CLE
Tereina Stidd
Tereina Stidd Duane Morris LLP
Mistakes in Estate Planning and How To Correct Them
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Premieres October 5, 1:00 PM ET/10:00 AM PT
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Mistakes in Estate Planning and How To Correct Them

This program examines fifteen recurring errors that can undermine an otherwise valid estate plan. Designed for a nationwide audience of attorneys, the program moves beyond document preparation to consider whether a client’s dispositive documents, beneficiary designations, asset ownership, fiduciary appointments, incapacity arrangements, and family communications operate as a coordinated plan.

The presentation addresses failures to update and fund estate plans; beneficiary-designation and fiduciary-selection errors; planning for incapacity, special needs beneficiaries, blended families, and digital assets; and the risks of do-it-yourself planning. It also examines federal and state tax issues involving retirement accounts under the SECURE Act, portability of the deceased spousal unused exclusion, charitable planning, and the income-tax consequences of property titling.

Using practical hypotheticals, checklists, and references to the Internal Revenue Code, Treasury Regulations, Uniform Trust Code, Uniform Probate Code, federal case law, and other uniform laws, the program offers attorneys concrete strategies for identifying, preventing, and correcting common planning failures. Since estate planning law varies by jurisdiction, the authorities discussed serve as starting points, and practitioners should confirm the governing law applicable to each client.

Topics covered include:
Wills, Trusts & Estates
Agenda:
  • Introduction: A Practical Framework
    • Fifteen common estate planning mistakes
    • Why planning mistakes occur and compound over time
    • Strategies to identify, prevent, and correct planning failures
    • Relevant federal, state, and uniform authorities
  • Mistake #1: Thinking Estate Planning Is Only for the Wealthy
    • Common misconceptions about estate planning
    • Incapacity, family protection, and estate administration
    • Risks of intestacy
    • Counseling clients who believe they do not need a plan
  • Mistake #2: Failing to Plan for Incapacity
    • Durable powers of attorney
    • Health care directives and HIPAA authorizations
    • Selecting agents and successors
    • State-specific execution requirements
    • Hypothetical: Springing power of attorney
  • Mistake #3: Failing to Update the Estate Plan
    • Life events requiring plan updates
    • Changes in family, assets, and tax law
    • Outdated beneficiaries and fiduciaries
    • Periodic review procedures
    • Hypothetical: Divorce and remarriage
  • Mistake #4: Ignoring Beneficiary Designations
    • Retirement accounts, insurance, and TOD/POD accounts
    • Beneficiary designations versus wills and trusts
    • Common beneficiary designation errors
    • Coordinating designations with trust planning
    • Hypothetical: Minor beneficiaries and retirement accounts
  • Mistake #5: Choosing the Wrong Fiduciaries
    • Executors, trustees, agents, and guardians
    • Common fiduciary selection mistakes
    • Evaluating qualifications and family dynamics
    • Successor fiduciaries
    • Hypothetical: One unsuitable fiduciary for multiple roles
  • Mistake #6: Ignoring Asset Protection and Long-Term Planning
    • Creditor and spendthrift protections
    • Special needs beneficiaries
    • Blended families
    • Long-term care planning
    • Business succession planning
  • Mistake #7: Relying on DIY Estate Planning
    • Risks of generic planning documents
    • State-specific execution requirements
    • Missing provisions and improper execution
    • Coordinating wills, trusts, and beneficiary designations
    • Hypothetical: Trust named but never created
  • Mistake #8: Failing to Communicate with Family
    • Communicating fiduciary roles
    • Document and advisor information
    • Health care and end-of-life wishes
    • Communicating the plan's general intent
    • Confidentiality and attorney-client privilege
  • Mistake #9: Failing to Fund the Revocable Trust
    • Consequences of an unfunded trust
    • Probate, privacy, and administration issues
    • The role of the pour-over will
    • Funding real property, accounts, and business interests
    • Hypothetical: Assets acquired after trust creation
  • Mistake #10: Ignoring Digital Assets
    • Cryptocurrency and online accounts
    • Social media, email, and cloud storage
    • RUFADAA and fiduciary access
    • Digital asset inventories and access information
    • Hypothetical: Inaccessible cryptocurrency
  • Mistake #11: Overlooking State Estate and Inheritance Tax Differences
    • State estate versus inheritance taxes
    • Domicile and multi-state property
    • State exemption differences
    • State-specific planning strategies
    • Hypothetical: Relocation and state estate tax exposure
  • Mistake #12: Failing to Plan for Retirement Account Distributions Under the SECURE Act
    • SECURE Act and the 10-year rule
    • Required minimum distributions
    • Eligible Designated Beneficiaries
    • Conduit, accumulation, and see-through trusts
    • Beneficiary designation coordination
    • Hypothetical: IRA and trust planning
  • Mistake #13: Confusion About Portability
    • Deceased Spousal Unused Exclusion (DSUE)
    • Form 706 and portability elections
    • Last deceased spouse rule
    • Portability limitations
    • Portability versus credit shelter trusts
    • Hypothetical: Missed portability election
  • Mistake #14: Neglecting Charitable Planning Opportunities
    • Charitable remainder and lead trusts
    • Qualified charitable distributions
    • Donor-advised funds
    • Charitable deductions and bequests
    • Coordinating charitable and estate planning
    • Hypothetical: Retirement assets and charitable giving
  • Mistake #15: Failing to Address Property Titling and Ownership
    • Joint tenancy and tenancy in common
    • Tenancy by the entirety
    • Community versus separate property
    • Gift and creditor protection considerations
    • Basis step-up and tax consequences
    • Hypothetical: California community property
  • Questions & Answers (As Time Permits)
Read More ›
Duration of this webinar: 62 minutes
When: Premieres in 25 days | October 5, 2026 10:00 AM PT
Register Now
Speaker
Tereina Stidd
Tereina Stidd Special Counsel
Duane Morris LLP

Tereina R. Stidd is special counsel in the firm's Private Client Services Practice Group. She advises individuals, families, and fiduciaries on sophisticated estate planning, wealth transfer, trust and estate administration, and related tax matters. Her practice includes designing tax-efficient wealth transfer strategies, counseling clients on all aspects of estate planning, fiduciary administration, wealth preservation, asset protection, and domicile planning, and helping families navigate complex estate and trust administration matters. Read More ›

Continuing Legal Education (CLE) Credits

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Alabama CLE

Status: Approved

Format: Live (Virtual)

Credits: 1.00 General

Alaska CLE

Status: Approved

Format: Live (Virtual), On-Demand

Credits: 1.00 General

California CLE

Status: Approved

Format: Live (Virtual), On-Demand

Credits: 1.00 General

Hawaii CLE

Status: Approved

Format: Live (Virtual), On-Demand

Credits: 1.00 General

Illinois CLE

Status: Approved

Format: Live (Virtual), On-Demand

Credits: 1.00 General

Missouri CLE

Status: Approved

Format: Live (Virtual)

Credits: 1.20 General

Nevada CLE

Status: Approved

Format: Live (Virtual)

Credits: 1.00 General

New Jersey CLE

Status: Approved

Format: Live (Virtual), On-Demand

Credits: 1.20 General

North Carolina CLE

Status: Approved

Format: Live (Virtual)

Credits: 1.00 General

Ohio CLE

Status: Approved

Format: Live (Virtual)

Credits: 1.00 General

Pennsylvania CLE

Status: Approved

Format: Live (Virtual), On-Demand

Credits: 1.00 Substantive Law, Practice, and Procedure

Texas CLE

Status: Approved

Format: Live (Virtual)

Credits: 1.00 General

Vermont CLE

Status: Approved

Format: Live (Virtual), On-Demand

Credits: 1.00 General

West Virginia CLE

Status: Approved

Format: Live (Virtual)

Credits: 1.20 General


This presentation is approved for one hour of General CLE credit in Alabama, one hour of General CLE credit in Alaska, one hour of General CLE credit in California, one hour of General CLE credit in Hawaii, one hour of General CLE credit in Illinois, one hour of General CLE credit in Missouri, one hour of General CLE credit in Nevada, one hour of General CLE credit in North Carolina, one hour of General CLE credit in Ohio, one hour of Substantive Law, Practice, and Procedure CLE credit in Pennsylvania, one hour of General CLE credit in Vermont, and one hour of General CLE credit in West Virginia. This program has been approved by the Board on Continuing Legal Education of the Supreme Court of New Jersey for 1.20 hours of total CLE credit. 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.

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