BALTIMORE ESTATE PLANNING COUNCIL

Sponsored by Baltimore Community Foundation

AGENDA
07:00 - 08:00 Breakfast and Networking
08:00 - 10:00 Program
About the Program: Defusing Conflicts and Reducing Litigation Exposure When Acting as Trustee, Advisor, or Counsel

Acting in a fiduciary role requires trustees and their advisors to navigate a myriad of potential traps. Failure to manage conflicts of interest can lead to costly litigation exposure. Drawing upon the latest judicial and legislative developments, this presentation offers practical guidance for defusing conflicts and minimizing fiduciary risk.  

Specifically, we will explore ten potentially perilous traps for trustees and their advisors, including investing trust funds when objectives conflict, weighing distribution determinations, allocating the tax burden, limiting an attorney’s on-going professional responsibility and the extent to which a trustee can rely on the provisions of a trust document to limit liability.

You’ll leave equipped with practical strategies aimed at reducing litigation exposure.

How are these for learning objectives?

Learning Objective(s):

Learn:

• How to identify your beneficiary/client when acting as trustee/advisor;
• How to balance competing beneficial interests with
  • trustee distribution tools;
  • investment strategy; and
  • tax apportionment;
• How to use retainer agreements and other tools for limiting potential on-going professional liability;
• How to evaluate effectiveness of and ethical considerations surrounding asset retention clauses in light of a trustee's duty to diversify;
• How to evaluate effectiveness of and ethical considerations surrounding exculpatory provisions; and
• Practical take-aways for reducing fiduciary risk when acting as fiduciary or representing fiduciaries

ABOUT THE SPEAKER!

As President of Family Wealth, Eastern U.S. Region, for Wilmington Trust, N.A., Sharon is responsible for overseeing the delivery
of all Wealth Management services by teams of professionals, including planning, trust, investment management, family education, family office, and private banking services. Sharon also heads Wilmington Trust’s National Matrimonial/Divorce Advisory Practice.
Sharon has over 25 years of experience in the wealth advisory arena and is a nationally recognized speaker and author. Global
media company Forbes has featured Sharon as a Top Advisor in multiple categories since 2020. Every year since 2022 she was
chosen as one of the Top Women Wealth Advisors in America and in New York, and in 2025 she was named the # 1 Woman
Wealth Advisor in New York City for High-Net-Worth. Leading business publication Crain’s named Sharon to its 2020 inaugural list
of the Most Notable Women in Financial Advice. In 2023-2025, Sharon was chosen as a Leading High Net Worth Wealth Manager
by Chambers, an internationally renowned independent ranking company. In 2018, she was honored by the UJA-Federation of New York Lawyers Division for her contributions to the trust & estates community and the community at large. Sharon is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, a highly selective professional organization of preeminent estate planning attorneys in the U.S. and internationally. Sharon was inducted into the Estate Planning Hall of Fame in 2021. This honor is considered the pinnacle of accomplishment in this field. Only 125 people across the U.S. have received the award since its inception in 2004.
Sharon is a member of The Rockefeller University Committee on Trust and Estate Gift Plans, the New York Bankers Association
Trust & Investment Division Executive Committee, the Estates, Gifts and Trusts Advisory Board for The Bureau of National Affairs
and the Thomson Reuters Trusts & Estates Advisory Board. She chairs the Domestic Relations Committee of Trusts & Estates
magazine, where she sits on the Board, and is on the Advisory Board of Family Lawyer Magazine. Sharon served on the Board of
the American Brain Foundation and was a member of its Finance Committee.
Prior to joining Wilmington Trust, Sharon was Managing Director at Lazard, the internationally renowned global investment banking and management company. As Head of Wealth Advisory of Lazard Wealth Management, she led the delivery of all wealth advisory services. Before that, she headed the Estate department at Fiduciary Trust Company International. Sharon began her career as a trusts & estates attorney at Rosenman & Colin (now Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP).
Sharon, who holds U.S., British, and Australian citizenships, earned a master of laws from the University of California, Berkeley Law
School, received a bachelor of arts and a bachelor of laws from the University of New South Wales, Australia, and is a Certified
Divorce Financial Analyst.

Two Meeting Requirement: To maintain membership in the Baltimore Estate Planning Council, active members are required to attend at least two (2) IN-PERSON educational meetings annually.

Cancellation Policy: Reservations must be canceled in writing or by e-mail and received no later than Friday, October 31, 2025.