher N. "Chris" Hewitt is a Partner at Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP in Winston-Salem. He is a corporate & securities and private wealth lawyer, focusing his practice in the areas of generational wealth transfer planning, trust and estate administration and tax-exempt planning.

Chris provides clients with customized planning advice to assist with the generational transfer of wealth during lifetime and at death. His previous legal experience in a corporate transactional practice enables him to more effectively serve business owners and the challenges they face in transitioning assets to successive generations. He also assists clients in the creation of family limited liability companies to own and manage family assets. Additionally, he advises individual and corporate trustees on judicial and non-judicial modifications and decanting of irrevocable trust agreements when existing trust language has become impractical.

Chris currently serves as the Director and President of the Winston-Salem Estate Planning Council, Director of the SECU Family House in Winston-Salem and a member of the Estate Planning and Fiduciary Law Section of the North Carolina State Bar Association.

Chris earned his B.B.A., summa cum laude, in Trust and Wealth Management from Campbell University and his J.D., cum laude, from Wake Forest University School of Law.

Click here for more information about Chris.
Linda Funke Johnson

Linda Funke Johnson is the managing attorney of Senter Stephenson Johnson PA in Fuquay-Varina. Her principal areas of practice are Estate Planning, Probate, Real Property and Guardianship.

Linda is a Board Member of the North Carolina Bar Association Board of Governors (2019-2022), member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Governors (2021-2022) and a member of the Elder Law Section, Estate Planning and Fiduciary Law Section, and Real Property Section of the North Carolina Bar Association. She is formerly the Chair of the Estate Planning and Fiduciary Law Section (2017-2018), Co-Chair of the Legislative Committee of the same section (2015-2017), and Chair of the North Carolina State Bar Legal Specialization Committee, Estate Planning and Probate Law.

Linda earned her Specialization designation in 2007 and became a Fellow, American College of Trust and Estate Counsel in 2018. She is previously a Co-Editor of two of her sections' publications, The Will and the Way and North Carolina Estate Administration Manual, Supplemented Sixth Edition (2006/2008).

Linda is licensed to practice law in North Carolina, Hawaii and Connecticut. She earned her B.S. from Fairfield University and her J.D. from Quinnipiac College School of Law.

Click here for more information about Linda.
Lawrence A. "Larry" Moye IV

Lawrence A. "Larry" Moye, IV is a Partner at Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP and practices primarily out of the firm's Raleigh office. His practice includes advising clients in estate and trust planning and administration, gift and charitable contribution planning, the formation and usage of limited liability entities, and business succession planning.

In addition, Larry also advises clients involved in will and trust disputes, breach of fiduciary duty claims, and other fiduciary litigation concerning the rights, duties and powers of trustees and beneficiaries under the terms of trust agreements. His fiduciary litigation clients include executors, individual and corporate trustees, and estate and trust beneficiaries.

Larry is a member of the Wake County Estate Planning Council, Estate Planning & Fiduciary Law Section of the North Carolina Bar Association and the Tenth Judicial District Bar Association.

Larry earned his B.A., summa cum laude, from North Carolina State University and J.D., cum laude, from Campbell.

Click here for more information about Larry.
James C. "Jim" Purnell V

James C. "Jim" Purnell V is a partner at White & Allen in Kinston. His practice is concentrated in the areas of estate planning and administration, corporate law, and tax planning.

Jim is a member of the North Carolina State Bar and is licensed to practice before all North Carolina State Courts and the United States District Court – Eastern District of North Carolina. Jim is a Certified Financial Planner and licensed Real Estate Broker.

Jim earned his B.S., cum laude, in Business Management from North Carolina State University, his J.D., summa cum laude, from North Carolina Central University School of Law and his LL.M. in Taxation from New York University School of Law.

Click here for more information about Jim.
Aimee L. Smith

Aimee L. Smith is a partner at Craige Jenkins Liipfert & Walker LLP in Winston-Salem. Her practice areas include elder law, special needs trust planning, estate planning, estate administration, and guardianships.

Aimee is a member of the Forsyth County Bar Association, Forsyth County Women Attorneys Association, and the North Carolina Bar Association. She is also a past member of the Board of Directors of Financial Pathways of the Piedmont. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of three local non-profit organizations: The Shepherd's Center of Greater Winston-Salem, Salemtowne Retirement Community, and Experiment in Self Reliance.

Aimee earned her B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and her J.D. from Wake Forest University School of Law

Click here for more information about Aimee.
Sandi O. Thorman

Sandi O. Thorman is the leader of GreerWalker LLP's Estate, Gift and Trust Practice and also the Professional and Financial Services Practice in Charlotte.

Sandi has more than 20 years of tax and business advisory experience with a strong focus on the professional and financial services industry which includes attorneys, architects, engineers, investment advisors, private equity funds, mortgage bankers, investment banking firms, broker dealers, and insurance companies.

Sandi assists closely held companies and their owners with tax planning and compliance needs. She has significant expertise in entity selection, entity structure, ownership changes, mergers and acquisitions, succession planning, and estate planning.

Prior to joining GreerWalker LLP in 2000, Sandi worked at KPMG in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Sandi is a member of the Charlotte Estate Planning Council, AICPA Tax Executive Committee, AICPA National Tax and Sophisticated Tax Conference Committee, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants.

Sandi earned her B.S. in Accounting from Indiana University.

Click here for more information about Sandi.
Sara Page H. Waugh

Sara Page H. Waugh is an associate on the Wealth and Estate Planning team at Moore & Van Allen PLLC in Charlotte. As a member of the North Carolina and Florida state bars, Sara Page advises clients with respect to their tax and estate planning needs, including the succession of management and ownership of closely held business interests. Sara Page also works to achieve her clients' charitable goals. Her practice includes the formation of non-profit corporations and private foundations, the application for tax-exempt status, and advice and counsel regarding ongoing compliance with state and federal requirements for tax-exempt organizations.

Sara Page has been recognized as part of the Business North Carolina's Legal Elite in Tax and Estate Planning (2021) and serves as the co-Chair of the Communications Committee of the Estate Planning and Fiduciary Law Section of the North Carolina State Bar.

Sara Page earned her B.S., with honors, from Davidson College and her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law.

Click here for more information about Sara Page.

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Description

Contributors

S. Kyle Agee

Douglas W. "Doug" Benson

John R. Cella Jr.

Cristine R. "Crissy" Dixon

Elinor J. "Elie" Foy

Mark J. Hale Jr.

Jessica B. Heffner

Christopher N. "Chris" Hewitt

Linda Funke Johnson

Lawrence A. "Larry" Moye IV

James C. "Jim" Purnell V

Aimee L. Smith

Sandi O. Thorman

Sara Page H. Waugh