PFAC NorCal Region Education Day September 12, 2013 8:00 a.m. 5:40 p.m. South San Francisco Conference Center MORNING GENERAL SESSION SPONSORED BY HOME CARE ASSISTANCE Avoiding and Limiting Fiduciary Litigation in the Modern World (8:00 9:00 am) 1 CEU/MCLE CREDIT In today s culture, almost everyone who loses money looks for someone to blame, or to sue, in order to recover his or her losses. The targets of societal blame shifting include fiduciaries. This session will help fiduciaries identify and avoid, limit or shift risk when they become targets of the blame game. The presentation will discuss this blame game and the Four Pillars of Fiduciary Risk, to reduce a fiduciary s risk before and during potential litigation. The Four Pillars are (a) Service as a Fiduciary Benefit to Society; (b) the Quid Pro Quo Business Judgment Rule Protection; (c) Implementation of the Rule: Exercise of Business Judgment and (d) Protection for the Fiduciary in Litigation: Notifying your insurer, Selecting Counsel, and Shifting Litigation Risk and Liability. ROBERT JULIAN is a litigation partner in Winston & Strawn s San Francisco office. He has more than 25 years of experience litigating breach of fiduciary cases which involve directors, officers, trustees, and other agents. In the past several years, Mr. Julian has successfully defended fiduciaries in cases involving more $1 Billion including one of the largest probate cases in the world, in which he successfully defended against a breach of fiduciary duty by the chairman of a charitable trust for claims in excess of $200 million. MORNING PRE INTENSIVE BREAK OUT SESSIONS Best Practices: Accounting and Fee Petitions (9:10 12 pm) 2.75 CEU/MCLE CREDITS Last year, 100 members of the East Bay Trusts and Estates Lawyers analyzed the question, What are the best practices for private professional fiduciaries who must seek court approval of their fees? This course synthesizes the answers to that question with a lesson on fiduciary accounting. (9:10 am 12:10 pm)
MARGARET HAND Margaret Hand has been teaching fiduciary accounting for the Cal CPA Education Foundation for the past six years and provides education to attorneys throughout California. Ms. Hand also is the author of numerous CEB chapters and written for Matthew Bender. She is an ACTEC fellow and a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law. Business Structure and Continuity of Care: Best Practices for Fiduciaries (9:10 12 pm) 2.75 CEU/MCLE Best Practices for Fiduciaries addresses a fundamental conflict for fiduciaries. How can a fiduciary plan for the exigencies of life death, disability, retirement and protect their clients at the same time? This presentation will cover an essential knowledge base of business structures, taxes, liability reduction and consumer protection that are applicable to a fiduciary s clients and to a fiduciary s business. It will also provide needed information for the effective administration of trusts and estates with a review of essential trust provisions that every fiduciary needs to understand. FRANK ACUNA is a founding partner at Acuna, Regli & Klein, LLP. He is a certified estate planning, probate, and trust administration specialist who has been representing professional fiduciaries and tax professionals for the past 25 years. He has many years of teaching experience for PFAC, CALCPA, AICPA, and National Tax Education Institute. TRACY REGLI is also a founding partner of Acuna, Regli & Klein, LLP. She brings over ten years of pre law experience with one of the largest publicly traded Real Estate Investment Trusts (REIT) in the United State. Ms. Regli represents fiduciaries in probate, trust, and conservatorship matters. Ms. Regli defies the stereotype that lawyers can t do math, and is extremely adept at fiduciary accounting. JOHN GRIMES is a CPA and professional fiduciary. He has practiced accounting for the past 25 years focusing on estates and trusts for the last 17. He brings those two fields together to provide fiduciary tax return preparation, accountings, litigation support and expert witness services. He also serves as a consultant in trust and estate matters. GENERAL SESSION (BRING YOUR BOXED LUNCH TO THIS SESSION) SPONSORED BY ANDREW DE VRIES, MBA, PROBATE, ESTATE AND TRUST REALTOR
Elder Abuse Statute: Potential Goldmines and Landmines for Fiduciaries (12:20 1:20 pm) 1 CEU/MCLE CREDIT The Elder Abuse Act empowers fiduciaries to protect their clients and recover their assets. But it also puts the spot light on those in charge of elders assets. The broad definition of elder financial abuse combined with its generous remedies could also incite disgruntled outsiders to allege you have engaged in misconduct. This presentation will review cases involving elder abuse allegations against fiduciaries to highlight possible landmines to avoid and practical strategies to implement to avoid being found liable of elder financial abuse. LIZA DE VRIES practices law to advocate for vulnerable individuals and worthy causes. Her practice focuses on elder and dependent adult abuse and civil rights litigation. She represents private professionals, family member fiduciaries, elders, infirm individuals, and their families. Clients seek her legal services to resolve disputes as early as possible, represent their interests in conservatorship and probate litigation, and to go to trial in state and federal courts. (See www.scottlawfirm.net for more info.) AFTERNOON PRE INTENSIVE SESSIONS How Obamacare Presents Opportunities and Dangers for Fiduciaries (1:30 4:30pm) 2.75 CEU/MCLE CREDITS The Affordable Health Care Act (Obamacare) will have a dramatic effect on the health care planning of persons with disabilities. This seminar will describe how the ACA works and how it will affect many Americans, it will help you recognize when private insurance may be a Medi Cal replacement for your clients and the unique SNT administration issues under Obamacare that all fiduciaries should be aware of. KEVIN URBATSCH Kevin Urbatsch is a partner at Myers Urbatsch PC located in San Francisco. Kevin also serves as National Director of the Academy of Special Needs Planners (ASNP). Kevin is a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust, and Probate Law by the California State Bar. In 2013, Parenting Magazine named Kevin as a Top Special Needs Child Advocate. In May 2011, Kevin received the NAELA s Presidential Recognition Award for his work in special needs planning. In 2010 2013, Kevin was named a Northern California Superlawyer.
SCOTT MAC DONALD Scott MacDonald is a Senior Vice President and Certified Special Needs Advisor. He has over 26 years of industry experience, joining Merrill Lynch in 1987. Scott has been extensively involved with many disability organizations, including the PRIDE Institute and Foundation, Downs Syndrome Information Alliance, Autism Speaks, Society for Handicapped Children and Adults, Parents Helping Parents, Support for Families, Legal Assistance for Seniors, and the ARC of San Francisco. A Stitch in Time: An Early Mediation Workshop for Fiduciaries (1:30 4:30pm) 2.75 CEU/MCLE CREDITS This interactive workshop introduces fiduciaries to a prefacto mediation Participation in A Stitch in Time Prefacto Mediation with key players in a case and the fiduciary can be a useful resource for fiduciaries who are dealing with difficult case issues where the parties are having difficulty coming to an agreement. Attendees will get to participate in mock mediations to experience how meeting with family members and interested parties in the presence of a professional mediator can facilitate communication, establish common ground, and generate simple agreements that may avoid litigation down the road. CLAUDIA POWELL has been a licensed professional fiduciary since 1988 and a credentialed mediator since 2011. She has administered over 200 matters as trustee, personal representative, conservator of person and estate, guardian, power of attorney, and court appointed referee. She has also participated in and mediated a variety of disputes with an emphasis in probate matters that include fiduciaries. CLOSING SESSION (IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING WINE AND CHEESE BREAK) SPONSORED BY MERRILL LYNCH WEALTH MANAGEMENT, FIDUCIARY & SPECIAL NEEDS GROUP Ethics (and Probate Code) Jeopardy (4:40 5:40 pm) 1 CUE/MCLE CREDIT Join the next best thing to Alex Trebec and Vanna White as they help you navigate fiduciary ethics and Probate code! Topics will include Who s the Client, The Code, Sticky Situations, Investments, and others. And remember your responses must be in the form of a question!
FRANK ACUNA is a founding partner at Acuna, Regli & Klein, LLP. He is a certified estate planning, probate, and trust administration specialist who has been representing professional fiduciaries and tax professionals for the past 25 years. He has many years of teaching experience for PFAC, CALCPA, AICPA, and National Tax Education Institute. TRACY REGLI is also a founding partner of Acuna, Regli & Klein, LLP. She brings over ten years of pre law experience with one of the largest publicly traded Real Estate Investment Trusts (REIT) in the United State. Ms. Regli represents fiduciaries in probate, trust, and conservatorship matters. Ms. Regli defies the stereotype that lawyers can t do math, and is extremely adept at fiduciary accounting.