45th Annual Trusts and Estates Seminar 2026

The Year in Review: Uncovering Tax and Fiduciary Trends to Better Plan and Prepare
Bill Sanderson

For at least the last two decades, the federal wealth transfer tax has been in a state of continued—sometimes gradual, sometimes fast-paced—evolution. This session will review the landscape of federal legislation dealing with the estate and gift tax, and it will address trends in recent cases, regulatory guidance, and administrative updates that have an impact on estate planning and estate administration.

Virginia Developments in Estate Planning and Administration
Sarah Brownlow

The latest on new Virginia legislation and case law.

Artificial Intelligence: Will It Transform the Practice of Estate and Trust Law?
Jack K. Beckett, Timothy Ferges

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) has been both heralded and bemoaned for its potential to transform the practice of law. This presentation provides a broad, accessible survey of GenAI technologies that may be useful in law practice. It explains (in layperson-friendly terms) how these systems were trained and how they operate, with the goal of illuminating the technical and theoretical issues behind the models’ well-documented reliability concerns. It also examines recent developments in the ongoing development and implementation of GenAI in law practices. It also identifies the principal risks and pitfalls lawyers should consider when incorporating generative AI into their work.

Death, Taxes, and Paperwork: The Estate Planner’s Unholy Trinity

Fairfax: Charles B. Alvis, Thomas D. Yates, Bill Sanderson

Richmond: Jennifer Schooley, Charles B. Alvis, Bill Sanderson

Whether your clients have generational wealth or a single cherished home, tax issues lurk in every estate plan. This panel of experienced estate planning lawyers will tackle the practical tax problems practitioners encounter daily—from GST allocation mistakes and missing gift tax returns to intra-family loan pitfalls and the IRS forms and procedures you cannot afford to get wrong. Designed for Virginia practitioners at all experience levels, this session offers concrete guidance you can use immediately.

The Long and Winding Road: A Practical Roadmap to Post-Death Trust Administration
Kevin Stemple

This presentation provides Virginia attorneys with a step-by-step guide to administering a trust after the death of a settlor. The presentation follows the trustee’s journey from the initial responsibilities after death through asset collection, beneficiary communications, tax compliance, trust reporting/accounting, and final distribution. Along the way, it highlights common legal, tax, and practical pitfalls that can delay administration or expose trustees to liability, while offering best practices to navigate those challenges.          

Attendees will leave with a practical framework they can use to efficiently guide trustees and beneficiaries through every stage of post-death trust administration.

Ethical Issues Practitioners Face in Estate Planning and Estate Administration Matters
Scott Masselli, Kevin O’Donnell

This interactive session takes you through the entire life cycle of a hypothetical representation client, from the initial contact through the client’s death. During this one-hour presentation, Scott W. Masselli and Kevin B. O’Donnell (attorneys with more than 10 years of experience in trust and estates each) will give lawyers a framework to identify and proactively address the ethical issues lurking in an estate planning practice.

The speakers will discuss Virginia Rules of Professional Conduct Rule 1.1 (Competence), 1.5 (Fees), 1.6 (Confidentiality), 1.7 (Conflicts of Interest), and more, as well as relevant commentary and Legal Ethics Opinions.