The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel 2011 Summer Meeting

June 23, 2011

Event| Trusts & Estates

W. Donald Sparks will be a panelist on this ACTEC 2011 stand-alone program, which is designed to highlight the best ways for ACTEC Fellows to work with domestic relations lawyers.  The two-day continous program will identify and discuss the family law issues virtually every ACTEC Fellow has occasion to address in one way or another in day-to-day practice. 

Many Fellows need to rely on domestic relations lawyers on an as-needed basis and may not always be familiar with how useful it is to coordinate closely with a domestic relations lawyer on the same team.

Issues that may arise include:

  • When couples contemplate marriage and are considering the need for, or desireability of, prenuptial agreements.  Similar and perhaps more complex issues arise when married couples contemplate post-nuptial arrangements.
  • When the ownership of assets is modified as part of the estate planning process, by intentional change of ownership, transmutation or otherwise.
  • When couples contemplate separation and/or divorce and the estate lawyer has had a joint representation.
  • When, through the divorce process, decisions are made to modify estate planning arrangements (such as irrevocable trusts of various kinds), whether by agreement or by court direction.