Search
Close this search box.

Oklahoma Living Will Case Shows Difficulty in Implementation

Living wills

Imagine that you have been diagnosed with a serious and debilitating disease. Your prognosis is not good, and the likelihood that you will become incapacitated is high. One thing you should consider is execution of a living will and other advance directives. Of course, everyone should consider signing a living will and a health care […]

Keeping your home in the family — forever

Keeping your home in the family

Clients often tell us they want to keep their home in the family. Often they tell us that they want to make sure that their offspring will always have a place to live. Sometimes they worry about one child’s ability to afford a home, but want to be “fair” to other children. Or they expand […]

Public Fiduciary Must Serve When Appointed

Public Fiduciary must serve

Every Arizona county has one. The public fiduciary in each county acts as guardian, conservator and personal representative. But they only serve when no one else is available. Or, perhaps, the available alternatives have demonstrated that they are unqualified. Other states have similar offices, but calling them “public fiduciary” is unique to Arizona. In other […]

Is Divorce a Strategy for Securing Long-Term Care Assistance?

Is divorce a strategy?

We spoke at a seminar last week. An audience member asked: is divorce a strategy for securing government assistance with long-term care costs? Our short answer: usually not. But the fuller answer is more interesting. First, some background Sometimes seniors believe that their Medicare coverage will help pay the costs of long-term care. Their children […]

Supported Decision Making Comes to Arizona

Supported decision making

Just a few weeks ago we told you about the Arizona legislature’s bill to create a “supported decision making” law in our state. We told you then that there was no chance the bill would even get a committee hearing, much less become a law. We were wrong. In a flurry of last-minute activity, the […]

Can a Conservator Change the Beneficiaries on an Account?

Conservator change the beneficiaries

Can a court-appointed conservator change the beneficiaries on an individual’s investment accounts? It’s a question that comes up from time to time, and there is no clear answer. First, some definitions of terms. In Arizona, a conservator is appointed to handle the finances of a person who is in need of protection. That’s different from […]

How We Actually Use ABLE Act Accounts

How we actually use ABLE Act accounts

We’ve written and talked about ABLE Act accounts before. But we’d like to revisit the subject with a very practical update. Let’s answer the question: how do we actually use ABLE Act accounts in our practice today? Start with a recap: what’s ABLE? Before we get practical, though, we do need to review the concepts. […]

Trustee Needs a Lawyer in Court Proceeding

Trustee needs a lawyer

It’s a question that comes up surprisingly often. Can a trustee represent herself in a lawsuit? In other words, does a trustee always need a lawyer in court? The short answer (there is some nuance): yes, a trustee needs a lawyer in court proceedings. Letting a non-lawyer trustee appear in court directly would amount to […]

What About a Special Needs Trust for Your Nephew?

Special needs trust for your nephew

You have a grandchild, or niece or nephew, with a developmental disability. You’d like to leave him (or her) some money in your will. Do you need to create a special needs trust for your nephew? The basic rule First, let’s be clear. Please do not leave your nephew any money outright. Say, for example, […]

The 56th Arizona Legislature is in Session. Uh-oh!

56th Arizona legislature

Here at Fleming & Curti, PLC, we’ve tried to keep track of what the 2023 Arizona legislature is up to. We monitor bills that affect our clients and the folks we advocate for, and in past years we’ve occasionally even travelled to Phoenix to testify. This year has been mostly pretty quiet — for us. […]

Robert B. Fleming

Attorney

Robert Fleming is a Fellow of both the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. He has been certified as a Specialist in Estate and Trust Law by the State Bar of Arizona‘s Board of Legal Specialization, and he is also a Certified Elder Law Attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation. Robert has a long history of involvement in local, state and national organizations. He is most proud of his instrumental involvement in the Special Needs Alliance, the premier national organization for lawyers dealing with special needs trusts and planning.

Robert has two adult children, two young grandchildren and a wife of over fifty years. He is devoted to all of them. He is also very fond of Rosalind Franklin (his office companion corgi), and his homebound cat Muninn. He just likes people, their pets and their stories.

Elizabeth N.R. Friman

Attorney

Elizabeth Noble Rollings Friman is a principal and licensed fiduciary at Fleming & Curti, PLC. Elizabeth enjoys estate planning and helping families navigate trust and probate administrations. She is passionate about the fiduciary work that she performs as a trustee, personal representative, guardian, and conservator. Elizabeth works with CPAs, financial professionals, case managers, and medical providers to tailor solutions to complex family challenges. Elizabeth is often called upon to serve as a neutral party so that families can avoid protracted legal conflict. Elizabeth relies on the expertise of her team at Fleming & Curti, and as the Firm approaches its third decade, she is proud of the culture of care and consideration that the Firm embodies. Finding workable solutions to sensitive and complex family challenges is something that Elizabeth and the Fleming & Curti team do well.

Amy F. Matheson

Attorney

Amy Farrell Matheson has worked as an attorney at Fleming & Curti since 2006. A member of the Southern Arizona Estate Planning Council, she is primarily responsible for estate planning and probate matters.

Amy graduated from Wellesley College with a double major in political science and English. She is an honors graduate of Suffolk University Law School and has been admitted to practice in Arizona, Massachusetts, New York, and the District of Columbia.

Prior to joining Fleming & Curti, Amy worked for American Public Television in Boston, and with the international trade group at White & Case, LLP, in Washington, D.C.

Amy’s husband, Tom, is an astronomer at NOIRLab and the Head of Time Domain Services, whose main project is ANTARES. Sadly, this does not involve actual time travel. Amy’s twin daughters are high school students; Finn, her Irish Red and White Setter, remains a puppy at heart.

Famous people's wills

Matthew M. Mansour

Attorney

Matthew is a law clerk who recently earned his law degree from the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law. His undergraduate degree is in psychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Matthew has had a passion for advocacy in the Tucson community since his time as a law student representative in the Workers’ Rights Clinic. He also has worked in both the Pima County Attorney’s Office and the Pima County Public Defender’s Office. He enjoys playing basketball, caring for his cat, and listening to audiobooks narrated by the authors.