Legal Strategies for Handling Difficult Beneficiaries, Client Resistance, and Consent Roadblocks

Jill Miller | Jill Miller & Associates, P.C.

Jill Miller, the principal of Jill Miller & Associates, P.C., focuses on formulating sophisticated and highly personalized estate plans for individuals and families with the objectives of minimizing estate taxes and family discord. She also has a particular expertise in estate matters affecting non-US citizens and non traditional families. Jill takes a detailed and practical approach to the administration of estates. Complicated probate issues are addressed and resolved. Estate tax returns are prepared to minimize the risk of audit.

Jill founded the firm in January of 2004, after working for over a decade in trusts and estates law.

Jill is a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and is a frequent lecturer on estate planning at both private and public symposia. She has presented or spoken at programs sponsored by the American Bar Association (Division of Taxation), the New York State Bar Association, the Financial Planning Association of New York, The American Heart Association Conference on Estate Planning and Administration, Fordham Law School, Philanthropic Planning Group of Greater New York, Lorman Education Services, Lawline, CW Post University Tax and Accounting Institute and New York State Society of CPAs. Jill is currently the Director of the Estate Planning Clinic and adjunct professor of Law at Cornell Law School and was an Adjunct Professor at Fordham Law School, teaching “Trusts and Estates” from 2005 to 2014. Jill is “AV Preeminent” Peer Review rated by Martindale-Hubbell and is named as a Super Lawyer.

Jill and her husband, Michael, have two daughters, Sarah and Dana. Jill enjoys her book club, being a mother, fitness, gardening, painting, and watching movies

Lisbeth M. Bulmash | JAMS

JAMS Neutral Lisbeth M. Bulmash, Esq., has over 20 years of experience as a conflict resolution practitioner and a co-founder of an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) firm. She resolves civil and commercial disputes of all sizes, including complex multi-party disputes.

Before starting her ADR firm, Ms. Bulmash served as a litigation attorney in a diverse array of firms, including a law firm specializing in defense, a law firm representing primarily plaintiffs and a national property casualty insurance company. These varied legal experiences prepared Ms. Bulmash for her career in mediation and arbitration, where she primarily handles business commercial, personal injury, professional negligence, employment, healthcare, estates/probate/trusts and real property cases. She has established a unique way of anticipating parties’ needs and interests through her decades of experience.

Ms. Bulmash has been a full-time neutral since 2002. Before practicing in the state of Texas, she had an active ADR practice in Michigan and Ohio. She has completed over 900 hours of mediation training. She obtained her initial mediation training at the Oakland Mediation Center in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., and her basic training workshop in family mediation at the Mediation Training and Consultation Institute in Ann Arbor, Mich. Ms. Bulmash is a frequent speaker on ADR topics and currently serves on the boards of the JAMS Foundation, Texas Mediators Credentialing Association, Collin County Bar Association Estate Planning and Probate Section, and the University of Michigan Dallas Alumni Board. She is also the immediate past president of the Association of Attorney-Mediators’ National Board of Directors.

Session I – Managing Difficult Beneficiaries | 1:00pm – 2:00pm

• Identifying and addressing the root causes of conflict
• Strategies for engaging unresponsive beneficiaries
• Legal recourse for withholding consent
• Preventing future issues through proactive planning

Break | 2:00pm – 2:10pm

Session II – Managing Difficult Clients and Beneficiaries: Legal Tactics for Overcoming Consent Withholding and Unresponsiveness | 2:10pm – 3:10pm

• Techniques for overcoming consent withholding and silence: Exploring practical methods of establishing trust and setting up the mediation for success before and during the session
• Understanding the psychology of difficult parties to better manage resistance of clients or parties
• How to use strategic tools in mediation and legal tools to prompt cooperation without escalating a conflict
• Explore communication strategies for preserving relationships