Chairing a Meeting

Kevin Paul

Description

Do you need help running a meeting? The rules of order used to run formal meetings can be confusing and intimidating. Why, then, do we use them? Because they work! This is a simple guide on how to run a meeting according to rules of order used to run formal meetings. It is intended for people who have little or no experience running meetings, and as such, is written clearly and concisely without unnecessary jargon or obscure references. The basic concepts, skills, and information discussed throughout this book are applicable to virtually any type of meeting, large or small. It covers, among other topics, the following:
Preparation for the meeting
Calling the meeting to order
The agenda
Forms of address
Making main motions and amendments
Originally published in 1875 'Robert's Rules of Order' is widely considered to be THE definitive source on the subject of parliamentary procedure. But not everybody has time to read 816 pages! 'Chairing a Meeting' is designed to serve as a slim, handy pocketbook reference for those with little to no experience chairing any size meeting. A Cliffs Notes version of Robert's Rules if you will. Government, Corporate, and Private sectors all hold official meetings that require a chair person. The principles in this book are applicable to virtually any type of meeting, from large business meetings to smaller and less formal gatherings of community groups, strata councils, and so on. 'Chairing a Meeting' also includes useful tables, charts, checklists, and a sample meeting agenda that will help even the most amateur chairperson oversee a meeting with confidence and speed things along.
Introduction xiii
1 General Laws and Rules for Executors 1
1. Where Does It Say That? 1
2. An Executor Is a Type of Trustee 2
3. An Executor Is a Fiduciary 3
4. Common Law 5
5. Summary of the Executor’s Responsibilities 5
6. Specific Language in a Will 6
7. The Executor’s Powers Provided by the Will 7
2 An Executor Must Follow the Will 9
1. Making the Will “More Fair” 9
2. Giving Personal Items to Those Not Entitled to Them 10
Contents
iv How Executors Avoid Personal Liability
3. Not Following Trust Instructions 11
4. Ignoring Parts of the Will 12
5. Acting while the Testator Is Still Alive 13
3 An Executor Must Obtain Valuations 15
1. Selling Major Assets below Market Value 16
2. Selling Household Items 17
3. Acceptable Methods of Sale 18
4. Calling on Experts 19
5. Selling to Beneficiaries and to the Executor 19
4 The Executor Must Communicate with Beneficiaries 21
1. Showing the Deceased’s Will to Family Members 22
2. Proactive Communication 24
5 The Executor Must Not Mismanage Estate Assets 27
1. Mingling Estate and Personal Funds 27
2. The Executor’s Estate Bank Account 28
3. Investing Excess Cash (or Not) 29
3.1 Investing foolishly 30
4. Not Protecting Assets 31
5. Paying the Wrong Creditors 32
6 The Executor Should Get Professional Help
with the Estate 35
1. Be Reasonable 36
2. Asking the Court for Help 37
3. Wording in the Will 37
4. Matters in Dispute 39
7 The Executor Must Keep Proper Records 41
1. Original Paperwork 42
2. Pay Bills and Taxes before Paying Beneficiaries
and Yourself 43
3. Setting up a Ledger 44
Contents v
8 The Executor Must Know the Law 47
1. Loans, Gifts, and Advances Made by the Parents 47
2. The Limitation Period for Dependent Relief Claims 51
3. Intergenerational Joint Assets 52
9 The Executor Must Remain Neutral
between Beneficiaries 55
1. The Even-Hand Rule 56
2. Favouritism, or the Appearance of It 56
10 The Executor Must Finish the Estate in
Reasonable Time 59
1. The Executor’s Year 60
2. The Court’s Position 61
3. Interim Distribution 62
11 The Executor Must Handle Lawsuits Properly 67
1. Not Prosecuting a Third Party in Time 68
1.1 Unreasonable prosecution on behalf of the estate 70
2. Improper Settlements 70
12 The Executor Must Provide a Proper Accounting 73
1. Statement of Receipts and Disbursements 75
2. Statement of Proposed Executor’s Compensation 76
3. Statement of Proposed Distribution 77
4. How to Calculate Your Compensation 78
5. Which Expenses You May Claim 82
6. How and When to Pay Yourself 83
13 What Factors Are Considered by the Courts
When Reviewing Cases 85
1. Size and Impact of the Error 86
2. Personal Benefit by the Executor 86
3. Good Faith 86
4. Overall Conduct 87
5. The Beneficiaries’ Petition 88
6. Beneficiary Acquiescence 88
vi How Executors Avoid Personal Liability
14 Possible Consequences for an Executor
Who Makes a Mistake on an Estate 91
1. Court-Imposed Deadlines 92
2. Requirement to Account to Beneficiaries 93
3. Requirement to Pass Accounts 94
4. Reduction of the Executor’s Compensation 94
5. Removal of the Executor 95
6. Requirement to Repay the Estate Personally 96
6.1 Order of costs/legal fees 96
7. Contempt of Court 96
8. Criminal Charges 97
15 Issues Specific to Estate Administrators 99
1. Funeral, Burial, or Cremation Arrangements 100
2. Preparing an Inventory 100
3. Applying for the CPP Death Benefit 102
4. Advertising for Creditors 102
5. Listing the House for Sale 102
6. Intestacy 103
16 Co-executor Liability 105
1. Renunciation 106
2. Legal Protection 107
17 More Ways to Protect Yourself 109
1. Direct the Deceased’s Mail to Your Address 109
2. Advertise for Creditors and Claimants 110
3. Executor’s Insurance 111
4. Hire a Trust Company As Agent 113
5. Get a Tax Clearance Certificate 114
The Download Kit 117
Samples
1. Executor’s Ledger (Blank) 45
2. Executor’s Ledger (Filled-In) 46
3. Statement of Proposed Distribution 64
Contents vii
4. Statement of Receipts and Disbursements 76
5. Statement of Proposed Executor’s Compensation 78
6. Statement of Proposed Distribution 79
7. Asking for a Tax Clearance Certificate (Form TX19) 116

Sujets

• Etiquette
• Référence

Informations

• Publié par: Self-Counsel Press
• Date de parution: 15 février 2020
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781770409262
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Chairing a Meeting
The Quick & Essential Guide to Rules of Order
Kevin Paul MA, MPA
Self-Counsel Press (a division of) International Self-Counsel Press Ltd. USA Canada

Copyright © 2020

International Self-Counsel Press All rights reserved.
Contents

Cover

Title Page

Chapter 1: Who Should Use This Book, and Why?

1. Who Should Use This Book?

2. How to Use This Book

3. What Are Rules of Order and Why Are They Important?

4. What Are the Official Rules of Order?

Chapter 2: Beginning the Meeting

1. Preparation

Sample 1: Meeting Agenda

2. Getting Started

Chapter 3: The Basics: Debate, Making Motions, and Voting

1. Proceeding in Order

2. Forms of Address

3. Making Motions and Amendments

4. Keeping Records (Minutes)

5. Ending the Meeting

Chapter 4: Some Helpful Reminders for Chairing a Successful Meeting

Chapter 5: Other Types of Motions

Table 1: Types of Motion

1. Subsidiary Motions

2. Privileged Motions

3. Incidental Motions

4. Review of the Rankings of Motions

Chapter 6: Committees and Reports

1. Types of Committees

2. Rules and Decorum in Committee

3. Reports of Committees

Sample 2: Special Committee Report

Sample 3: Standing/Permanent Committee Report

Chapter 7: Elections

1. Nominations

2. Voting

Chapter 8: Help: Going to a Higher Authority

1. Parliamentary Authority

2. Professional Parliamentarian

Chapter 9: Do It Yourself: How to Write Rules of Order for Your Own Group

1. Guidelines for Developing Your Own Rules of Order

2. Components of Your Rules of Order

Conclusion

Appendix: Where to Go for More Information

Download Kit

About the Author

Notice to Readers

Self-Counsel Press thanks you for purchasing this ebook.
Chapter 1
Who Should Use This Book, and Why?


1. Who Should Use This Book?
This book is intended primarily for those people who find themselves in a situation where they have to chair a formal meeting but have little or no experience in the matter.
However, the basic concepts, skills, and information discussed throughout the book are applicable to almost any type of experience and any type of meeting — from large business meetings conducted at national conventions, to smaller and less formal gatherings of community groups, strata councils, and so on.
How much experience do you have chairing meetings? You likely fit into one of the following categories.
1.1 The novice
You find yourself in the position of chairing a meeting but have little or no experience thus far.
1.2 The rookie
This is not the first meeting you have chaired, but you’re still somewhat inexperienced. You want your next meeting to be better than your last one.
1.3 The veteran
You’ve run many meetings, but it has been a while since the last time you were in the chair. You want an efficient way to brush up and a concise reference you can quickly check during the meeting.
1.4 The advisor
You are the person tapped to advise the Chair on matters of procedure. This situation usually comes about because someone was elected President or Chair because they have many excellent qualities that make them a great leader for your organization. The only problem is that they have no clue how to run a meeting.
1.5 The well-informed member
This book can also be useful to the participants in meetings, even if they are not going to preside. It is always easier and more enjoyable to take part in discussions if you know the rules that will govern them. Many good ideas and suggestions are lost to organizations because members do not know the accepted manner in which to bring their thoughts before the group.

2. How to Use This Book
Use this book as a quick introduction to the basics of how to conduct a meeting. In the next three easy-to-read chapters, you will be introduced to the essentials of running a meeting. They are all you need to become an excellent chair.
A couple of hours of study and practice on your own, using this book as a guide, will prepare you for presiding over, or participating in, just about any type of meeting.
Do not use this as a definitive rule book. There are many of those kinds of books (see Appendix) and they are not really helpful if you want to avoid a mass of confusing rules, regulations, procedures, and archaic practices.
The later chapters are meant as supplements to the main lesson taught in chapters two through four and should be read only if you wish more detailed preparation or if you are simply interested enough to learn more.

3. What Are Rules of Order and Why Are They Important?
“Rules of order” and “parliamentary procedure” are general names given to the set of rules, forms, and traditions that have been developed to govern meetings.
Taken in their totality, these rules are very confusing and intimidating, and few people can be considered genuine experts in all their intricacies. So why, then, is it necessary to have meetings conducted according to their procedures? If the whole process is so complicated, why bother?
The short answer is: BECAUSE THEY WORK. In fact, they work so well that the essence of parliamentary procedure has remained unchanged since its origins in medieval Britain.
The next question that immediately comes to mind is: What makes these rules work so well? To answer that question properly, let’s start at the beginning of why you are reading this book. For better or worse, you have the honor of chairing a meeting. The basic purpose of a meeting is to conduct the business of your group in a fair, orderly, and expeditious manner. During the meeting, everyone must feel that —
• they understand what is going on,
• they have the chance to voice opinions on the topics discussed, and
• the decisions truly reflect the will of the majority of the group.
After the meeting, the group must be confident that the business was conducted in a proper manner and that the process used will stand up to any later challenge. The rules of order that have evolved in the western world (particularly in Britain, the Commonwealth, and North America) have proven to be the best way to ensure the satisfactory running of a meeting.
If you belong to an organization that must have formal meetings to make routine as well as important decisions, you know how crucial it is to make those decisions in an organized and coherent manner. Most of us have sat through a really badly run meeting: It is a painful experience and very unsatisfying.
The bad news is that the fault of most poorly run meetings lies with the person in the chair. The good news is that kind of fault is easy to fix.
Chairing a meeting is not difficult. It only takes a little preparation, a little confidence, and a lot of common sense. Add these three factors to the qualities that caused your organization to place you in the chair in the first place, and you have the makings of a good presiding officer.
Unfortunately, part of the preparation has often meant plowing through a dense handbook on rules of order. Without much guidance, practice, or, often, much interest, studying such a book becomes a chore that the newly selected president tries to avoid — and usually does. The result is often loosely run meetings that are an embarrassment to the chair and the group.
What this book will do is prepare you to conduct a meeting of which you and your organization can be proud. If you study the next three short chapters, practice some of the basic forms, and think about your meeting in advance, you will be able to confidently take the chair of your first meeting after only an hour or two of work. You will NOT have to become an expert in Robert’s Rules of Order , or Bourinot’s Rules of Order , or any other rule book.
The complete list of rules has become long and complicated because it tries, quite rightly, to cover all the situations that can come up in a meeting. Where people go wrong in their first experiences with parliamentary procedure is in the assuming they have to know it all before they can preside over a meeting. We’ve all run across the obnoxious person at a meeting who insists on strict observance of the letter of the rules, and the chair is neither confident nor knowledgeable enough to stop it. There is also the meeting where no one, including the chair, knows the “official” way to proceed. Both situations are uncomfortable — and unnecessary.
If you know the basics, then, in the vast majority of cases, you know enough to cope with everything likely to arise at your meeting. The rules are more flexible than you may expect. They are devised to serve you and your organization. They are not supposed to get in your way; they are supposed to free you from worry and let you get on with running an efficient meeting.

4. What Are the Official Rules of Order?
You should not feel bullied into using any so-called “official” book on rules of order. There is no legal requirement that you abide by a particular set of rules. Robert’s Rules of Order is the most frequently cited authority on parliamentary procedure, and it