Estate Planning Council Provides Continuing Ed

Lawyer Jack Butt, a partner with Davis Wright Clark Butt & Carithers in Fayetteville, had envisioned an area estate planning council for years. At various times, he had tried to get a group of advisers to commit, but things never really gelled until last summer.

At least some of the “gel” came when Butt and Connie Hendrix-Krall, director of donor relations for the Northwest Arkansas Community Foundation, got together on a mission. The NWACF is a sponsor, of sorts, having spent about $3,000 in seed money to get the council rolling. One of the reasons NWACF supports the organization is because much of its funds come from charitable trusts, an estate planning device.

The newly formed Northwest Arkansas Estate Planning Council was designed as a professional organization to help anyone in the estate planning industry — including lawyers, certified public accountants and trust officers — stay on the cutting edge of estate planning issues.

The NWAEPC held its first official seminar in September and its third on Jan. 11. So far, gatherings are planned every other month, with one month off in the summer. The group alternates breakfast and lunchtime gatherings.

Each seminar can be counted as a continuing education hour for both estate planning lawyers and CPAs, depending on their specific requirements and designations.

The council is a nine-member committee of area estate planners, chaired by Butt, and co-chaired by lawyer Steve Butler, a partner with Keith Miller Butler & Webb in Rogers.

Fayetteville lawyer and estate planner Greg Jones, partner with Jones Jones & Doss, is also a council member. He said people from many different professions are involved in estate planning, and the council’s gatherings are a great way for people from those professions to meet and exchange ideas.

About 100 people came to the first gathering, 65 to the second and about 45 to the third, but topics may appeal to one group of advisers over another, members said.

At the Jan. 11 meeting, a trio of trust officers from Fort Smith National Bank said they came to the meeting to “network” and look for potential employees.

Fort Smith has had its own council for several years, and the two will try to share information.

Burt Kell, a trust supervisor with Arvest Bank-Rogers, said the networking opportunities are good, but he also looks forward to learning about the issues that CPAs and lawyers face in their estate planning practices.

The council has tentatively planned the next two gatherings: March 8, “Responsibilities of a Trust Officer — Does Your Client Need One?” and May 20, “Insurance: From Basics to Cutting Edge.”