Fiduciary Law/Litigation, Choice of Trustee in Crisis Situations

Date: Monday, April 26, 2021
Time: 12:00pm - 1:00pm
Location: Zoom Web Conference - Link to be provided on Friday before the event
Speaker: Deborah T. Tedford

April 26, 2021 from 12:00 – 1:00 pm Zoom Meeting Only

Fiduciary Law/Litigation, Choice of Trustee in Crisis Situations

This presentation will focus on fiduciary responsibility, and whether or how the choice of a professional or lay trustee may affect the outcome in a challenging situation. We will look at various beneficiary "crises" that can also become a crisis for the trust, including divorce, business or personal financial difficulties; the mental illness of the beneficiary, including substance abuse issues, and disability combined with managing the need for governmental benefits.

About the Speaker

Deborah J. Tedford is an attorney and principal in the Tedford Law Firm of Mystic, Connecticut. She graduated from Yale University, cum laude in 1972 as a member of one of the first classes to include women, and from Boston University School of Law in 1976. She is also a qualified mediator, completing 40 hours offmmal training.

Deb was elected President of the Connecticut Bar Association, an organization of over 11,000 members, for the year 2002-2003, and previously served as Secretary and Vice President of that organization. She is the past chairman of the Connecticut Bar Association's Estates and Probate Section and also of its Elder Law Section. She was founding editor of the Estates and Probate Newsletter and is a past president of the Southeastern Connecticut Estate and Tax Planning Council. She has served as Chair of the Connecticut Bar Association's Pro Bono Committee and currently is the Chair of the CBA's annual Federal Tax Institute of New England.

Deb was elected a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) in 1992; was elected as a fellow of the Connecticut Bar Foundation in 1995; and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation in 2012. She recently served three years as Chair of the Elder Law Committee of ACTEC and is a former Regent of the College and is the Connecticut State Chair. She is a member of ACTEC's Fiduciary Litigation Committee, the ACTEC/National College of Probate Judges Task Force and has served on a number of other administrative committees for the college.   She has been named one of the Top Twenty-Five Women Super Lawyers in Connecticut as well as one of state' s top trusts and estates lawyers by the same organization and by Best's.

As part of her years of service to the Bar and her profession, Deb co-chaired and was the principal author of the Connecticut Bar Association's Report of the Task Force on the Future of the Connecticut Probate System, published in May 2003. She has worked tirelessly with a number of colleagues on a Connecticut version of the Unifo1m Trust Code, successfully passed on June 4, 2019. Deb has been asked to testify before Connecticut's Finance Committee on the effects of the estate tax laws in Connecticut, and has also testified in favor of special needs trusts for the disabled. She recently served as ACTEC's observer to the Uniform Law Commission's re-writing of the national guardianship and conservatorship act, and is now ACTEC observer to the ULC's study committee on the Uniform Health Care Decisions Act in light of the coronavirus pandemic. Finally, she is a member of the SECURE Act Task Force providing guidance to the U.S. Treasury focusing on the payout rules for Eligible Designated Beneficiaries.

Deb is a frequent speaker at the state and national levels on topics related to the field of trust law, including special needs trusts, estate and gift taxation, social security and undue influence in probate matters, and has written several chapters in the book Estate Planning for Modern Families from the Stephen Leimberg Library.

Reservation Policy

All attendees are required to register in advance.  Webinar Group - Members $12 and $25 for guests. If you reserve and are unable to attend, please cancel your reservation at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting to receive a refund or a credit for a future meeting.


Continuing Education

EPCSTL has requested approval for continuing education in the following areas: Banking, CLE, CPE, CFP, L&H Insurance   

EPCSTL is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit.

Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its website: www.learningmarket.org. Complaint resolution policy: please note your problem in the speaker evaluation.

CPE Information for CPAs

CPE Learning Objectives

Understand considerations naming minors as beneficiaries of estates, trusts and non-probate assets such as insurance and benefits

Understand pros and cons of guardianships vs. trusts for holding assets for Minors

Learn types of provisions to include in trusts when a minor will be the Beneficiary

Learn who can act on a minor beneficiary’s behalf in the administration of an estate or trust

Delivery Method: Live

Earn 1 CPE Credits for this session. 
       Field of Study: Specialized knowledge.
       Program: Intermediate
       Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites or advanced preparation for this session.
       Who should attend: Everyone at all levels

A certificate of completion will be available for those CPAs, and CWS designees who feel the program satisfies their continuing education requirements.

CTFA

CTFA 1.25 CE credit 

CFP Learning Objectives

Understand considerations naming minors as beneficiaries of estates, trusts and non-probate assets such as insurance and benefits

Understand pros and cons of guardianships vs. trusts for holding assets for Minors

Learn types of provisions to include in trusts when a minor will be the Beneficiary

Learn who can act on a minor beneficiary’s behalf in the administration of an estate or trust

 


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