ESTATE PLANNING COUNCIL OF GREATER MIAMI

Thank you to our generous sponsor: 

Pre-Workshop Presentation 

Discretionary Distributions from Irrevocable Trusts: Drafting and Fiduciary Considerations 

Presented by Donald A. Kress, JD, CIMA; Coral Gables Trust

The presentation will explore the various types of discretionary distribution clauses commonly in use, as well as more restrictive provisions requested by clients from time to time. The practical administration of such clauses will be reviewed in detail, including the limited ability of fiduciaries to administer certain provisions and the documentation appropriate to protect fiduciaries from liability as a result of their discretionary actions. 

Donald A. Kress joined Coral Gables Trust Company in August 2015, and serves as a Senior Vice President and Chairman of the Trust Administration Committee.  He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Company and is Secretary of the Board.  He retired from The Northern Trust Company in June of 2014.  Don was Northern’s Fiduciary Practice Leader for Miami-Dade and Broward Counties, Florida.  He also acted as a senior trust administrator for a select group of high net worth clients.  Prior to joining Northern Trust, he managed various teams of trust and investment professionals for First Chicago Bank in Chicago, Illinois for approximately 12 years.  Don was Associate General Counsel of Miami Corporation, a private holding company based in Chicago, previous to his First Chicago experience.  Don earned an AB in English Literature from Dartmouth College in 1967 and a JD from The University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1971.  He also holds a CIMA designation. Don is a member of the Board of Directors, and President-Elect, of the Estate Planning Council of Greater Miami and is a member of the University of Miami Estate and Gift Planning Advisory Board.  He is a member of the faculty and an adjunct member of the Board of Directors of the Florida Trust Schools and was on the board and faculty of the American Bankers Association National Trust School, where he taught courses in trust administration for 8 years ending in 2002.  Don is a member of the Board of Directors of The Vizcayans and is its treasurer.  He is a trustee of the Vizcaya Museum & Gardens Trust; he is also a committee member of Miami’s PhilanthropyMiami program (which is a program of the Partnership for Philanthropic Planning).  Don is also a member of the Board of Directors, and Vice President, of the Peacock Foundation.  He has been admitted to the practice of law in the states of Illinois, Nebraska and New York.

Workshop Presentation 

Legislative Update

Presented by Hung V. Nguyen, Esq., The Nguyen Law Firm

The presentation will focus on new Florida statutes and rules that affect the areas of probate, trust and guardianship.

Hung V. Nguyen is a shareholder at The Nguyen Law Firm where he focuses on probate, trust and guardianship law, and commercial litigation. In addition, he is a Florida Supreme Court Certified Circuit Civil Mediator. Prior to founding The Nguyen Law Firm, he was the managing partner at Welbaum Guernsey.  Hung started his career as an assistant general counsel for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida where he was a legal adviser to judges in the probate and civil divisions. He currently serves on the Executive Council of The Florida Bar Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section (RPPTL), is chair of the RPPTL's Guardianship, Power of Attorney and Advance Directives Committee, and is a former recipient of the RPPTL Fellowship. Hung is an active member of the Probate Rules Committee and frequently lectures on probate, trust and guardianship law.  He is a former President of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of South Florida. Hung graduated from the University of Texas and University of Miami School of Law.

Dinner Presentation 

Trustee Selection 

Presented by David Pratt, Esq., Proskauer Rose LLP

This presentation will discuss the factors that are involved in choosing a trustee.  It will compare Florida and out of state trusts, including directed trusts.

David Pratt is the Chair of Proskauer Rose LLP’s Private Client Services Department and Managing Partner of the Firm’s Boca Raton office. David counsels high net worth individuals and families with respect to estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer tax reduction strategies, and trust and estate planning. He also represents beneficiaries and fiduciaries of estates and trusts regarding tax, and probate and trust law issues, including contested matters. David is a Fellow of both the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) and American College of Tax Counsel. He is a former member of ACTEC’s Board of Regents, is the immediate past Chair of ACTEC’s New Fellows Steering Committee and is on ACTEC’s Estate and Gift, Asset Protection and Membership Committees. He is Florida Board Certified in Taxation, and Wills, Trusts and Estates, and is a past Chair of the Florida Bar’s Tax Section and the Fiduciary Income Tax Committee of the American Bar Association’s Section of Taxation. David is also a past President of the Boca Raton and Palm Beach Tax Institutes. David is the immediate past Chair of the Jewish Community Foundation of the South Palm Beach County Jewish Federation (Boca Raton), a Vice-Chair of the Federation, serving as the head of Financial Resources Development; David is also a Delegate of the Jewish Federation of North America’s Board of Trustees. David has been awarded an “AV” rating in Martindale-Hubbell and has been ranked by Chambers USA. He has published various articles on transfer tax and is a frequent lecturer, both to professionals and laypersons. David is also an adjunct professor at the University of Miami’s School of Law and the University of Florida’s Levin College of Law where he teaches a class on advanced estate tax planning in their LL.M. programs.