Empowering Your Practice: Estate Planning Fundamentals
This presentation underscores the critical role of thoughtful, flexibly-drafted estate planning to ensure that a client’s wishes are effectively carried out over the course of many generations and withstand the test of time. A great estate plan is not just about drafting — it requires careful attention to detail, modern tools, and forward-thinking strategies to avoid common pitfalls. By following key Scrivener’s Commandments — handling plans with care, drafting with intention, leveraging technology, and anticipating real-world execution issues — estate planners can create documents that stand the test of time.
The discussion highlights major drafting mistakes, such as improperly funded trusts, conflicting asset designations, and inadequate tax planning, while offering practical solutions to avoid them. Ultimately, the success of an estate plan depends on its clarity, adaptability, and the planner’s ability to foresee and mitigate potential challenges before they arise.
Agenda:
- Introduction & Overview
- Brief introduction of Leah Del Percio and her background
- The importance of estate planning with administration in mind
- Even the best estate plans fail without proper execution
- The Estate Planner’s Commandments
- Handle With Care
- Estate planning is not elementary work — every plan impacts someone’s entire life assets
- Give the work the honor and attention it deserves
- Never Thoughtlessly Draft
- Your words will be scrutinized years later — draft with care
- Malpractice risk & legal scrutiny of poor drafting
- Use Modern Resources
- Stop relying on outdated documents and tools
- Leverage modern drafting software & synced client intake forms
- Handle More Estate Administrations
- The best planners understand estate administration
- Direct experience in administration provides planning and avoids foreseeable problems
- Estate Administration: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
- The Good: Fulfilling, profitable, and helps people during difficult times
- The Bad: Clients often face distress, and attorneys bear the burden of bad news
- The Ugly: Errors, fines, lawsuits, and malpractice risks if not handled properly
- Common Mistakes in Estate Planning & How To Avoid Them
- Unfunded Revocable Trusts — Ensure funding to avoid probate
- Incomplete Revocable Trusts — Ensure all required signatures
- Specific Bequests of Nonprobate Assets — Be careful with retirement accounts & TODs
- Fluctuating Asset Bequests — Avoid unintended disparities
- Improper Allocation of Assets in Estate Tax States — State-specific planning matters
- Mishandling Tax-Deferred Assets — Use see-through trusts, avoid naming estate as beneficiary
- Not Accounting for Death During Divorce — Add protective language
- No Self-Proving Affidavit & No Bond Waiver — Best practices to avoid probate delays
- Distribution Terms Errors — Stick to clear ascertainable standards like HEMS
- Not Filing Portability Return — Don’t miss estate tax exemptions (IRS Form 706)
- Failing to Communicate Probate Delays — Set proper client expectations
- Practicing in States Where You’re Not Licensed — UTC differences between states
- Missing an Asset — Leads to tax consequences & probate issues
- Questions & Answers (as time permits)
Topics covered include:
Practice Skills
Duration of this webinar:
60 minutes
Originally broadcast:
March 05, 2025 10:00 AM PT
Continuing Legal Education (CLE) Credits
*CLE credit is only available to Justia Connect Pros. Not a Pro? Upgrade today>>
California CLE
Status: Approved
Credits: 1.00 General
Earn Credit Until: June 30, 2026
South Carolina CLE
Status: Approved
Credits: 1.00 General
Difficulty: All Levels
Earn Credit Until: December 31, 2025
North Carolina CLE
Status: Approved
Credits: 1.00 General
Earn Credit Until: February 28, 2026
Texas CLE
Status: Approved
Credits: 1.00 General
Earn Credit Until: February 28, 2026
This presentation is approved for one hour of General CLE credit in California, South Carolina (all levels), and North Carolina. This course has been approved for Minimum Continuing Legal Education credit by the State Bar of Texas Committee on MCLE in the amount of 1.00 credit hours.
Justia only reports attendance in jurisdictions in which a particular Justia CLE Webinar is officially accredited. Lawyers may need to self-submit their certificates for CLE credit in jurisdictions not listed above.
Note that CLE credit, including partial credit, cannot be earned outside of the relevant accreditation period. To earn credit for a course, a lawyer must watch the entire course within the relevant accreditation period. Lawyers who have viewed a presentation multiple times may not be able to claim credit in their jurisdiction more than once. Justia reserves the right, at its discretion, to grant an attendee partial or no credit, in accordance with viewing duration and other methods of verifying course completion.
At this time, Justia only offers CLE courses officially accredited in certain states. Lawyers may generate a generic attendance certificate to self-submit credit in their own jurisdiction, but Justia does not guarantee that lawyers will receive their desired CLE credit through the self-submission or reciprocity process.
Looking for CLE credit?
Visit CLE Dashboard
Speaker
Leah Del Percio
CEO & Founder
Trustate
Trustate
Leah Del Percio is the President, CEO, and co-founder of Trustate, one of the world’s fastest-growing estate administration platforms. Since Trustate’s founding in 2020, Ms. Del Percio has been involved in all aspects of the firm's development and growth. Trustate provides B2B tools to various stakeholders throughout the estate administration process including law firms, wealth managers, banks, and accountants, amongst others. Today, the firm is an industry leader in the LegalTech space and is regularly featured as one of the top startups to watch. Read More ›
