Talk with the Experts—A panel discussion dedicated to estate planning for collectors, artists and photographer estates.

Thursday January 29, 2015, 7:00-9:00 p.m.
Newspace Center for Photography
1632 SE 10th Avenue, Portland, OR

Topics to be addressed:
• Creating an inventory—What should be included?
• Choosing an executor, an attorney, and an accountant.
• What are your goals? Do you want to bequest the art to family and friends, avoid taxes, or set up a Trust?
• Can you afford a Life Insurance policy that will pay for storage costs after your death? Beyond the art itself, what do you keep?
• Who will control the copyright? Do you want to allow for reproductions or restrict use?

These questions and the issues you need to think about when planning your estate will be addressed in the course of this panel presentation. The goal of this presentation is to provide artists and collectors with the information they need to make informed decisions about next steps and where they can get help.

Moderator:
Jennifer Stoots, AAA – Fine art appraiser, certified in photography

Panelists:
James Fox – Director of Special Collections & University Archives, University of Oregon
Katharine West, Attorney – Estate planning, trust & estate administration, WyseKadish LLP
Verena Lewandowski, CLU – Financial Representative, Northwestern Mutual

If you are a commercially successful artist with gallery representation, a fine art or freelance photographer, or an art collector who owns 10 pieces or hundreds of artworks, “a carefully planned estate can help insure that your work and ideas will continue to be presented as you wish.”[1]

For more information, contact

Newspace Center for Photography at 503.963.1635 or via email at contact@newspacephoto.org                  

or Jennifer Stoots at 503.708.9411 or via email at stoots@stootsllc.com

 

Panelist biographies

JAMES D. FOX
Director of Special Collections & University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon

James Fox is Associate Professor and Head of Special Collections and University Archives in the University of Oregon Libraries. In this role, he is responsible for acquiring and managing the documentary records of organizations and individuals who have influenced the cultural, political, and social landscape of Oregon and the Pacific Northwest. James Fox is a member of the Editorial Board of the Oregon Encyclopedia Project, a member of the State Historical Records Advisory Board, a member of the Executive Board of the Oregon Folklife Network, a member of the Executive Board of the Oregon Latino Heritage Collaborative, and is Head of the Board of Trustees, for Wellsprings Friends School, an alternative high school in Eugene. He has also served as an adjunct teaching faculty member in the Robert D. Clark Honors College, in the Department of History, and in First Year Programs at the University of Oregon.

 

VERENA LEWANDOWSKI, CLU
Financial Representative

Verena Lewandowski began work with the Portland office of Northwestern Mutual Financial Network in 1983.
Verena specializes in the areas of disability, life, and long-term care insurance. Her clients range from the
single individual to major corporations. The backbone of her business is her relationship with clients and the
quality service she provides them.
Verena is a member of the Estate Planning Council of Portland Inc. (www.epcportland.org), the Oregon Life
Underwriters Association, Portlandia (www.portlandia.org), and the Metropolitan Business Association
(www.mba-pdx.org). She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Education from Lakehead University,
Thunderbay, Canada.
http://www.verenalewandowski.com/

JENNIFER L. STOOTS, AAA
Fine Art Appraiser, Certified in Photography

Jennifer Stoots is an accredited fine art appraiser, certified in photography with the Appraisers Association of
America, New York, NY. She has been professionally involved in the arts for 20 years and established her
appraisal business in 2004. Jennifer also gives lectures on the history of photography, is an advisor to
collectors and fine art photographers, and has served on the boards of several photo-dedicated
organizations. She acquired her credentials to appraise art from NYU’s Appraisal Studies Program for Fine
and Decorative Art in 2002 and earned her Master’s degree in the History of Art & Design from Pratt Institute
in Brooklyn, NY. Jennifer is most often engaged in appraising fine art photography and contemporary art for
insurance, donation, dissolution and estate purposes.

Photography Appraiser

KATHARINE L. WEST
Attorney. Areas of practice: Estate Planning and Trust & Estate Administration

Katharine began her career in estate planning during her studies at Stanford Law School, preparing wills,
trusts, and probate filings as a law clerk in a busy estate planning boutique. After graduating in 1997,
Katharine accepted a position with McCutchen, Doyle, Brown & Enersen LLP (now Bingham McCutchen
LLP), a large Silicon Valley law firm, where she specialized in commercial litigation, appeals, and
hospital/medical staff law. Katharine remained with Bingham for eleven years before moving to Portland
and joining the Oregon State Bar in 2008. Since that time, she has returned to her estate planning roots,
focusing her practice on estate planning, estate and trust administration, protective proceedings
(guardianships and conservatorships), and estate related litigation.

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1 Barbara Hoffman, A Visual Artist’s Guide to Estate Planning. Colorado Springs, CO: Marie Walsh Sharpe Art Foundation, 1998: 3.