Friday–Sunday, April 25–27, 2025
Friday: 12:55–5:50 p.m. / Reception 6:00–7:00 p.m. ET
Saturday: 8:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m / Reception 6:00–7:00 p.m. ET
Sunday: 8:30 a.m.–12:50 p.m. ET
| MCLE Credit: | 12.0 (Ethics: 2.0) |
| Live-Interactive Credit: | 12.0 (all formats) |
| GAL for Incapacitated Persons CE Credit: |
6.0 (GAL Information) |
| Designation Credit: | 12.0 Trusts and Estates Practice, 2.0 Ethics (Designations Information) |
All registrants will receive access to a complete set of downloadable e-book seminar materials.
Live on Site (receptions and continental breakfasts included):
Webcast: $525
Telephone: $575
Please note: This seminar is not eligible for Virginia CLE® government, new lawyer, pro bono, law student, legal aid, or paralegal discounts.
A program of national reach and sophisticated content, featuring prominent experts from Virginia and across the country providing updates and expert analysis on key topics
Cosponsored with the Wills, Trusts and Estates Section of The Virginia Bar Association
This seminar is Virginia’s premier event for experienced estate planning attorneys. Get all 12 MCLE credits with 2 hours of ethics at one outstanding seminar.
The conference reservations office is open Monday–Friday, 8:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Reservations can be made on or before April 4, or until the block is filled.
To make a reservation online, use the following link https://book.passkey.com/e/50756740 to make reservations at The Lodge.
To make a reservation by phone, call (toll-free) 855-231-7240.
ALL seminar registrants will receive access to a complete set of downloadable e-book seminar materials. E-book materials are searchable, easily accessible, and efficient to use.
When registering, please be sure to provide a legible, valid e-mail address to which Virginia CLE® can send a link to the e-book materials.
A link to the downloadable e-book materials will be e-mailed to you two business days before the seminar. Once you download the materials, you can review them and print the portions you want to bring with you to the seminar.
Registrants who elect a registration option that includes downloadable e-book seminar materials only and not the printed materials will receive, at the seminar, a short, printed seminar outline with space to take notes.
Printed Materials: For live-on-site registrants only, through 5:00 p.m. on Monday, April 14, you have the option of registering to receive a complete set of printed materials for a higher registration fee. Registrants who choose this option will receive printed materials at the program.
Webcast: | 10 minutes prior to seminar. If you register for a webcast the day of the seminar, your e-mail receipt will include a link to launch the seminar and download the materials. |
Telephone: | Online registration ends at 11:59 p.m. the day preceding the seminar. |
Live on Site: | Online registration ends at 11:59 p.m. the day preceding the seminar. The registration option that includes printed materials ends at 5:00 p.m. on Monday, April 14. Walk-in registration is permitted on a space-available basis. |
Cancellation Policy: Cancellation/transfer requests will be honored until 5:00 p.m. the day preceding the seminar. Virginia CLE®’s policy is to charge $100 to cancel registration for the live-on-site program between April 11 and April 18. There will be a $200 charge for cancellations after April 18.
Full refunds or transfers are available up to two days after a webcast in the unlikely event that you experience technical difficulties.
Dietary Restrictions: If you have dietary restrictions and are attending the seminar in person, please email deanna.mcglothlin@vacle.org.
Inclement Weather Policy and Updates.
MCLE Credit Caveat: The MCLE Board measures credits by the time you spend in attendance. If you enter a seminar late or leave it early, or both, you must reflect those adjustments accurately in the credits you report on your credit reporting form. A code will be given at the end of the seminar, which must be written on your MCLE form.
Private recording of this program is prohibited.
E-mail distance_ed@vacle.org to be notified when/if this program is made available as an online or USB seminar.
E-mail publications@vacle.org to be notified when/if this program’s seminar materials are made available for sale.
Friday Afternoon
| 12:35 | Registration |
| 12:55 | Introductory Remarks Frank A. Thomas, III, Moderator |
| 1:00 | Trust and Estate Scouting Report: Uncovering Tax and Fiduciary Trends to Better Plan and Prepare William I. 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 presentation 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. |
| 2:00 | Break |
| 2:05 | Virginia Developments in Estate Planning and Administration Alvi Aggarwal This session will review significant state law developments. |
| 3:05 | Break |
| 3:15 | Wealth Transfer Planning in the Uncertainty of 2025 and Transferring Hard-to-Value Assets Steve Akers Wealth transfer planning in 2025 is obviously dependent on what Congress does with the exclusion amount. The legislative process and what can be anticipated will be addressed. Wealth transfer planning alternatives in light of the uncertainty will also be covered, including the transfer of hard-to-value assets. Defined value transfer planning alternatives will be explored. |
| 4:30 | Break |
| 4:35 | Ethics in Joint Representation Ellis Pretlow, Susanna Jones This presentation will highlight the issues that can arise in joint representation of married couples in estate planning and estate and trust administration. From marriage to divorce to SLATs, joint representation is fraught with ethical questions for attorneys, and this presentation will dive into those questions, the rules governing them, and the sometimes ambiguous outcomes. |
| 5:50 | Adjourn |
| 6:00 | Reception—Sponsored by TCV Trust & Wealth Management |
Saturday Morning
| 7:30 | Continental Breakfast in the Virginia Foyer |
| 8:30 | States of Decay: Changes to the Fiduciary Income Tax Landscape Following Kaestner Carl King, Andrea Chomakos The presenters will review and analyze the history and recent trends concerning constitutional challenges to states’ authority to tax accumulated trust income under the Due Process and Commerce Clauses, including the 2019 U.S. Supreme Court decisions in Kaestner and Fielding (denied cert.) The presentation will also explore the responsibility of fiduciaries when assessing state income tax matters, efforts to draft legislation to address constitutional deficiencies, and practical approaches taken by clients to assert reasonable reporting or refund claims in various states. |
| 9:30 | Break |
| 9:45 | Ethical Issues and Privilege Considerations When Working with Advisors Meghan Hubbard, Brandon Ross, David Kamer Rule 1.6 of the Virginia Rules of Professional Conduct generally requires that lawyers not reveal information protected by the attorney-client privilege or other information gained in the professional relationship that the client requested be held inviolate or the disclosure of which would be embarrassing or detrimental to the client. This panel will address how the rule applies when working with non-lawyer professional advisors, as well as protection of the privilege and of attorney and advisor work product. |
| 10:45 | Break |
| 11:00 | DeMallie Award Winner—Estate Planning for the Middle Rich Raj Malviya, Turney Berry Planning for clients who are too rich to keep everything but too poor to transfer everything is a great estate planning challenge. Inspiring and encouraging those clients to get started and keep going is the key to a successful estate planning experience for them and a wonderful client relationship for us. And, of course, these clients don’t just need estate planning, they need everything else, too—charitable planning, asset protection, retirement planning, preserving the family farm and vacation cabin, and so on. This presentation will discuss intelligent, implementable, and interesting ideas for the middle-rich (even if we can’t quite define who they are). |
| 12:30 | Adjourn |
| 6:00 | Cocktail Party—Sponsored by Truist |
Sunday Morning
| 7:30 | Continental Breakfast in the Virginia Foyer |
| 8:30 | Working Together with the Commissioners of Accounts Mark Shepard, Anne Heishman, Alison Zizzo Join us for an essential session designed for estate professionals who serve as fiduciaries and who advise clients to act in fiduciary roles. This comprehensive presentation will explore commissioner hearings, the roles, duties, and authority of the Commissioner of Accounts, and the challenges in determining heirs in estate administration. Gain practical insights, learn best practices, and navigate common issues with confidence. |
| 9:30 | Break |
| 9:45 | Planning with Retirement Accounts Under the Final (and New Proposed) Required Minimum Distribution Regulations Timothy H. Guare, Jennifer E. Shirkey The SECURE Act and follow-on SECURE 2.0 Act simplified some aspects of planning for retirement accounts and complicated others. Final and proposed regulations released by the IRS in July 2024 to implement these laws’ overhaul of required minimum distributions included helpful guidance and a few surprises. This presentation will address what has changed, what has stayed the same, and how you, as a planner, can apply the updated rules to the common situations that your clients face. |
| 11:00 | Break |
| 11:05 | Hot Topics Farhad Aghdami, Howard Zaritsky This session will cover significant developments or topics of interest that may have arisen after the program and speakers are set for the coming year. |
| 12:20 | Q&A Panel Farhad Aghdami, William I. Sanderson, Howard Zaritsky In this session, several of our speakers will respond to audience questions. |
| 12:50 | Adjourn |
Alvi Aggarwal, Yates Campbell & Hoeg, LLP / Fairfax
Farhad Aghdami, Williams Mullen / Richmond
Stephen R. Akers, Bessemer Trust / Dallas, TX
Turney Berry, Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs, LLP / Louisville, KY
Andrea C. Chomakos, Bank OZK / Charlotte, NC
Timothy H. Guare, Timothy H. Guare, PLC / Richmond
Anne M. Heishman, Commissioner of Accounts of Fairfax County / Fairfax
Meghan Gehr Hubbard, McGuireWoods LLP / Richmond
Susanna B. Jones, Florance Gordon and Brown / Richmond
David Kamer, Kaufman & Canoles, PC / Norfolk
Carl L. King, Womble Bond Dickinson, LLP / Charlotte, NC
Raj A. Malviya, Miller Johnston / Grand Rapids, MI
Ellis H. Pretlow, Bessemer Trust / Norfolk
Brandon A.S. Ross, J.P. Morgan Private Bank / Washington, DC
William I. Sanderson, McGuireWoods LLP / Washington, DC
Mark S. Shepard, Commissioner of Accounts of Henrico County / Henrico
Jennifer E. Shirkey, Flora Pettit PC / Harrisonburg
Howard M. Zaritsky / Rapidan
Alison R. Zizzo, Midgett Preti Olansen / Virginia Beach
Frank A. Thomas, III, Frank A. Thomas, III PLC / Orange
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