Arizona Estate Planning Laws

Estate planning is when a client comes in to work with a lawyer to create and develop a plan for the distribution of their assets upon their passing. It also includes planning for assistance from others during the persons’ lifetime as they get older. If you don’t create your own estate plan, the state of Arizona has already decided who will get your assets. At Owens & Perkins, we understand that creating an estate plan can sometimes be daunting or uncomfortable. That’s why we’ve created a system to make it as easy as 1-2-3. First, contact our office and we will send you an estate-planning questionnaire that will walk you through each decision you have to make. Second, bring your completed estate-planning questionnaire in for a consultation with one of our highly trained lawyers. We handle all of the drafting, send the documents to you for review, and all you have to do is come in to sign. It’s that easy. And, when it’s done, people say they feel so much better knowing that they have a plan in place. It brings them comfort and peace of mind. If you would like to create, revise, or update your estate plan, please call us at Owens & Perkins at (480) 994-8824.

By: Attorney Michelle Perkins

Medical Power of Attorney

I want to speak to you today regarding what a medical power of attorney is in the state of Arizona. A medical power of attorney is a legal document allowing a person to designate another person to make medical decisions on their behalf in the event they are incapacitated and unable to make those decisions for themselves.

Duration

A medical power of attorney is effective until it is subsequently revoked, upon any expiration date set forth in the document, or upon the person’s recovery from the condition that rendered him or her unable to make their own medical decisions. The patient’s physician makes a determination whether a person is or is not incapacitated for the purpose of determining if the patient or the person designated in the health care power of attorney will be authorized to make medical decisions.

Please feel free to contact the attorneys at Hildebrand Law if you have any other questions regarding a medical power of attorney in Arizona.

By: Chris Hildebrand

Guardianship in Scottsdale, Arizona

I want to speak to you today regarding what a guardianship is with respect to estate planning in the state of Arizona. A guardianship consists of a court appointment of a person or entity to care for or make personal decisions for a child who is younger than 18 years of age, or an adult who is incapacitated, or otherwise unable to care for themselves, due to a mental or physical disability.

The Ward & Guardian

The person for whom a guardian is appointed is referred to as the ward. Any person, subject to court approval, may be appointed by the court to accept the responsibility of being a guardian for a ward. With respect to minor children, the court’s decision regarding who to appoint as a child’s guardian will be based upon what the court finds to be in the best interest of that child.

Any individual seeking to be appointed a guardian of a ward must disclose background information, including prior criminal convictions, as well as other information the court may request before appointing that guardian. Please feel free to contact the attorneys at Hildebrand Law if you have any questions regarding the appointment of a guardian in your case.

By: Chris Hildebrand

Adult Conservatorships

I want to speak to you today regarding adult conservatorships in the state of Arizona. An adult conservatorship occurs when a person is no longer able to provide for their own care or who is unable to take care of their own finances.

A conservator may have the authority to determine where that person will live and will make arrangements for the person’s daily life, including the food they eat, the clothes they wear, the transportation to medical and other appointments and the social and recreational activities the person will enjoy. The conservator however, must obtain the court’s approval for certain decisions, such as decisions regarding medical care and living arrangements.

Please feel free to contact the attorneys at Hildebrand Law if you have any other questions regarding an adult conservatorship in Arizona.

By: Chris Hildebrand

A living trust is a popular tool used to avoid a probate proceeding, provide creditor protection to a surviving spouse, keep your financial information private, and allow you to avoid a conservatorship and direct who will handle your finances if you are unable to do so yourself. It allows you to give your wealth to who you want, when you want, and how you want all at the lowest possible cost including taxes, expenses, and professional fees. I’m Mark Bregman. Contact me at (480) 945-9131 to find out more about creating your own affordable estate plan.

By: Attorney Mark Bregman

In the event a person does not create an estate plan and nominates someone to make decisions regarding their housing, living situation, and health care, the state of Arizona has setup what is called a guardianship. A guardianship is a legal court proceeding where the person that is going to take over has to go down and file a petition with the court to obtain the legal authority to make these types of decisions for you. If the court approves the person that is applying to become your guardian, the court will issue an order granting them that authority. Many times, particularly if you have more than one child, a guardianship proceeding can become a contested matter because your children may each have their own idea of what is best for you in your later years. Unfortunately, these types of contested proceedings can cause family fights that ruin relationships and cause damage that never gets repaired. But, there is an easy way to avoid putting your family through all of this. If you have created your own estate plan, in that plan there will be a health care power of attorney that allows you to nominate who you want to make these decisions for you in the event that there is ever a time when you are unable. At Owens & Perkins, we strive to keep families together. Let us help you by preparing your estate plan so that you get to make your own decisions and have those decisions carried out. Id you would like to schedule a consultation to create, revise, or update an estate plan, or discuss the possible filing of a guardianship, please contact us at Owens & Perkins at (480) 994-8824.

If you are seeking a Guardianship in Arizona, please view this profile and submit a contact form.

By: Attorney Michelle Perkins

How to Avoid Probate in Scottsdale

I want to speak to you today regarding how you may avoid probate in the state of Arizona. Since probate is a legal proceeding, lawyers may be retained to represent heirs of the person appointed to manage the person’s estate. Avoiding probate therefore, will likely save the estate and parties the attorneys fees and other costs incurred in a probate case.

Estate Planning

A properly executed estate plan, including a properly executed trust, funded with all of your property and appointing an executor to manage your estate will in most cases avoid the need for your heirs to be involved in a probate action in Arizona. Please feel free to contact the attorneys at Hildebrand Law, if you have any other questions on ways to avoid a probate in Arizona.

By: Chris Hildebrand

Hi, I’m Beth Cohn. I’m an attorney at Jaburg Wilk and I work in the area of estate planning.

What is an Irrevocable Trust

An irrevocable trust is a trust that cannot be changed. Many times, people will use an irrevocable trust when they want to make gifts to their children or their grandchildren and they don’t want them to get the benefits from those trusts right away.

Amending Irrevocable Trusts in Arizona

There are a couple of options under Arizona law and one of them is having to go to court. We have a new set of statutes in Arizona, under our Arizona Trust Code, that give us guidelines of when we have to go to court in order to request court approval to make changes to irrevocable trusts. But there’s also some more flexibility that’s been given to trustees to make some changes if the provisions and the trusts allow it.

Provisions That Allow Changes to be Made

There’s a provision that’s called decanting and decanting is available for certain trusts. Usually, there’s something in that trust that someone doesn’t like. And what they do, literally, is they create a new trust and they pour those assets from the old trust into the new trust. So decanting is a technique that allows a trustee to make that decision and to transfer assets from the old broken trust to a new fixed trust. There’s some other requirements that are more technical, but it gives the trustee a lot of power if the trustee has certain discretion in the trust.

Do I Need an Attorney to Make a Trust

Well, I think there’s always a benefit. Unfortunately, I’ve seen some of the worst cases when people have grabbed forms and tried to do estate plans themselves. Whether the estate is smaller or larger, estate planning is very technical and there’s rules that we have to comply with. So I advise anybody who needs to have an estate plan done, to see an attorney.

By: Beth Cohn

In the event that a person does not create an estate plan and nominate someone to take over his or her finances, and that person later becomes unable to manage their financial affairs, the state of Arizona has setup what is called a conservatorship. A conservatorship is a legal court proceeding for the person that is going to take over your finances must file a petition with the court to apply and qualify to become your conservator. If the court approves the person to become your conservator, the court will then issue an order granting that person the legal authority to transact business on your behalf, including your financial accounts, real estate, and motor vehicles. When someone is appointed by the court as a conservator, he or she must account to the court for the money that is spent on your behalf each year. What that means is, the conservator has to prepare and file an annual accounting and submit it to the court. It is then reviewed by the court accountant and either approved, or the court accountant can ask for further clarification. And, with each annual accounting, there is a filing fee that must be paid to the court to have the court accountant review the accounting. There is a very easy way to avoid all of this. All you have to do is contact Owens & Perkins to create an estate plan before you actually need it. Included in every estate plan is a financial power of attorney, where you get to select the individual or trust company that will manage your money if you become unable. If you would like to schedule a consultation to discuss either filing for a conservatorship, or to create your own estate plan, please call us at Owens & Perkins at (480) 994-8824.

If you are seeking a Conservatorship in Arizona, please visit this profile and submit a contact form.

By: Attorney Michelle Perkins