Recorded Webinar: Succession Law - 3 CPD Compulsory Topics

This webinar comprises 3 one-hour sessions covering each of the compulsory CPD subjects for succession lawyers for the CPD year ending 31 March 2022.

Session 1: Professional Skills

Negotiating and Drafting Terms of Settlement in Wills and Estate Matters

Negotiating and settling wills and estate disputes require refined skills. This session looks at what these are, with practical advice on implementation. It includes:

• Understanding the timing of negotiations and its practical effects
• Process and procedure in disclosing financials
• Determining the property pool
• Having some bargaining power whilst maintaining ethics and fairness
• Knowing when to reach the settlement middle ground
• Construction of terms of settlement - what to put in and what to leave out
• How to ensure terms of settlement are binding
• Case study - a settlement agreement checklist

Session 2: Practice Management Business Skills

Cyber Security: Managing Cyber Risk and Control in Your Succession Law Practice

No one wants to be the target of a cyber security attack. However, lawyers are particularly vulnerable and every succession lawyer has a professional obligation to be cyber safe. This session examines the key issues, and the unique risks succession lawyers face, including:

• Understanding your cyber security risk
• Has COVID-19 changed the risk profile?
• Common threats explained and what practitioners should do to avoid a cyber attack when working from home
• Warning clients about cyber security risks
• Key cyber security checklists from an individual and firm audit perspective
• Consequences of a successful cyber-attack or data breach
• Case studies

Session 3: Ethics

Practitioner Liability in Wills and Estate Matters - A Precautionary Approach

This session examines some precautionary risk management tips for wills and estate practitioners to ensure they satisfy their ethical and professional obligations. It includes:

• Liability of practitioner in wills and estate matters - an overview
• Timeliness, prompt attention and file notes on will and estate matters
• The lawyer’s duty in drafting wills:
  • To whom is it owed?
  • How and when do the ethical challenges arise?
  • Recognising and managing conflicts of interest
• Liability to persons who do not receive an intended benefit under a will
• Right of disappointed beneficiary to recover damages
• Are there any limitations on the practitioner duty of care?
• Ethical and professional risks in not clearly following client or court’s instruction
• Case update