The Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas is pleased to host the 2021 Estate Planning Forum in partnership with Foulston Siefkin LLP. The Forum, which is held every year, offers a free lunch and free Kansas continuing-education credits for attorneys, insurance agents, CPAs, and other professional advisors.
This year, the Estate Planning Forum is scheduled for September 16 from 9:30 A.M. until 5:00 P.M. It will be held at Crestwood Country Club, 304 W. Crestview Ave., Pittsburg. The agenda is included below, along with brief bios of our speakers.
Registration for the Forum closed on September 9, 2021. If you weren’t able to register this year, we look forward to seeing you next year!
Table of Contents
COVID-19 Safety Protocols
Because of the ongoing risks posed by COVID-19, the Community Foundation is implementing the following safety protocols for the 2021 Estate Planning Forum:
- All attendees must be vaccinated or have a negative COVID-19 test result from within 48 hours before the Forum. The Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas and the Crawford County Health Department offer free COVID-19 vaccinations. The Community Health Center also offers rapid COVID-19 tests with results in as little as 15 minutes. Attendees will be required to document their compliance with this requirement.
- The number of attendees will be limited, but if social distancing is not possible, attendees will be required to wear masks. The Community Foundation will provide disposable masks at the event.
Agenda
9:30 – 10:00 Registration
10:00 – 10:50 The Care Required of a Professional Fiduciary
Presenters: Krystal Vokins & Gary West
The Kansas Rules of Professional Conduct require attorneys to handle the money and property of their clients and third parties with the care required of a professional fiduciary. This session will give an overview of KRPC 1.15 and other rules that apply to attorneys who hold money and property of others, present ethics refresher questions on the rules relating to managing attorney trust accounts, and discuss examples of trust account-related problems and ways to avoid them.
11:00 – 11:50 What About All the Stuff?
Presenter: Ty A. Patton
During this session Ty will briefly review the processes for selling estate property—both personal property and real estate—and look at some other considerations for the successful transfer of probate and trust property.
12:00 – 1:00 Lunch courtesy of the Community Foundation
Attendees can select from one of the following prepared meals:
- The Pittsburg Philly: Thin-sliced top sirloin, grilled peppers, onions, and Swiss cheese served on a hoagie roll, with French fries on the side.
- Crestwood Club Sandwich: Ham, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise on toasted wheat bread, with French fries on the side.
- Caesar Salad: Romaine lettuce, Parmesan cheese, and croutons, all tossed in Caesar dressing. Chicken available on request.
- Cashew Chicken Salad: Mixed lettuce, fried or grilled chicken, chow mein noodles, and toasted cashews served with Asian ginger dressing.
1:00 – 2:00 Medicaid Planning for Farmers and Ranchers
Presenter: Tim O’Sullivan
Tim will review the Medicaid qualification rules as to how they apply to farmers and ranchers. Tim will address the incongruity of farmers and ranchers typically being well-suited to Medicaid planning for themselves and their spouses, yet, whether planned or by default, their estate plans are typically poorly suited for that eventuality.
Specific planning techniques will be addressed in detail which not only maximize eligibility for farmers, ranchers and their spouses for Medicaid benefits, at the same time minimize their estates as much as possible for exposure to estate recovery by the State of Kansas upon the death of the surviving spouse for benefits paid to a spouse who received prior Medicaid benefits.
2:00 – 3:20 Resting in Pieces: Avoiding Family Disharmony in the Estate Planning Process
Presenter: Tim O’Sullivan
In this segment, Tim will discuss the various aspects of estate planning that have a high risk of family discord and how those risks can be minimized or eliminated.
3:30 – 4:40 Bad Moon Rising: Estate Planning Before & After Passage of the President’s Looming Proposed Estate and Gift Tax Provisions in the 2021 Congressional Session
Presenters: Corey Moomaw and Tim O’Sullivan
Tim and Corey will review any Biden tax proposals that may have already passed, or are still pending at the time of their presentation affecting current or future estate planning. Such proposals, if enacted, would be the most sweeping in at least 40 years. Most of them have a highly deleterious effect on currently available estate tax reduction techniques.
With respect to any provisions which would not take effect until 2022, strategies to take advantage of favorable current law provisions through 2021 will be addressed, as well as strategies to reduce estate and gift taxation that remain following their effective date. Related tax issues, such as the potential income tax detriment of the loss of the “step up” in basis of assets at death by such legislation will also be a subject of focus.
4:40 – 5:00 Q&A
Continuing Education Credits
Information for Lawyers
This year’s Estate Planning Forum has been approved for 6 hours of CLE, including 1 hour of ethics.
At the end of the Forum, you will be asked to complete a CLE affidavit, the bottom (pink) copy of which you should keep for your records. You will need to know your Kansas Supreme Court Registration Number to complete the affidavit. The Community Foundation will submit the original affidavit to Kansas CLE by October 15.
You will also be invited to complete an evaluation addressing the quality, effectiveness, and usefulness of the day’s sessions.
Information for Insurance Professionals
This year’s Estate Planning Forum has been approved for 6 hours of insurance CE credits.
Please keep in mind the following rules for insurance professionals:
- We will need your NPN or SSN to report your CE credit to the Kansas Insurance Department.
- Attendance for the entire course is required to obtain credit. There is no partial credit.
- Attendees should not engage in other activities during the course. For example, attendees should not read newspapers, do other work, or open mail.
- The Course Certificate, form KCE-4, provides evidence of program completion. It will be provided to attendees seeking insurance CE credit by October 15.
- You must not abuse break time.
The Community Foundation will report course-attendance information to the Kansas Insurance Department by October 15.
Information for CPAs
The Estate Planning Forum has not been pre-approved for CPE credits, and Kansas CPAs report their own continuing-education attendance to the Kansas Board of Accountancy.
CPAs seeking continuing-education credit should know the following:
- Learning objectives and content for each session are summarized in the descriptions above.
- There are no prerequisites and no requirements for advance preparation for the Estate Planning Forum.
- Each session has an intermediate program level.
- Instruction will be delivered in person in a classroom setting.
- The Forum provides a recommended 6 hours of CPE credit.
- Registration for this course is now closed. If you are registered, you will still need to sign in when you arrive at the Forum.
Information for Other Professionals
The Community Foundation has not sought or obtained pre-approval for any other professional continuing-education credits. However, we can provide a PACE attendance certificate for holders of a CLU or ChFC designation.
About Our Presenters
Tim O’Sullivan, JD, LLM
Mr. O’Sullivan is a partner with Foulston & Siefkin practicing in the areas of estate planning, probate, trust law, and elder law. He has a broad range of experience in developing and implementing both simple and complex estate planning techniques. He represents both individual and institutional fiduciaries in the administration of trusts and estates.
Mr. O’Sullivan’s practice also involves advising clients on strategies and provisions which enhance the preservation of family harmony in the estate planning process. Over his career, Mr. O’Sullivan has made presentations on estate planning topics at approximately one hundred professional seminars.
He received a JD from the Washburn University School of Law and a LLM in taxation from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law. He is a fellow in the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel.
Corey Moomaw, JD, LLM
Corey Moomaw is an associate in Foulston Siefkin‘s Wichita office, where he is a member of the firm’s Business & Tax Team. He received his JD, magna cum laude, from Washburn University School of Law, and his LLM in taxation with distinction from Georgetown University Law Center.
Krystal Vokins, JD
Krystal L. Vokins, JD, is a graduate of Washburn University School of Law. She is currently a Deputy Disciplinary Administrator, having joined the Office of the Disciplinary Administrator in November 2020. Previously, Krystal was in private practice as a Member of Vokins Law Office in Olathe and later as Of Counsel with Sloan Law Firm in their Lawrence office. Krystal has practiced in the areas of civil litigation, appellate work, criminal law, and child in need of care and previously served as a pro tem judge in Johnson County.
Gary West, JD
Studied English/education at Virginia Tech; theology at Emory University; and law at Washburn University, where he was a member of the Moot Court Council on Oral Advocacy and named to the Order of Barristers.
Prosecuted for both the City of Wichita and the Shawnee County District Attorney’s Office.
Private Practice as a solo practitioner.
Deputy Public Defender at the Northeast Regional Public Defenders Office.
Associate Counsel for the Law firm of Kozeny & McCubbin.
Office of the Disciplinary Administrator.
Ty A. Patton, JD, AMM
Ty was born in Topeka and raised in Benton, Kansas. He earned his Bachelor of Science in History, cum laude, from Emporia State University in May 2009 and obtained his Juris Doctorate, cum laude, from Washburn University School of Law in December 2011. He is also a graduate of the World Wide College of Auctioneering and the Professional Ringman’s Institute.
Ty has worked as general counsel, auctioneer, and a REALTOR with McCurdy Auction, LLC since 2015. Previously, Ty practiced law at Riordon, Fincher & Beckerman in Topeka, Kansas, where he focused on the areas of creditor rights/asset protection, real estate litigation, transactional drafting, and estate planning and probate. He is currently co-chair of the Wichita Bar Association, Estate Planning and Probate Committee and a member of the Kansas and Wichita Bar Associations, the Kansas and National Auctioneers Association, and the National Association of REALTORS®, Kansas Association of REALTORS®, REALTORS® of South Central Kansas, and REALTORS® Land Institute.
Ty has recently presented or taught at the annual WBA Real Estate and Business Law CLE, annual WBA Estate Planning and Probate CLE, as well as at the 3i Farm Show and Great Bend Farm, Ranch, and Hemp Expo on the topics of agricultural leases and other legal considerations.
He is a past chair of the Board of Directors for Wichita Festivals, Inc., current President of Old Wichita Cowtown Museum, Inc., a co-founder and member of the leadership team for Connecting ICT, and serves on the Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce, Small Business Awards committee. Ty was also a 2021 candidate for Man of the Year for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
Estate Planning Forum Course Materials
Community Foundation staff will distribute a book containing high-quality course materials to all attendees at the Estate Planning Forum.
Last updated May 5, 2022