Steven Siegel, JD, LLM
The Siegel Group , Morristown, NJ

Address the effects of OBBBA 2025, what has happened in the tax world in the past year and suggested planning for what lies ahead.

Blake Melton
Synovus Family Asset Management , Columbus, GA

Almost no one pays it, and the children of many clients are unlikely to have taxable estates. But overlook the GSTT at your own peril. This complex and somewhat esoteric tax requires elections and decisions both during life and at death. Advisors frequently make mistakes that cause, at minimum, significant headaches. Don’t be one of them! This seminar will quickly review the GSTT basics and then focus on the practical: the situations most frequently encountered by advisors and the issues most misunderstood or overlooked.

Brent M. Eden, J.D.
Winged Keel Group , Atlanta, GA

Walt Helms, CFP
Winged Keel Group , Atlanta, GA

This session addresses two key life-insurance planning topics relevant to closely held businesses and high-net-worth clients, as well as the CPAs advising them. Part one examines the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2024 decision in Connelly v. United States and its impact on buy-sell agreements, business valuation and life-insurance funding structures. Part two provides an update on split-dollar life insurance strategies, including common designs, tax treatment and appropriate planning applications. The presenters will emphasize practical considerations for CPAs and advisor coordination.

Patrick Maffett, CIMA, AIF, MBA
Regions Bank , Atlanta, GA

This session equips CPAs with a clear, actionable understanding of the forces shaping today’s economic landscape. Patrick will break down the key macroeconomic trends and translate them into practical insights you can apply in client conversations and strategic planning. Explore current market behavior across equities, fixed income and alternative assets, with an emphasis on identifying risks early and spotting emerging opportunities. The goal is simple: to give financial professionals the clarity and confidence needed to navigate uncertainty and guide clients through a rapidly evolving environment.

Steven Siegel, JD, LLM
The Siegel Group , Morristown, NJ

Address the effects of OBBBA 2025, what has happened in the tax world in the past year and suggested planning for what lies ahead.

Dana G. Fitzsimons Jr., Esq.
Bessemer Trust , Atlanta, GA

This session will review selected reported fiduciary litigation decisions from 2025 that relate to multiple areas of estate planning, estate and trust administration, the fiduciary duties of agents, administrators, trustees and other fiduciaries, related trial practice and identifying and navigating contemporary fiduciary challenges.

Jeremiah W. Doyle IV, Esq.
Senior VP and Wealth Strategist / BNY Wealth , Boston, MA

Session will discuss the changes in the retirement plan distribution rules made by SECUCRE 1.0, SECURE 2.0 and the July 2024 final regulations. The types of beneficiaries (non-designated beneficiary, designated beneficiary, eligible designated beneficiary) and the distribution requirements imposed on beneficiaries when the plan participant or IRA owner dies before or on or after their required beginning date. Examples will be included to aid in understanding this series of complicated rules.

Jeremiah W. Doyle IV, Esq.
Senior VP and Wealth Strategist / BNY Wealth , Boston, MA

Discuss the structure of Subchapter J including the concept of distributable net income (DNI), the types of trusts (simple, complex and grantor), trust accounting income, the distribution system, including the tier system, the separate share rule, the 65 day rule, the special rules applicable to specific bequests and distributions in-kind, the fiduciary income tax charitable deduction and the income tax consequences of termination of a trust or estate.

Thomas W. Jones, CPA, ABV CFP CVA
Partner / Jones, Jones, Davis & Associates, CPA PC , Augusta, GA

Russell V. Mobley, CPA, JD
Partner / Fulcher Hagler LLP , Augusta, GA

This session will cover timing of gifts in a volatile market, traps on reporting, gift splitting and will walk through changes of the forms.

Christopher Steele, J.D., LL.M
Bernstein Global Wealth Management , Atlanta, GA

Clients increasingly ask about asset protection trusts, but not all trusts protect assets equally. This presentation cuts through marketing narratives to examine how domestic and offshore asset protection trusts perform under creditor attack, bankruptcy scrutiny and multi-state enforcement. CPAs will gain a working understanding of key state statutes, choice-of-law issues, look-back periods and compliance considerations, along with guidance on how to spot red flags, coordinate with counsel and avoid unintended tax or reporting consequences.

Hale E. Sheppard, Esq.
Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP , Atlanta, GA

The IRS has challenged various types of charitable donations for years, raising some standard arguments, evolving during the process and expanding its focus over time. What started as the IRS scrutinizing donations that it deemed patently abusive has morphed into challenges to charitable gifts that are, by most accounts, routine. This presentation explores widespread IRS attacks on conservation easements, charitable remainder annuity trusts, artwork, charitable limited liability companies, closely held businesses, bargain sales to charities, religious artifacts and more.

David F. Golden, CPA, Esq., LLM
Attorney/Partner / Troutman Pepper Locke LLP , Atlanta, GA

In this popular closing session, David will summarize the high points of each presenter and topics and will tie together all the sessions of the conference. Don’t miss this final session to help solidify what you have learned throughout the three days. David is a partner at Troutman Pepper Locke LLP. He is named a 2026 “Top Lawyer in Tax Law” by GaBiz Magazine and is consistently included on the Best Lawyers in America® list for Trusts and Estates and Tax Law.