ALI-ABA Topical Courses Asset Protection and Creditors' Attacks Cosponsored by The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) May 8, 2012 Telephone Seminar/Audio Webcast PROGRAM SCHEDULE FACULTY PARTICIPANTS FACULTY BIOGRAPHIES STUDY MATERIALS TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Asset Protection and Creditor's Attacks: What Works, What Doesn't and Why? By The Honorable Laurel M. Isicoff, Mindy A. Mora, Barry Mukamal and Barry A. Nelson 2. Asset Protection & Estate Planning Why Not Have Both? By Barry A. Nelson 3. Bacardi On the Rocks By Barry A. Nelson 4. Selected Statutes from The U.S. Bankruptcy Code: Rule 4002 Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure; Rule 4003 Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure Submitted by: Hon. Laura Myerson Isicoff 5. Selected Cases Regarding Asset Protection and Alleged Fraudulent Activity Submitted by: Mindy A. Mora Page ix xi xiii 1 13 97 105 155 vii
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PROGRAM SCHEDULE May 8, 2012 Program Schedule Eastern Central Mountain Pacific & Arizona Alaska Hawaii Program Begins 1:00 p.m. 12:00 p.m. 11:00 a.m. 10:00 a.m. 9:00 a.m. 7:00 a.m. Adjournment 2:30 p.m. 1:30 p.m. 12:30 p.m. 11:30 a.m. 10:30 a.m. 8:30 a.m. Program (All Times Eastern Daylight) 1:00 p.m. Program Begins. Faculty members combine their experiences in estate planning and bankruptcy to discuss: Successful and ineffective asset protection plans Asset protection plans that invite greater scrutiny Timing for asset protection planning to ensure effectiveness 2:30 p.m. Program Ends. Scope and Purpose: This program is unique in that the emphasis is not on specific asset protection techniques but rather on what types of asset protection plans have been effective what kinds have not and how timing is a critical issue. Hear a lively discussion among: a Federal Bankruptcy judge, The Honorable Laurel Myerson Isicoff; a bankruptcy trustee/cpa, Barry Mukamal; a creditor s rights/bankruptcy attorney, Mindy Mora; and an estate planning/asset protection attorney, Barry Nelson, on the interplay of fraudulent transfer law and asset protection planning. Their discussion includes topics such as: what steps should be considered so that planning is better able to stand up to scrutiny and efforts to undo planning by third parties what courts are doing (even years later!) what is happening outside the courtroom in negotiations (where settlements are achieved but the results are not reported) Suggested Prerequisite: Two to four years experience in subject matter Educational Objectives: Acquisition of knowledge and skills to develop proficiency as a practitioner; maintenance of professional competence as a practitioner; provision of information on recent legal developments Level of Instruction: Intermediate Total 60-minute hours of instruction: 1.5. Total 50-minute hours: 1.8. Nothing in this program, the program materials, or communications stemming from the program (including questions and answers) should be considered as the rendering of legal advice. Non-lawyers should seek the advice of a licensed attorney in all legal matters. Registrants/readers should ix
assure themselves that these presentations/materials/communications are still current and applicable at the time they are delivered or read. Neither ALI- ABA nor the speakers/authors can warrant that these presentations/ materials/communications will continue to be accurate, nor do they warrant them to be completely free of errors when delivered/published. Registrants/readers should verify statements before relying on them. These presentations/materials/communications reflect the viewpoints of their speakers/authors and do not necessarily express the opinions of ALI-ABA Continuing Professional Education or its sponsors. The members of this program's faculty are contributing their services to further the continuing legal education of their fellow members of the Bar. x
ALI-ABA Topical Courses Asset Protection and Creditors' Attacks Cosponsored by The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) May 8, 2012 Telephone Seminar/Audio Webcast FACULTY PLANNER & FACULTY: Barry A. Nelson, Esquire Nelson & Nelson, P.A. 2775 Sunny Isles Boulevard, Suite 118 North Miami Beach, Florida 33160 FACULTY: Hon. Laurel Myerson Isicoff United States Bankruptcy Judge United States Bankruptcy Court 51 S.W. 1st Avenue - Room 1411 Miami, Florida 33130 Mindy A. Mora, Esquire Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod LLP 1450 Brickell Avenue, 23rd Floor Miami, Florida 33131 Barry Mukamal, CPA*/PFS/ABV/CFE/CFF Partner, Advisory Services Marcum, LLP One Southeast Third Avenue, Tenth Floor Miami, Florida 33131 xi
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FACULTY BIOGRAPHIES PLANNER & FACULTY: Barry A. Nelson, a Florida Bar Board Certified Tax and Wills and Trusts and Estates Attorney, is a shareholder in the North Miami Beach law firm of Nelson & Nelson, P.A. He practices in the areas of tax, estate planning, asset protection planning, probate, partnerships and business law. He provides counsel to high net worth individuals and families focusing on income, estate and gift tax planning and assists business owners to most effectively pass their ownership interests from one generation to the next. He assists physicians, other professionals and business owners in tax, estate and asset protection planning. As the father of a child with autism, Mr. Nelson combines his legal skills with compassion and understanding in the preparation of Special Needs Trusts for children with disabilities. Mr. Nelson is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) and served as Chairman of its Asset Protection Committee from 2009 to 2012. Mr. Nelson is named in Chambers USA: America s Leading Lawyers for Business 2011 edition as a leading estate planning attorney in Florida. He is one of eight lawyers receiving Chambers and Partners highest rating of "Band 1" in the Florida Estate Planning category. He is also listed as a notable practitioner in Florida Tax. Mr. Nelson has been listed consecutively in The Best Lawyers in America since 1995 and is a Martindale-Hubbell AV-rated attorney. He has been listed as a top Florida attorney in Florida Super Lawyers since 2006 and The South Florida Legal Guide since 2005. Mr. Nelson served as an adjunct professor for the University of Miami School of Law LL.M. in Taxation program from 1998-2009. He served as an adjunct professor at the University of Miami s Graduate Department of Accounting from 1978-1995. Mr. Nelson is active in professional organizations and frequently serves as a consultant for other attorneys and certified public accountants on complex tax issues. He lectures extensively for the Florida Bar, Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants (FICPA) and has presented at the University of Miami Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning, the Notre Dame Tax and Estate Planning Institute, the Southern Federal Tax Institute and the American College of Trusts and Estates Counsel (ACTEC). He has published numerous articles in professional publications. As the Founding Chairman of the Asset Preservation Committee of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section of the Florida Bar from 2004-2007 he introduced and coordinated a xiii
project to write a new treatise authored by committee members entitled Asset Protection in Florida (Florida Bar CLE 2008). Mr. Nelson wrote Chapter 5 entitled Homestead: Creditor Issues. He is a past President of the Greater Miami Tax Institute. Mr. Nelson is a co-founder of the Victory Center for Autism and Behavioral Challenges (a notfor-profit corporation) and served as Board Chairman from 2000-2008. He served as the Mayor of the Town of Golden Beach, Florida from 1993-1995. FACULTY: The Honorable Laurel M. Isicoff took the oath of office on February 13, 2006. Prior to becoming a judge, Judge Isicoff specialized in commercial bankruptcy, foreclosure and workout matters both as a transactional attorney and litigator for fourteen years with the law firm of Kozyak Tropin & Throckmorton, after practicing for approximately 8 years with Squire, Sanders & Dempsey. Judge Isicoff also developed a specialty in bankruptcy and SEC receiverships involving Ponzi schemes. After graduating from University of Miami School of Law in 1982, Judge Isicoff clerked for the Honorable Daniel S. Pearson at the Florida Third District Court of Appeal before entering private practice. In March, 2006 Judge Isicoff was inducted into the American College of Bankruptcy and was recently appointed to serve as a director of the American College of Bankruptcy Foundation. Judge Isicoff is a past President of the Bankruptcy Bar Association (BBA) of the Southern District of Florida, and, until she took the bench, served as the Chair of the Pro Bono Task Force for the BBA. Judge Isicoff taught the inaugural year of the Bankruptcy Assistance Clinic at St. Thomas Law School, a program which she helped design, and for which she served as a mentor. Judge Isicoff also served as a student mentor the University of Miami School of Law bankruptcy clinic until her appointment. Judge Isicoff holds an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell, and has been recognized several times in The Best Lawyers in America, published by Woodword/White, recognized in Chambers USA (America s Leading Lawyers for Business) 2005 Client s Guide by Chambers & Partners (recognition as a leading individual in the field of bankruptcy), as well as recognized xiv
several times as a Top Lawyer in South Florida by The Florida Trend. Judge Isicoff speaks extensively on bankruptcy and pro bono service around the country, and to high school and college students in the South Florida area on financial literacy. Mindy A. Mora is a partner with the Miami firm of Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod LLP. She focuses her practice on creditor's rights, workouts, bankruptcy and commercial loan transactions, counselling high visibility clients in many major bankruptcy cases and restructuring efforts, both nationally and in Florida. Ms. Mora presently serves as Chair of the Business Law Section of The Florida Bar, which represents the interests of over 5,000 business lawyers within the State of Florida. She has also been active in the development of Florida s commercial laws, having chaired the Florida Bar Task Force that sponsored the 2007 revisions of the Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors Statute (chapter 727, Florida Statutes). She has also co-sponsored the 1997 revisions to Article 8 and 1999 revisions to Article 9, Uniform Commercial Code (chapters 678 and 679, Florida Statutes). Ms. Mora has often lectured and published articles about insolvency, restructuring and commercial lending. She received her law degree from New York University School of Law, and has received numerous awards and recognition for her legal work, including recognition in the Chambers USA and Best Lawyers in America publications. xv
Barry Mukamal brings more than 30 years of multidisciplinary experience to the Advisory Services Division of Marcum LLP in Miami. He successfully addresses complex issues in bankruptcy and insolvency, capital recovery, fraud, business valuation, and economic damages. A Chapter 7 Panel Trustee in the Southern District of Florida, Mr. Mukamal has extensive experience operating businesses and liquidating their assets in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court system as well as in state court proceedings. He has been appointed as liquidating trustee and/or plan administrator in numerous complex cases requiring administration and resolution of litigation, quantification of economic damages, and resolution of claims. As plan administrator or trustee on several failed commercial real estate projects, Mr. Mukamal has managed and marketed the completion of construction projects including resolving related creditor claims and construction contractor claims. Mr. Mukamal has represented debtors, creditors, and creditors committees in matters of insolvency fraud and abuse, and has assisted trustees in their asset recovery efforts. He has served as a court appointed receiver and mediator, and has testified as an expert witness at the local, state and federal level. Mr. Mukamal s litigation support experience includes matrimonial dissolution, lost profits litigation, fraud investigations, accounting malpractice, and business valuation. He has been involved in numerous high profile, high-net-worth divorces involving assets in the U.S. and abroad. In addition, he has been retained in investigations and embezzlement issues associated with financial fraud schemes, occupational fraud, and Ponzi schemes. xvi