21st Annual Jerry A. Kasner Estate Planning Symposium

Private Wealth Services attorneys Patrick Duffey, Stacie Nelson, David Sloan and Vivian Thoreen will participate in the 21st Annual Jerry A. Kasner Estate Planning Symposium, hosted by the Santa Clara University School of Law. The two-day conference features presentations on a range of topics relevant for estate planning attorneys, accountants and other financial services professionals.

Ms. Thoreen will offer introductory remarks reviewing case law and statutory changes in this field. She will also analyze developments that most directly affect trust and estate practitioners in California.

Mr. Duffey and Mr. Sloan will co-speak in a session focused on Section 6166 of the Internal Revenue Code. This estate tax deferral tool has largely been used by private company owners but may potentially be available for publicly traded companies, in particular those with dual-class "super voting" share structures. Mr. Duffey and Mr. Sloan will discuss the basics of Section 6166 as well as explain the practical and legal considerations that arise when applying it to a public company, helping provide family members and planners a better understanding of how to avoid thorny issues that surface when working with clients who have concentrated holdings in a public company.

Mr. Duffey will later present with Ms. Nelson on trust law, exploring the ways in which legislation fails to reflect the modern ecosystem of interrelated trusts instead of a top-down structure. They will advise attendees on how to navigate this gap while helping ensure trusts effectively interact with one another to coordinate distribution and investment strategies.

Session Times and Topics

Opening Keynote: Big Beautiful Recent Developments in Trust & Estate Law in 2025
September 4, 2025 | 9:00 – 10:30 a.m.
Speaker: Vivian Thoreen

Buy Now Pay Later for Billionaires – 6166 for Public Companies
September 4, 2025 | 11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Speakers: Patrick Duffey, David Sloan

Trust Constellations: A New, Beneficiary-Centered, View of Trust Law
September 4, 2025 | 2:00 – 3:15 p.m.
Speakers: Patrick Duffey, Stacie Nelson