2024 Basics of Estate Administration

7:45 Registration and Continental Breakfast

8:25 Welcome and Introductions

8:30 Pre-qualification Procedures and Exceptions to Formal Administration

Kristyn G. Whitaker, Jones Branz Whitaker LLP, Raleigh

This session explains the gathering of information and other pre-qualification procedures, assets not subject to administration, small estates, summary administration, family allowances, estates composed of only real estate, and transfers of motor vehicles.

9:30 Break

9:40 Qualification and Post-qualification Procedures

Jonathan Hilliard, Womble Bond Dickinson (U.S.) LLP, Winston-Salem

Learn about the qualification procedures for testate and intestate estates, determination of beneficiaries, and other post-qualification procedures.

10:40 Break

10:50 Handling Assets

Walter B. Burwell Jr., Envisage Law, Raleigh
Daniel B. Finch, Envisage Law, Raleigh

Discuss how to handle bank accounts, certificates of deposit, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, life insurance, government bonds and income tax refunds. This session also addresses the intricacies of handling real property, tangible personal property, motor vehicles, mobile homes, and beneficial interests in trusts and other estates.

11:50 Lunch Break

12:50 Handling Business Interests

Caroline Denning, Womble Bond Dickinson, Raleigh

Explore the handling of business interests, including sole proprietorships, partnerships, limited liability companies, C and S corporations, and professional corporations.

1:20 Break

1:30 Handling Retirement Accounts

Charlie D. Brown, Brown Estate Planning & Elder Law, Graham

Walk through the basics of handling employee benefit plans, individual retirement accounts and annuities.

2:15 Break

2:25 Inventories, Accountings and Distributions

Monica C. Berry, Ingersoll Firm PLLC, Winston-Salem

This session covers inventories, annual and final accounts, distributions, and apportionment.

3:10 Break

3:20 Estate Taxation

Christopher N. "Chris" Hewitt, Womble Bond Dickinson (U.S.) LLP, Winston-Salem

Receive an overview of federal estate tax.

4:05 Break

4:15 Decedent's Tax Returns

Charles E. Davis, Poyner Spruill LLP, Raleigh

During this session, we discuss final income tax returns, estate and trust income tax returns, gift tax returns, and tax returns for other states.

5:15 Adjourn

Description

Estate administration can be a lengthy and complex process rife with potential pitfalls and costly missteps. Even the most seemingly straightforward case can quickly become challenging to navigate. So, where do you start?

To facilitate continuous skill development and conceptual reinforcement long after the program concludes, attendees receive a digital copy of the bestselling North Carolina Estate Administration Manual, 10th Edition, fully updated with the new 2024 supplement.

Contributors

Monica C. Berry

Monica C. Berry is a junior partner with Ingersoll Firm PLLC in the Winston-Salem. She joined the firm in November 2017 as an associate attorney and her principal areas of practice are Estate Planning and Estate Administration.

Monica is a member of the Forsyth County Bar Association, North Carolina Bar Association (member, wills and trusts, elder law sections), and American Bar Association.

Monica earned her B.A., cum laude, in Sociology, with a Concentration in Crime and Criminal Justice, and Spanish, from Wake Forest University and her J.D. from Wake Forest University School of Law. She also earned Certificate in Cybersecurity: Strategy and Implementation from the Wake Forest University Charlotte Center.

While in law school, Monica was a teaching assistant for the Elder Law Clinic and the 1L Legal Analysis, Writing and Research classes. She was also on the Executive Board of Women in Law and was the creator and coordinator for the Women in Law/Girl Scouts Mock Trial Pro Bono Project. She was the recipient of the CALI Excellence for the Future Award for Aviation Law and recipient of the North Carolina Association of Women's Attorneys Sarah Parker Scholarship Award. She was also a member of the Pro Bono Honors Society.

Click here for more information about Monica.
Charlie D. Brown

Charlie D. Brown is an attorney and owner of Brown Estate Planning & Elder Law in Graham. He is a Board Certified Specialist in Estate Planning and Probate Law, focusing his practice on the transfer and protection of assets.

Charlie has been in private practice with a multi-city law firm, has been a tax advisor with Arthur Andersen, a trust officer with Wachovia Bank, a realtor, a choir director, a wedding singer, a fire extinguisher salesman, and once was paid to dance and sing in a Lion costume.

Charlie has been named one of North Carolina's "Legal Elite" by Business North Carolina, (2013 most recently), was named one of the "Rising Stars" and a "Super Lawyer" (2013) in the North Carolina publication Super Lawyers. He recently received a Peer Review Rating from Martindale Hubbell of "AV". In 2006, he was named one of the "40 Under Forty" business leaders in the Triad. He recently served on the Section Council for the North Carolina Bar Association's Estate Planning & Fiduciary Law Section, and he is the former chair of the State Bar's committee that tests attorneys who seek to become estate planning specialists.

Charlie has served on the Boards of Directors of the Wake County Center for Volunteer Caregiving, the Alamance Foundation, the Alamance/Caswell Red Cross, the Community Theater of Greensboro and the Alamance Community College Foundation. He established the ACC Foundation's annual "Donor Recipient Reception" and led the Red Cross' first "Hero" campaign.

Charlie graduated, magna cum laude, from the undergraduate school and then earned both his MBA and J.D. (Law Review Editor) from Wake Forest University.

Click here for more information about Charlie.
Walter B. "Brodie" Burwell Jr.

Walter B. "Brodie" Burwell Jr. is a shareholder at Envisage Law in Raleigh. His practice areas are LLCs, partnerships, corporations, taxation and accounting, wills, trusts, powers of attorney and administration, charitable foundations and split-interest gifts and property ownership and transfer.

Brodie is a member of the Tax Section of the North Carolina Bar Association.

Brodie earned his BA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and completed course work in preparation for the CPA exam at North Carolina State University. He earned his J.D. from Campbell University School of Law.

Click here for more information about Brodie.
Charles E. "Charlie" Davis III

Charles E. "Charlie" Davis III is a partner with Poyner Spruill LLP in Raleigh. He advises clients on estate and trust planning issues, including the implications of estate, gift, GST, and income taxes. He also advises executors and trustees in the administration of estate and trusts. In addition, he advises businesses and business owners on general corporate issues, tax issues, and succession planning.

Charlie is a Board-Certified Specialist in Estate Planning and Probate Law by the North Carolina State Bar Board of Legal Specialization. He is a member of the North Carolina Bar Association's Estate Planning and Fiduciary Law Section.

Charlie earned his B.S., with highest distinction, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his J.D., with high honors, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law.

Click here for more information about Charlie.
Kathryn Cook DeAngelo

Kathryn Cook DeAngelo is Senior Counsel at Collins Family & Elder Law in Charlotte. She joined the firm in August 2021 as Senior Counsel to the Collins Elder Law practice division. She primarily serves in an advisory and consulting role for our associate elder law attorneys who work directly with and represent clients.

Kathryn is a Certified Elder Law Attorney (CELA) certified by The National Elder Law Foundation (NELF) and has devoted more than 35 years to practicing elder law. When client matters handled by our associate elder law attorneys involve unique or extraordinary issues, she is available to consult and collaborate with the associate elder law attorneys. She also helps educate junior and associate elder law attorneys about elder law topics.

Kathryn Cook DeAngelo earned her B.A. in Business Education from Marshall University (Huntington, WV), an M.Ed. in Remedial Reading from the University of Maryland and her J.D., magna cum laude, from North Carolina Central University Law School.

Prior to attending law school, Kathryn was a public school teacher and taught business/secretarial studies for twelve (12) years at DuVal High School in Prince George's County, MD. After graduation from NCCU Law, she had the distinct honor to be selected by the distinguished Henry E. Frye, former Justice and Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court (first African-American Justice and Chief Justice to sit on the Court), to serve as his Law Clerk 1984-1985. At the conclusion of her clerkship, she moved to Myrtle Beach, SC, and became an associate attorney with the law firm Nettles Floyd Turbeville and Reddick, later becoming a partner in the firm Floyd Prevatte and DeAngelo. In 1990 she established her solo law firm in Surfside Beach, SC. After 34 years of private law practice in she closed her law offices in 2019 to move to Charlotte.

Click here for more information about Kathryn.
Caroline Denning

Caroline Denning is a staff attorney at Womble Bond Dickinson in Raleigh. She is a trusted advisor to companies and individuals in a variety of matters, including estate and trust administration, business agreements/contracts, business entity formation and transition planning, wills, trusts, powers of attorney, advance healthcare directives, customized beneficiary designation forms for retirement assets and insurance policies, premarital and post-marital agreements, and guardianship.

Prior to joining Womble, she practiced as an associate attorney at Walker Lambe in the firm's Trust and Estate administration department.

Caroline is an active member of the North Carolina Bar Association (NCBA) and currently serves as Lead Volunteer with the Wills for Heroes Pro-Bono program and is Co-Chair of the Inclusion Diversity Equity and Access (IDEA) Committee of the Estate Planning and Fiduciary Law Section.

Caroline earned her B.A. in Political Science and Asian Studies from Elon University, J.D. from North Carolina Central University School of Law and her L.L.M. (Master of Laws in Taxation) from Villanova University. While in law school, she was Executive Editor of the North Carolina Central Law Review and was recognized by the North Carolina Bar Association (NCBA) for completing over 75 hours of pro bono service, including service in NCCU's Wills Clinic. She also volunteered as a law clerk to the D.C. Superior Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, and the North Carolina Court of Appeals.

Click here for more information about Caroline.
Daniel B. Finch

Daniel B. Finch is a partner at Envisage Law in Raleigh. He is a trusted advisor to his clients, both families and corporations, guiding them through periods of crisis. He often assists families immediately after the loss of a loved one, assisting with all facets of probate, estate and trust administration, and tax issues that arise in this context. He also represents individuals and corporations in response to notices from the IRS and the North Carolina Department of Revenue, in connection with deficiencies, audits, and other tax controversies.

Daniel was recognized by Super Lawyers in 2012 as a Rising Star and was recognized by Business North Carolina Magazine in 2021, as one of Business North Carolina's Legal Elite, in the category of Tax and Estate Planning.

Daniel earned his B.A. in Political Science and a minor in Business Administration from North Carolina State University, J.D. from Campbell University School of Law and his M.B.A. from Campbell University School of Business.

Click here for more information about Daniel.
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.
Jonathan Hilliard

Jonathan Hilliard is an associate at Womble Bond Dickinson (U.S.) LLP in Winston-Salem. For a broad range of estate planning strategies, he has experience preparing legal documents such as wills, trust agreements, powers of attorney, documents for the modification and administration of trusts, and instruments transferring closely-held business interests and other assets.

Jonathan's practice also includes providing services related to charities and other tax-exempt entities. He has experience forming nonprofit corporations, completing applications for federal tax-exempt status and analyzing transactions involving private foundations. He also assists clients with their compliance programs for charitable solicitation and commercial co-venturer licenses.

Jonathan earned his B.A. in American Studies from the University of Virginia, Master of Divinity (M.Div.), magna cum laude, from Duke Divinity School and J.D., summa cum laude, from Wake Forest University School of Law.

Click here for more information about Jonathan.
Mackenzie Mills

Mackenzie Mills is an associate attorney at Jones Branz & Whitaker in Raleigh.

Mackenzie graduated from Meredith College with a degree in Political Science and Psychology and earned her J.D. from Elon University School of Law.

Click here for more information about Mackenzie.
Kristyn G. Whitaker

Kristyn G. Whitaker is a partner at Jones Branz Whitaker LLP in Raleigh. Her principal areas of practice are estate planning and estate administration.

Kristyn is a member of the Estate Planning & Fiduciary Law Section of the North Carolina Bar Association where she serves on the Legislation Committee and as co-chair of the Communications Committee. She is also a member of the Elder & Special Needs Law Section of the North Carolina Bar Association and serves on the Civic Education & Community Engagement Committee of the North Carolina Bar Foundation.

Kristyn earned her B.S., cum laude, in Political Science, International Affairs (minor in Business) from Florida State University and J.D. from Duke University School of Law

Kristyn is an active member of the Triangle community, as a foster and volunteer for a local dog rescue, as a volunteer attorney for the Duke Law Cancer Clinic and as an advisor for a student women's organization at Duke University.

Click here for more information about Kristyn.

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Description

Contributors

Monica C. Berry

Charlie D. Brown

Walter B. "Brodie" Burwell Jr.

Charles E. "Charlie" Davis III

Kathryn Cook DeAngelo

Caroline Denning

Daniel B. Finch

Christopher N. "Chris" Hewitt

Jonathan Hilliard

Mackenzie Mills

Kristyn G. Whitaker