Estate & Legacy Planning 101 - Fundamentals and Best Practices
About this Event
This introductory program is designed for those new to artist estate planning—no prior experience or knowledge required.
*Full Agenda is at bottom of Eventbrite page
CPAL’s Estate & Legacy Planning 101 - Fundamentals and Best Practices, is a three-day intensive program designed to provide artists and those who support them with a comprehensive introduction to the basic processes and practices involved in establishing an artist's estate plan.
Designed for artists, their families, supporters, executors, studio managers, and others, the Estate & Legacy Planning 101 equips participants with the knowledge and practical tools needed to preserve visual contemporary artists’ legacies, protect artistic assets, and plan for their long-term stewardship.
Each day focuses on a critical component of artist estate planning:
- Day One — In-Person & Zoom
Archiving & Art Handling - 50 West St., New York, NY 10006 - Day Two — In-Person Only
Site Visits to Atelier4, Nancy Graves Foundation & Mosaic Artspace - Day Three — In-Person & Zoom
Estate Law, Appraisals & Succession Planning - 50 West St., New York, NY 10006
Ticket Prices — Estate & Legacy Planning 101
All prices listed below are before tax.
- 3-Day In-Person Ticket: $235
Lunch included all three days. - Single-Day In-Person Ticket: $80
Lunch included. - Single-Day Zoom Ticket: $50
Available for Day One and Day Three only.
Full Agenda is found below!
DAY 1
🕑: 09:00 AM - 05:00 PM
DAY 1 — Archiving & Art Handling Monday, November 9th
Info: Monday, November 9th, at 50 West St, New York, NY 10006 — Onsite
🕑: 09:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Accessible Archive Practices & Insights
Host: Cameron Sterling
Info: With Cameron Sterling, Archive Advisor and Manager. This presentation will explore practical insights and strategies for the preservation, management, and promotion of an artist’s archive by the artist or heirs.
We will discuss ways of organizing, documenting, managing, and preserving artist archives that make the work accessible to current and future custodians and that leverage its value as custodial resources allow.
We will also consider how works on paper and film can work together with their digital counterparts to preserve and promote an artist’s legacy.
Cameron draws on his work with image based artists, archives, and estates which contain decades of historical commissioned and personal image based work.
🕑: 11:05 AM - 12:00 PM
Inventory Management – Ephemera
Host: Sur Rodney Sur
Info: With Sur Rodney Sur, Writer, Curator, Archivist, Co-Executor of the Geoffrey Hendricks Estate. This presentation will explore what constitutes ephemera and artifacts, their role in documenting and preserving an artist’s legacy, and best practices for inventorying and managing collections.
Topics will include establishing consistent identification standards for all items—including ID numbers, categories, descriptions, measurements, and locations—and evaluating the use of inventory spreadsheets versus specialized collections management systems. The presentation will also address digital files, appraisal, insurance, and valuation, while examining the historical and contextual significance of ephemera and artifacts, how they contribute to an artist’s legacy, and who benefits from their preservation and accessibility.
🕑: 12:35 PM - 01:30 PM
Lunch Break
🕑: 01:35 PM - 03:00 PM
Digital Platforms for Archival Management
Host: Stephanie Neel
Info: With Stephanie Neel, Director of Archives and Operations, Margaret Morton Archive. Effective digital stewardship is essential to preserving, managing, and providing access to artists’ archival materials and legacies. This presentation examines how digital platforms support these efforts, with a focus on digital asset management and the relationship between physical collections and their digital records.
Participants will gain practical strategies for developing and managing digital archival content, improving access to collections, mitigating risks, and supporting the long-term preservation of artists’ legacies.
Key themes include digital asset management, accessibility, risk management, and the role of digital platforms in preserving and sustaining archival collections.
🕑: 03:10 PM - 05:00 PM
Art Handling 101
Host: Elaine Angelopoulos
Info: With Elaine Angelopoulos, Registrar, Ronald Feldman Fine Art Gallery. Proper art handling is essential to the safe care, movement, and long-term preservation of artworks. This presentation examines the fundamental principles of art handling, with a focus on safe handling techniques, condition awareness, and best practices for working with artworks across different materials and formats.
Participants will gain practical knowledge of how to handle, move, and protect artworks while minimizing the risk of damage and supporting their long-term preservation.
Key themes include safe handling techniques, condition assessment, proper equipment, risk mitigation, and the role of professional art handling in the stewardship of artists’ legacies.
DAY 2
🕑: 09:00 AM
DAY 2 — Site Visits Atelier 4, Nancy Graves Foundation & Mosaic Artspace
Info: Tuesday, November 10th : Offsite — Site visits across Long Island City, NY.
🕑: 09:00 AM - 10:45 AM
Visit to Atelier4: Museum-grade art shipping, storage, and crating services
Info: Location: 35-00 47th Ave, Long Island City, NY 11101. Participants will rotate through three sections of the facility, covering Atelier 4’s processes, visual inspection reporting and basic art handling, and the storage facilities. Each section will be led by the relevant Atelier 4 team members.
Juliette Eberle, Client Advisor and Art Concierge Associate, will briefly present Atelier 4’s processes in the conference room area.
Gary Cullen, EVP Technical Services, will demonstrate visual inspection reporting via Articheck and discuss basic art handling in the Viewing Room.
Gregg Deering and Connar Masotti, Storage Sales Manager, will conduct the tour of storage facilities (Private Vaults are off-limits).
🕑: 10:45 AM - 11:00 AM
Walk to Nancy Graves Foundation
Info: Approximately 7 minutes
🕑: 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM
Nancy Graves Foundation Visit
Host: Christina Hunter: Executive Dir. Nancy Graves Foundation
Info: Location: 33-20 48th Ave, 2nd Floor, Long Island City, NY 11101. Built into a raw industrial space, the Nancy Graves Foundation offers a firsthand look at a straightforward budget-conscious facility designed to reflect and accommodate the current and anticipated needs of the foundation, as well as recall the artist’s SoHo industrial loft.
Christina Hunter, Executive Director of the Foundation, will guide us through the exhibition space, archives, and on-site storage of Nancy Graves’s artwork. She will also introduce the foundation’s current project to digitize Nancy Graves’ own visual archive of motifs and ephemera, integral to the development and stewardship of her legacy.
🕑: 12:30 PM - 12:45 PM
Walk to Mosaic Artspace
Info: Approximately 8 minutes to 49-28 31st Place, Long Island City, NY 11101
🕑: 12:45 PM - 01:45 PM
Mosaic Artspace Lunch / Exhibition
Info: 49-28 31st Place, Long Island City, NY 11101
Courtesy of John Kalafatis
🕑: 02:00 PM - 02:45 PM
Mosaic Artspace - Building a Legacy: Inside Two Artist-Endowed Foundations
Host: Susan Reynolds
Info: Susan Reynolds: Executive Director, The Milton Resnick and Pat Passlof Foundation, Cathy Claman: President, Stephen and Palmina Pace Foundation. Susan Reynolds, Executive Director of the Milton Resnick and Pat Passlof Foundation, and Cathy Claman, President of the Stephen and Palmina Pace Foundation, share how their foundations came into being and how they became involved. They'll compare their two organizations and the different paths each has taken. The discussion covers the practical work of running an artist's foundation: developing programming, working with a board of directors, partnering with galleries, navigating financial challenges, and planning for the foundation's long-term future.
🕑: 02:50 PM - 03:40 PM
Mosaic Artspace - Setting up and Running a Foundation
Host: Magda Salveson, Executive Dir, Jon Schueler Foundation
🕑: 03:50 PM - 05:00 PM
Mosaic Artspace - Panel Discussion & Q&A:
Host: Moderator: Joy Glidden
Info: Panel Discussion & Q&A: Navigating the Challenges of Artist . Joy Glidden will lead a Q&A with Magda Salvesen and Christina Hunter exploring the practical challenges of establishing and managing an artist’s foundation, including family relationships, probate, and the ongoing stewardship of an artist’s legacy.
DAY 3
🕑: 09:00 AM
DAY 3 — Estate Law, Appraisals & Succession Planning
Info: Wednesday, November 11th, 2026, at 50 West St, New York, NY 10006 — Onsite
🕑: 09:00 AM - 10:30 AM
Understanding Probate and Estate Taxes in Today's Environment
Host: Caryn Keppler: Principal, Offit Kurman, LLP
Info: With: Caryn Keppler, Principal, Offit Kurman, LLP
This presentation will explore the key processes involved in planning and managing an artist’s estate, from establishing a database, organizing a CV and archive, and identifying works to authentication, financial planning, and online presence. Additional topics include identifying executors, evaluating an artist’s library, types of estates, estate planning services, copyright and intellectual property, and publications.
🕑: 10:35 AM - 12:00 PM
Estate Trusts vs Foundations
Host: Michael J. Borger: Borger Law, P.C.
Info: With: Michael J. Borger, Borger Law, P.C.
An examination of the differences between trusts and foundations in the planning and management of an artist’s estate, including the structures, purposes, and considerations involved in establishing each. Topics will include governance, financial and legal responsibilities, and how each structure can support the long-term stewardship of an artist’s work, archive, and legacy.
🕑: 12:05 PM - 12:30 PM
Q&A
Host: Michael J. Borger
🕑: 12:35 PM - 01:35 PM
Lunch Break
🕑: 01:40 PM - 03:30 PM
Appraisals
Host: Sarah Kirk Hanley
Info: With Sarah Kirk Hanley, Specialist, Fine Art Prints, Swann Galleries
Certified Appraiser, AAA. This presentation explores the role of appraisals in artist estate planning and management, addressing the identification and documentation of artworks, authentication, and the evaluation of an artist’s archive and library. Topics will include establishing a database, assessing assets, financial planning, and the importance of appraisals in supporting the long-term stewardship of an artist’s legacy
🕑: 03:35 PM - 05:00 PM
Strategies for Succession Planning
Host: Jonathan Justice
Info: With Jonathan Justice, Chief Strategist, Succession Planning — Atelier 4. A collector’s art often becomes a valuable asset by accident. An artist’s body of work, however, is a life’s enterprise, and its succession should never be left to chance. In this session, Jonathan will walk through an overview of the practical and philosophical considerations of preserving an artist’s legacy. The content will cover why appraisals drive the process and how the manner of ownership drives actual succession and potential tax liability. Further topics include the “charitable paradox,” the roles of galleries, museums and university collections, common probate pitfalls, and digital assets. Beyond the mechanics, Jonathan will challenge attendees to define what legacy means, whether financial, historical or both. He also will discuss goal alignment across interested, and sometimes conflicting, parties. Attendees will leave with a practical succession roadmap and a clearer sense of what to decide during t
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
USD 55.20 to USD 252.61
