This program is eligible for 3 hours of CLE credit in 60-minute states. In 50-minute states, this program is eligible for 3.6 hours of CLE credit. Credit hours are estimated and are subject to each state’s approval and credit rounding rules.
Overview
The subject of trusts in Pennsylvania can engender discomfort among attorneys since an unskilled drafting of a trust provision can lead to liability and strife within the family you intended on assisting. This strife can last for years and even generations.
Any attorney offering estate planning services should be aware of the risks, the benefits, and the family structure involved in trust drafting. This overview will cover the world of trusts from the point of view of practicing attorneys and corporate trustees.
ABCs will examine the following:
- What is a trust?
- When and how should a trust be used?
- Irrevocable vs. Revocable Trusts
- Grantor vs. Non-Grantor Trusts
- Drafting the trust document - and tips for avoiding common errors
- Trust modification - Living with the trust you created
- Understanding the family unit and how a trust can disrupt family harmony
Recorded in March 2024.
Faculty
Edward Perkins JD, LL.M., CPA
Mr. Perkins has been a practicing estate planning and tax attorney for over 35 years. He is a principal shareholder of the law firm of Gibson & Perkins, P.C., Media, and has been a member of the faculty of the Graduate Tax Program of the Villanova Law School since 1981. In that program, he developed and taught “The Drafting Fundamentals of Estate Planning Documents.” Mr. Perkins is also the author of four recently published books: Pennsylvania Trusts Handbook, The Taxation of Trusts and Estates, The Fundamentals of Trusts, and Drafting Wills that Work in Pennsylvania. He is a frequent contributor to the continuing professional education programs of the Pennsylvania Bar Institute and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, among others. Mr. Perkins is also the founder of YourOnLineProfessor.net, an online provider of continuing professional education for CPAs and attorneys.
Leslie K. Heffernen, Esq. JD, LL.M (tax), CPA
Leslie serves as the Managing Director of Fiduciary and Legal Services for Pitcairn Trust Company, a private trust company with $8 billion AUM. She provides legal and tax expertise on client matters including estate planning, compliance, corporate matters, and the administration of trusts, guardianships, and decedents’ estates. She previously held roles at Butera Beausang Cohen Brennan, LP and the Internal Revenue Service in Philadelphia.
Leslie is admitted to practice law in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut (ret.). She is the current Chair of the Board of Trustees of Ambler Savings Bank (the first female chair in its 150-year history), a member of the Pennsylvania Joint State Government Commission Advisory Committee on Decedents’ Estates Laws, and a member of the Audit Committee of the Montgomery County Bar Association. She is a past president of the Montgomery County Estate Planning Council and the Rotary Club of Ambler. Along with presenting on tax, estate planning, and elder law topics for various organizations, Leslie has authored articles on estate planning. Outside of the legal and tax universe, Leslie participates in dozens of charitable runs every year, including the Philadelphia Broad Street Run.
Jennifer Kosteva, Esq.
Ms. Kosteva is a shareholder of Heckscher, Teillon, Terrill & Sager, P.C. in West Conshohocken, PA. She received her B.S. in Accountancy, summa cum laude, and M.S. in Accountancy (Taxation), magna cum laude, from the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, and her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in Charlottesville, Virginia. Prior to joining Heckscher, Teillon, Terrill & Sager, Ms. Kosteva was an associate in the Private Wealth Services group of McGuireWoods, LLP in Richmond, Virginia. She also clerked for the Honorable James C. Dever, III, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of North Carolina, in Raleigh, North Carolina. Ms. Kosteva focuses her practice on estate planning, trust and estate administration, and estate and gift taxation. She is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Council (ACTEC). She is a Past President and Board Member of the Montgomery County Estate Planning Council and a member of the Philadelphia Estate Planning Council. She serves as an adjunct faculty member at the Temple University Beasley School of Law, where she co-teaches an estate planning drafting course to JD and LLM students. Ms. Kosteva is a member of the Pennsylvania, Philadelphia and Montgomery County Bar Associations, including the relevant probate sections, and a member of the American Bar Association, Real Property Trust and Estate Law Section.
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