Probate for the Generalist (2024)

Probate for the Generalist
Recorded Thursday, September 12, 2024
1.0 General CLE Credits | CLE# 2024055
Registration fee: $45

Co-sponsored with the Estate Planning & Probate Law Section

Practical Overview for General Practitioners

Probate is the court-mandated legal process for transferring ownership and authority over a deceased person's property pursuant to the deceased person's Will or, if they did not have a Will, intestate succession. This session will cover what probate is and when it is necessary, the different types of probate, general steps in an informal probate proceeding, practical issues and considerations in probate administrations, resources, and a Q&A session. Please note, this is a "crash course."

Presenters:

Chelsea Ray Riekkola
Attorney & Shareholder
Foley & Pearson, P.C.

Chelsea is a shareholder at Foley & Pearson, P.C. where she has practiced estate planning and administration since 2014. She helps clients and their families understand and navigate the transitions of death and incapacity from a legal (and sometimes emotional) perspective. Chelsea has a passion for educating and empowering her clients and believes strongly in the power of planning for the future. She has authored a number of articles and presented to numerous organizations on a variety of estate planning topics, including planning for high net worth individuals, planning for digital assets, and charitable planning. Her love of order and organization is well-suited to her transactional practice, and untangling fraught legal and interpersonal knots gives her great joy. She also directs her skills and passion toward her volunteer pursuits on local boards and for the Alaska Legal Services Corporation.

 Chelsea was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska. She is a former law clerk to the Honorable Judge McKay (retired), the daughter of the Honorable Charles W. Ray, Jr. (retired) and Jenny Ray, and the wife of Brian Riekkola, founding partner of North Star Law Group. When not in the office, you are likely to see Chelsea on the trails in the greater Anchorage area, often sporting an unusual combination of shorts and expedition mittens, and frequently escorted by her dog, Pickle.

Melanie Iverson Kaufman
Attorney
Foley & Pearson, P.C

Melanie Iverson Kaufman, born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska, graduated from East Anchorage High School and interned in Senator Ted Stevens' office, which fueled her passion for government and public service. She earned a bachelor's degree in political science from the New College of Florida and spent a semester abroad at Flinders University in Australia. After a brief stint with an Oregon ballet company, Melanie pursued her interest in law, obtaining her degree from Willamette University College of Law, where she served as Executive Editor of the Willamette Law Review and focused on estate planning. She also clerked for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Portland.

At Foley & Pearson, Melanie specializes in estate planning, probate, and trust administration. She is a member of the Anchorage Estate Planning Council and has spoken on these topics for various organizations, including the National Business Institute, the Anchorage Library Foundation, and Stone Soup Group. Outside of her professional life, Melanie enjoys an active lifestyle with her husband and two children, hiking in the summer, skiing in the winter, and taking dance classes year-round to continue her lifelong practice of ballet.