Title: Demystifying Post-Death Administration: A Candid Conversation Between a Fiduciary and a Charitable Bequest Administrator

Presenters: Fred Weber and Andrew Fussner

Date: April 27, 2021

Time: 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. EST

The estate settlement process can be daunting for charitable beneficiaries. This presentation will consist of a candid conversation between a professional fiduciary who specializes in death-related administration of estate and trusts and a planned giving professional who administers bequests for a large public charity. Through this dialogue, the presenters will use real-life examples from the administration of estates and trusts that include charitable bequests and distributions to help charitable beneficiaries better understand their rights and responsibilities when an estate or trust gift they have been cultivating for years has “matured” as a result of the donor’s death. The simple idea is to help planned giving professionals better understand the information that is owed to them during the post-death administration process, to advise them about the information they may be called upon to provide to the fiduciary, and to set realistic expectations about the length of the process and how long is should typically take for them to receive their distribution following the death. It is also about empowering the charitable beneficiaries to question the actions and decisions of the fiduciary and hold the fiduciary accountable in a productive and effective manner, while developing a set of best practices for working with fiduciaries following the death of a donor.

          - Gain a better understanding of the process for death-related administration of estates and trusts, with a particular focus on estates and trusts that include charitable bequests and distributions.

          - Improve the interaction with attorneys, executors, personal representatives, trustees and other fiduciaries and professionals responsible for the delivery of charitable bequests following a death.

          - Increase your knowledge of the rights and responsibilities of charitable beneficiaries in death-related administration of estates and trusts to develop more effective working relationships with the fiduciaries and their professional advisors.

Sponsored by:

 

Fred Weber

senior wealth advisor, northern trust company  

Fred Weber is a Senior Wealth Advisor in the National Estate Settlement Services Practice at Northern Trust Company in Chicago, IL. Fred works on complex, death-related administration of estates and trusts when Northern Trust acts as fiduciary for a client who has died. Before joining Northern Trust, Fred worked for another corporate fiduciary, practiced law as a trust and estate attorney, and worked as a planned giving officer for a large public charity. Before law school, Fred worked on Capitol Hill for the late U.S. Senator Paul D. Wellstone (D-MN). Fred has presented to the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education, the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, the Chicago Estate Planning Council and the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners. He also developed and taught a one semester course on death-related administration of estates and trusts at the John Marshall Law School. He holds a BA in International Relations from the University of Minnesota and a JD from DePaul University.

Andrew Fussner

vice president of estate settlement, american heart association 

Andrew Fussner is the national Vice President of Estate Settlement for the American Heart Association and oversees the administration of $75 to $100 million in bequest assets annually. He is based in St. Petersburg, Florida. He previously served as the Vice President of Planned Giving for the AHA’s Florida Affiliate and as the AHA’s Director of Planned Giving for the west coast of Florida. Prior to joining the AHA, Andrew was an attorney with the Tampa office of the law firm of Foley & Lardner where he specialized in estate planning, probate/trust administration and tax law. He holds a JD from the University of Florida where he was a member of the Florida Law Review and was inducted into the Order of the Coif. He also obtained a BS in Accounting and a BA in Political Science from the University of Florida. In his spare time, he is an avid runner, hiker, non-fiction reader and can often be found at “The Swamp” rooting for his beloved Florida Gators.

Group webinars are intended for CGP affiliated councils or groups of up to 30 individuals.