Skip to main content
 This program is not active.
Conference

2021 Annual Estate, Trust & Elder Law Institute


Total Credits: 15.5 MCLE, 4.6 Ethics, 1.2 Elimination of Bias, 15.0 Kansas Credit, 4.0 Kansas Ethics, 2.0 Kansas LPM


Dates


Description

Join us for the 2021 Annual Estate, Trust & Elder Law Institute!
Virtual Conference | December 9-10, 2021

Presented by MoBarCLE, the Estate Planning and Probate Administration Committee, and the Elder Law Committee
See Schedule tab for full agenda. Agenda & exact times are subject to change

Topic highlights include:

  • Legislative & Case Law Update
  • Supported Decision-Making: Protecting Rights & Ensuring Choices
  • Cryptocurrency Rules & Regulations
  • The SECURE Act: Retirement Planning & Special Needs Trusts
  • Caregiver Contracts
  • Discovery & Expert Witnesses
  • Technology for Estate, Trusts & Elder Law Practitioners

Speaker

Martha Brown's Profile

Martha Brown Related Seminars and Products

Midwest Trust Co


Martha Brown is a Certified Elder Law Attorney. Her firm, Mitchell, Brown & Associates concentrates on the unique legal needs of the elderly and individuals with disabilities. She is active in various committees and associations as well as receiving numerous awards for her work with the elderly and individuals with disabilities.


John Challis's Profile

John Challis Related Seminars and Products

Kirkland Woods & Martinsen LLP


John Challis is a partner with Kirkland Woods & Martinsen in Clayton. He is an ACTEC fellow that specializes in fiduciary litigation. John is a frequent speaker, the Chair of the Missouri Bar Fiduciary Litigation Committee, and was named 2020 Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers for Fiduciary Litigation.



Nicholas Dupre's Profile

Nicholas Dupre Related Seminars and Products

Stanfield & Dupre


Nicholas A. Dupre is a native Houstonian in his 16th year of practice. He is Board Certified in Estate Planning and Probate and concentrates on probate, estate and gift tax planning, business planning and taxation, asset protection, estate administration, charitable organizations, real estate transactions, tax controversies, and intellectual property transactions.



Courtney Fletcher's Profile

Courtney Fletcher Related Seminars and Products

Carnahan Evans PC


Courtney L. Fletcher is an attorney in the Estate Planning Practice Group of Carnahan, Evans, Cantwell & Brown, P.C. She concentrates her practice in the areas of estate planning and administration, probate, trusts and elder law, including Medicaid Planning, Special Needs Trusts, Digital Asset Planning and Veterans Benefits. 

Ms. Fletcher has experience in the preparation of Trust Agreements, Wills, Powers of Attorney and Health Care Directives. Additionally, she handles probate estates, including guardianships and conservatorships.

Ms. Fletcher received her undergraduate degree from William Jewell College where she graduated with honors. Ms. Fletcher received her law degree from University of Missouri at Kansas City, Missouri.

Ms. Fletcher is a member of The Missouri Bar, past President of the Greene County Estate Planning Council, a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, a junior member of the Special Needs Alliance and a V.A. accredited attorney. She is a past director of the Missouri Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and a past chairman of the Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association Probate and Trust Committee. She currently serves on the Elder Law Committee of the Missouri Bar and is also a member of the Estate, Trust and Elder Law Institute Planning Committee.

Ms. Fletcher is a former member of the Junior League of Springfield, serving in various capacities including Chair of Teen Court. She is a volunteer at Greenwood Laboratory School and is currently the chair of Greenwood Music Boosters Organization.


Steven Gorin's Profile

Steven Gorin Related Seminars and Products

Thompson Coburn LLP


Steve is a practitioner in the areas of estate planning and the structuring of privately held businesses. Lawyers, accountants and business owners regularly look to Steve for fresh, highly knowledgeable insights into the best possible tax and estate planning approaches to their transactions.

Over the course of his 30-year career, Steve has amassed a deep knowledge of nearly every aspect of tax strategy for privately held businesses and freely shares that knowledge with others in the field. His quarterly newsletter, "Business Succession Solutions," is considered essential reading for hundreds of CPAs and attorneys, who describe it as "a fantastic contribution to the field." Steve also maintains a blog, Business Succession Solutions, intended to help business owners — and those who advise or support them — consider smart tax strategies.

Steve is a highly visible member of the ABA's Real Property, Trust & Estate Law Section and the American College of Trust & Estate Counsel, which regularly directs its members to Steve's quarterly newsletter. He has represented both groups in comments to the IRS, the U.S. Treasury, and tax lawmakers.

To obtain technical resources Steve authors and distributes at no charge, go to https://www.thompsoncoburn.com/insights/blogs/business-succession-solutions/about


Barb Helm's Profile

Barb Helm Related Seminars and Products

Arcare, Inc.


Barb Helm is the Executive Director of Arcare. Arcare is a not-for-profit organization offering PSNT and Private Trustee Services, Guardianship, Conservatorship, Rep Payee and Life Care Planning. In Barb’s role she also serves as Trust Administrator.


Barron Henley's Profile

Barron Henley Related Seminars and Products

Affinity Consulting Group


BARRON K. HENLEY, ESQ. is one of the founding partners of Affinity Consulting Group, a legal technology consulting firm focused on automating and streamlining law firms and legal departments.  He earned his B.S./B.A. (marketing and economics) and J.D. from The Ohio State University and is a member of the American, Ohio and Columbus Bar Associations, and the Worthington Estate Planning Council.  He is a Fellow of the College of Law Practice Management, a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, a member of Ohio Supreme Court Commission on Technology and the Courts, and a member of both the ABA Law Practice Management and the Real Property Trust and Estate Law ("RPTE") Sections and is Vice Chair of the Joint Law Practice Management Group. He's also a former member of RPTE Futures Task Force, a former Board Member for the ABA TECHSHOW, and the former Chair of the Ohio State Bar Association Law Office Automation & Technology Committee.  Mr. Henley heads Affinity’s document assembly/automation and software training departments.  Barron is also an expert in launching new law firms, overhauling existing firms, and documenting and re-engineering law firm processes.  Finally, Barron teaches continuing legal education (CLE) classes throughout the U.S. and Canada covering a wide variety of topics related to law practice management, technology and ethics.  


Douglas Jackson's Profile

Douglas Jackson Related Seminars and Products

Ohio Treasurer of State


Doug Jackson is an advocate for people with disabilities and a national ABLE account program administrator with 22+ years serving people with disabilities, their families, and disability support professionals.


Jonathan Martinis's Profile

Jonathan Martinis Related Seminars and Products

Syracuse University


Jonathan Martinis, Esq., J.D., is the Senior Director for Law and Policy in the Burton Blatt Institute (BBI) at Syracuse University. He is based at BBI’s Washington, D.C. office and leads the institute’s national and international efforts. 

Martinis has over 20 years of experience representing and advocating for people with disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act. He served as lead counsel in Brinn v. Tidewater Transportation District Commission, the first case to hold that people with disabilities have a right to paratransit transportation on a next-day basis. He was also lead counsel in Winborne v. Virginia Lottery, in which the court held that the Lottery must ensure that all private businesses selling Lottery tickets are accessible to people with disabilities. 

Most notably, in 2013, Martinis represented Jenny Hatch in the nationally acclaimed “Justice for Jenny” case. Martinis helped Ms. Hatch secure her right to live where and how she wants, to make her own decisions, and direct her own life. Jenny’s case was the first trial to hold that a person with disabilities has a right to engage in “Supported-Decision Making,” where people work with trusted friends, family members, and professionals to help them understand the situations and choices they face, so they may make their own decisions – rather than be subjected to a unnecessary permanent, plenary or full guardianship.

 


Robert Selsor's Profile

Robert Selsor Related Seminars and Products

Kirkland Woods Martinsen, LLP


Kathleen Sherby's Profile

Kathleen Sherby Related Seminars and Products

Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP


Ms. Sherby's practice involves representation of private individuals in all aspects of wealth transfer planning with a particular focus on retirement benefits. She has also represented trustees and beneficiaries regarding various fiduciary issues; advising trustees and trust protectors as to their fiduciary duties in administering trusts, modifications, reformations and terminations.


Hon. Mark Styles's Profile

Hon. Mark Styles Related Seminars and Products

Jackson County Circuit Court


Judge Mark A. Styles, Jr. was appointed to the bench as Circuit Judge on July 26, 2016 by Governor Jay Nixon. 

Mark A. Styles, Jr. was first appointed to the bench as Deputy Probate Commissioner on October 3, 2014 by Circuit Judge Kathleen A. Forsyth of the Probate Division.  At the time of his appointment, Commissioner Styles was a senior associate attorney with the Hardwick Law Firm. His practice included handling decedents’ and guardianship and conservatorship estates.  He was appointed by the Court to serve as counsel for respondents and other parties to matters pending before the Court. His background also includes working for the Public Administrator’s Office of Jackson County where he handled conservatorship and decedent estates dealing with complex real property, probate, Medicare/Medicaid compliance, and constitutional and contractual issues. 

Judge Styles received a Juris Doctorate degree from the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University in Houston, Texas in 2004. He obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from the University of Missouri – Columbia in 2001.


Stuart Teicher's Profile

Stuart Teicher Related Seminars and Products

The CLE Performer


Stuart I. Teicher, Esq. is a professional legal educator who focuses on ethics law and writing instruction. A practicing attorney for over two decades, Stuart’s career is now dedicated to helping fellow attorneys survive the practice of law and thrive in the profession. Mr. Teicher teaches seminars, provides in-house training to law firms and legal departments, provides CLE instruction at law firm client events, and also gives keynote speeches at conventions and association meetings.

Stuart helps attorneys get better at what they do (and enjoy the process) through his entertaining and educational CLE Performances. He speaks, teaches, and writes—Thomson Reuters published his book entitled, Navigating the Legal Ethics of Social Media and Technology.

Mr. Teicher is a Supreme Court appointee to the New Jersey District Ethics Committee where he investigates and prosecutes grievances filed against attorneys. Mr. Teicher is an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown Law where he teaches Professional Responsibility, and he is an adjunct professor at Rutgers University in New Brunswick where he teaches undergraduate writing courses.


Bradley Terebelo's Profile

Bradley Terebelo Related Seminars and Products

Heckscher Teillon Terrill & Sager, P.C.


Brad Terebelo's practice involves all aspects of trust and estate planning and administration, focusing extensively on trust administration and fiduciary litigation. Brad has spoken and written on issues concerning trust modification and change of situs. He presented at the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Orphans' Court Rules Committee concerning representation of minor, unborn and unascertained beneficiaries in trust proceedings. Brad serves as current chair of the Litigation Committee of the Philadelphia Bar Association's Probate and Trust Law Section, for which he authors a quarterly article concerning recent developments in fiduciary litigation. Brad is also a former member of the executive committee of the Philadelphia Bar Association's Probate and Trust Law Section and was former chair of that Section's Legislative Committee. 

Brad graduated from Washington University in St. Louis, where he received his bachelor's degree, with honors, in English and Earth and Planetary Science. He then received his master's degree in English in 2002, focusing on medieval literature. 

In 2007, Brad graduated cum laude from Temple University Beasley School of Law, where he served as a publications editor for the Temple Journal of Science, Technology & Environmental Law and was a member of Temple's award-winning Trial Advocacy Team. In the summer of 2005, Brad worked as a summer clerk for the Honorable John T.J. Kelly, Jr., of the Pennsylvania Superior Court.

HONORS AND AWARDS

  • Fellow, American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (2019)
  • Best Lawyers in America (2021)
  • Lawyer on the Fast Track, The Legal Intelligencer (2019)
  • Pennsylvania Super Lawyer Rising Star (2014 - 2017)
  • Pennsylvania Super Lawyer (2020-2021)


Daniel Wheeler's Profile

Daniel Wheeler Related Seminars and Products

Kirkland Woods & Martinsen LLP


Daniel P. Wheeler is a shareholder with the firm of Kirkland Woods & Martinsen LLP. Mr. Wheeler focuses his practice on fiduciary litigation, probate administration, adult and minor guardianships, and mediation in cases throughout Missouri and Kansas.
 
Mr. Wheeler served as a Probate Commissioner for the Circuit Court of Jackson County, Missouri for more than fourteen years. As Probate Commissioner, he presided over family and fiduciary disputes in trust and probate matters, including fiduciary litigation, complex trust litigation, discovery of assets actions, surety claims and general probate administration in decedent, guardianship and conservatorship estates. He has been chosen to be the probate presenter at the annual Missouri Judicial College for the past seventeen years, and also presents annually at the conference of the Missouri Association of Probate & Associate Circuit Judges. He speaks regularly at the Missouri Bar annual meeting as well as numerous continuing legal education seminars for the Missouri Bar, the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association and the University of Missouri at Kansas City.
 
Prior to joining the bench, Mr. Wheeler was in engaged in private practice in the area of probate litigation and administration matters. He has tried thirty-two jury trials to completion, of which twenty-six were in the probate division of the circuit courts. He is licensed in the states of Missouri and Kansas, and has completed the mediation training requirements of the Missouri Supreme Court.
 
Mr. Wheeler received a bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Missouri - Columbia in 1981. While an undergraduate student, he was a captain of the University's cross-country and track teams, and he was a recipient of the Tom Bott's Award, the senior track leadership award. He received a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Missouri in 1985, where he was a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma business honor society. He received his law degree, cum laude, from the University of Missouri in 1985, and he was a member of the Missouri Law Review and the Order of the Coif honor society.


Tabitha Mitchell's Profile

Tabitha Mitchell Related Seminars and Products

Mitchell, Brown & Associates, LLC


Cancellation Policy

2021 ANNUAL ESTATE, TRUST & ELDER LAW INSTITUTE REGISTRATION CANCELLATION & REFUND POLICY

  •  All cancellation and refund requests must be in writing to registrar@mobar.org
     
  •  A FULL REFUND of the registration fee will be issued if we receive your written cancellation by November 30, 2021. You will not have access to electronic course materials.
     
  •  NO REFUND of the registration fee will be issued if we receive your written cancellation after November 30, 2021.  You will have access to electronic course materials.

Schedule

(Agenda & exact times are subject to change)

THU | DEC 9
8:30 – 9:30 AM | PLENARY SESSION
Legislative & Case Law Update

Speakers: Hon. Mark A. Styles, Jr., 16th Judicial Circuit, Kansas City; Daniel P. Wheeler, Kirkland Woods & Martinsen LLP, Liberty
Kickoff the Institute with this in-depth review of the legislative changes and appellate rulings affecting probate law and procedures.    

9:30 – 9:45 AM | BREAK

9:45 – 10:35 AM | BREAKOUT SESSION 1 
Change-up to Fix-up: Settling & Fixing Trust Disputes & Problems by Modification & Reformation
Speaker: Bradley D. Terebelo
, Heckscher, Teillon, Terrill & Sager, West Conshohocken, PA

The Real Flow: SNT → Able → Client → Purchase
Speakers: Barb J. Helm
, ARCare, Inc., Overland Park, KS; Doug Jackson, Deputy Director, STABLE Accounts, Ohio Treasurer of State, Dayton, OH
Learn how SNTs can use ABLE accounts as the spending vehicle for day-to-day client purchases, and how you can make this work for you and your clients too. 

10:35 – 10:50 AM | BREAK

10:50 – 11:40 AM | BREAKOUT SESSION 2 
Discovery & Expert Witnesses
Speaker: Robert J. Selsor
, Polsinelli PC, St. Louis

Caregiver Contracts 
Speaker: M. Brigid Fernandez
, Fernandez Elder Law, LLC, St. Louis
A growing number of families are establishing caregiver contracts, allowing adult children or other relatives to be paid to provide care for an elderly or disabled family member.  This session will focus on the necessary elements of caregiver agreements and how these agreements impact Medicaid eligibility. 

11:40 AM – 12:10 PM | GRAB YOUR LUNCH 

12:10 – 1:00 PM | ETHICS PLENARY SESSION

Client with Diminished Capacity? What’s a Lawyer to Do?
Speaker: Michael P. Downey
, Downey Law Group LLC, St. Louis
Explore the ethical issues that arise when representing a client with diminished capacity. Includes discussion of Missouri Supreme Court Rule 4-1.14. 

1:00 – 1:15 PM | BREAK 

1:15 – 2:05 PM | BREAKOUT SESSION 3

Retirement Planning Including the SECURE Act 
Speaker: Kathleen R. Sherby
, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP, St. Louis

The POMS: Everything You Need to Know But Were Afraid to Ask
Speaker: Martha C. Brown
, Mitchell, Brown & Associates LLC, Kirkwood
The Social Security Administration rules are important when writing a special needs trust. This session will discuss the relevant POMS Sections that govern special needs trusts. Failure to follow the governing POMS when drafting a special needs trust can render a trust beneficiary ineligible for benefits. This session will highlight the POMS Sections that are particularly relevant when drafting special needs trusts.

2:05 – 2:20 PM | BREAK

2:20 – 3:50 PM | LIVE TECH PLENARY SESSION

Formatting Complex Documents & Microsoft Word
Speaker: Barron K. Henley
, Affinity Consulting Group, Columbus, OH  
Due to the complex formatting often required with legal documents, most users find Microsoft Word to be a constant source of frustration. It's the primary tool used to produce work product, yet many feel it works against them. Adding to the frustration is the fact that most of the techniques and features necessary to control complex formatting are simply concealed. Using Word and “clicking around” provides little improvement and no insight. This session is specifically designed to address those realities.  We’ll show you exactly how to fix the common legal drafting problems plaguing you now and avoid them in the future. You’ll learn dozens of tips and techniques you can put into practice immediately. Even if you feel you have Word under control, we guarantee you will learn new things about Word throughout this class.  


FRI | DEC 10
8:30 – 9:30 AM | LIVE PLENARY SESSION
Cryptocurrency Rules & Regulations Update for Estate, Trust & Elder Law Attorneys
Speaker: Nicholas A. Dupre
, Stanfield & Dupre, PLLC, The Woodlands, TX
Cryptocurrencies are making huge waves in estate planning. The new federal law currently under proposal in Congress has robust provisions regulating digital currency transactions and imposing harsh penalties for noncompliance. Bitcoin has just reached a new milestone and was recognized as legal tender for the first time. The IRS is actively combatting cryptocurrency tax fraud. And access to digital assets is the new top challenge for executors. This session brings you the latest update on the legal status of digital currencies in the U.S., their role and best uses in estate planning, and practical ways for fiduciaries to access and account for digital assets. 

9:30 – 9:45 AM | BREAK

9:45 – 10:45 AM | LIVE INCLUSION & DIVERSITY PLENARY SESSION

What Jazz and Blues Teach About Inclusion and Diversity in the Law
 
Speaker: Stuart I. Teicher, Teicher Professional Growth, LLCI, New Brunswick, NJ
Jazz & the blues are about a lot of things, including struggle, culture, bias, inclusion, change, and resilience. Each of those concepts are critical to understanding and combatting bias in the practice of law.  Join the CLE Performer, Stuart Teicher, Esq., as he connects the world of jazz and the blues to diversity and inclusion in the legal world. 

10:45 – 11:00 AM | BREAK

11:00 AM – 12:30 PM | LIVE TECH PLENARY SESSION

Inbox Ninja: Using Outlook to Organize & Manage High Volume Email 
Speaker: Barron K. Henley

Lawyers are generally drowning in email and many feel helpless when trying to get it under control. This seminar will show you how to use all of Microsoft Outlook’s feature set to efficiently store, organize email (and attachments), and successfully deal with high email volume. You will also learn how to fix Outlook’s default settings for email, calendar, contacts and tasks. Finally, we’ll explain many amazing and useful Outlook features which most users don't even know are there.

12:30 – 1:00 PM | GRAB YOUR LUNCH 

1:00 – 2:30 PM | LIVE PLENARY SESSION

Supported Decision-Making: Protecting Rights, Ensuring Choices
Speaker: Jonathan Martinis
, Senior Director for Law and Policy, Burton Blatt Institute, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY
Study after study has shown that when people with disabilities and older adults have more self-determination, they have a better quality of life. Learn what Supported Decision-Making is, why it is affective, as well as strategies and resources for creating Supported Decision-Making relationships for your clients. 

2:30 – 2:45 PM | BREAK

2:45 – 3:35 PM | BREAKOUT SESSION 4

Getting Paid the Right Way: Ethical Issues Related to Attorneys' Fees 
Speaker: John M. Challis,
Kirkland Woods & Martinsen LLP, Clayton
This presentation will focus on the ethical issues that are encountered by Missouri lawyers related to attorneys’ fees.  It will cover the best way to navigate different fee scenarios in estate planning, probate and trust administration, and litigation.

Secure Act & Special Needs Trusts
Speakers: Steven B. Gorin
, Thompson Coburn LLP, St. Louis and Martha C. Brown, Mitchell, Brown & Associates, LLC, St. Louis
The SECURE Act shortened the time period for distributions from inherited IRAs and other retirement plans. However, disabled and chronically ill beneficiaries have special exceptions. The speakers will review qualification and drafting issues for trusts for beneficiaries who do or may later qualify for that special treatment.

3:35 – 3:50 PM | BREAK

3:50 – 4:50 PM | LIVE ETHICS PLENARY SESSION

How to Discuss Security with Your Clients 
Speaker: Barron K. Henley

Addressing security within your office is only half the battle! Unfortunately, your clients often don’t know how to protect their own data and security is definitely a team sport. Therefore, it’s important to educate your clients about proper security processes and make sure they are okay with the risks associated with electronic communication and storage (if you intend to use them). Nothing is without risk, but by exercising good practices, you and your client can fully enjoy all the benefits of technology and electronic collaboration. In this session, we’ll discuss your communication and confidentiality duties under Rules of Professional Conduct, security issues you should address in engagement agreements, security measures both you and your clients should employ, client portals, email encryption, virtual private networks and other best practices.  Finally, we’ll cover the breach notification laws and how they impact lawyers.