Arizona Estate Planning Laws

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

An irrevocable life insurance trust is a trust that if properly setup and maintained, will exclude the death benefit from your taxable estate, and maybe used to establish trusts for your loved ones where the assets of your trust are protected from your loved one’s creditors and there own spend thrift habits. There are many features to a life insurance trust that can add flexibility to your ability to control the assets and remain within IRS guidelines. I’m Mark Bregman. Contact me at (480) 945-9131 to find out more about creating a life insurance trust for you that will stand the test of time.

By: Attorney Mark Bregman

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

Typical estate planning documents include a living trust, a pour-over will, a living will, and powers of attorney for financial, health care, and mental health care decision-making. Tax planning, if needed, may include irrevocable trusts and asset protection may include LLCs, trusts, and careful planning. I’m Mark Bregman. Contact me at (480) 945-9131 to find out more about creating your own effective and affordable estate plan.

By: Attorney Mark Bregman

Probate is the legal process that confirms who is entitled to your property when you die and provides someone with the authority to transfer real estate, bank accounts, investments, and any other property you own that requires proof of ownership before it can be transferred. You can avoid probate if all of your important assets pass by operation of law. Property can pass by operation of law in one of the following six ways: beneficiary designations for retirement accounts, life insurance, and annuities, two, joint bank accounts, three, rights of survivorship and real property, four, other contractual rights, five, POD or TOD designations on bank or investment accounts, and six, beneficiary deeds for real property. You can also avoid probate, but not administration of your assets if you have a living trust. Whether avoiding probate or administration is a good idea depends on your particular circumstances. I’m Mark Bregman. Contact me at (480) 945-9131 to find out how I can use my knowledge and experience to help you choose the best estate plan.

By: Attorney Mark Bregman

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

Trusts

I want to speak to you today regarding what a trust is in the state of Arizona. A trust is a legal document authorizing a third party, known as a trustee, to manage your income and assets for the benefit of your beneficiaries. It may either be a revocable, meaning the trust may be terminated, or irrevocable, meaning the trust may not be terminated and the income and assets must remain in the trust and manage according to the terms of the trust.

Benefits of a Trust

A properly executed trust may be used by a person to avoid probate of the estate after his or her death and to control the manner in which his or her wealth is distributed or managed for the benefit of the beneficiaries. There are also potential tax benefits and legal protections available from the creditors of your beneficiaries that are inherent in trusts. Please feel free to contact the attorneys at Hildebrand Law if you have any other questions regarding trusts in Arizona.

By: Chris Hildebrand

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

A basic estate plan is going to include a last will and testament, financial power of attorney, medical power of attorney with mental health powers and living will, and a personal property list if the individual chooses to create one. These are documents that every estate plan will have. From there, people have choices. For example, if you have minor children and want money paid to them over time, many couples will elect to create a revocable living trust. A trust will allow for the passing of someone’s estate without going through probate, keeping your financial information private, and allowing for money and assets to be given out over time, rather than one lump some, which is what happens in a probate situation. There are additional estate-planning documents that can be drafted if you want to avoid probate and you do not have a trust. For example, a beneficiary deed will allow you to select who will receive your house and other real estate immediately upon your death without ever having to go through the probate process. And, the Motor Vehicle Department now allows us to prepare a beneficiary designation, so that you can select who will receive your vehicle upon your death. There are many tools that an estate planner can provide to help you with setting things up to care for you and your loved ones. If you would like to create, revise, or update your estate plan, please call Owens & Perkins at (480) 994-8824.

If you would like to review estate planning documents with an attorney, visit this profile and submit a contact form.

By: Attorney Michelle Perkins