Alphabet Soup: SSI, SSD, SSDI, DAC, SGA and More
Do you have a child with a disability? You may have tangled with the alphabet soup of public benefits programs. We’d like to introduce you to some of the acronymic programs and help you distinguish among them. Supplemental Security Income — SSI One of the key elements of the alphabet soup of benefits is SSI. […]
Civil Commitment, Guardianship and Vulnerable Adults
Clients (and family members) are often confused by the difference between civil commitment, guardianship and other similar-but-different legal proceedings. A recent Arizona appellate decision made us think about those differences. Let’s see if we can clarify. First, the case Actually, the case that made us think about this isn’t about guardianship or vulenrable adults at […]
When Our Clients Become Incapacitated
What happens when our clients become incapacitated? We worry a lot about the right message for family members — and our clients themselves. We’ve adopted some basic rules and approaches. What’s the problem? When we prepare estate planning documents for a client, they will typically have named agents in their powers of attorney. They may […]
Estate Planning Considerations
Often estate planning clients come in with specific goals for their estate plan. They may want to disinherit someone, or leave their estate to charity. They may want a specific types of estate plan after reading about it online. Their goal may even be just to get an estate plan, any estate plan, done before […]
Can a person under guardianship ________?
Sometimes, clients come to us seeking guardianship for an incapacitated adult in their life. They may have an elderly parent with dementia. Or, they may have a disabled child who is now becoming an adult. Either way, clients often have questions about what powers a guardianship actually gives them. They also have questions about what […]
The Basics of QTIP Trusts
Estate taxes are assessed on the value of your assets including your retirement benefits, real estate, and life insurance. At the time of this newsletter, the federal estate tax exemption is currently $13.61 million per person for deaths in 2024. In 2026, the that exclusion amount will revert to the 2017 level. That would be […]
A Secret Trust, the Uniform Trust Code and Arizona Law
Can an Arizona trust be a secret trust? Is that something you should want? And what does it even mean? (And, we might add, what is an “Arizona trust,” anyway?) First: some notes on Arizona law Three weeks ago we wrote about a trustee’s duty to provide some kinds of information to trust beneficiaries. As […]
Voting Rights and Guardianship in Arizona
Voting rights are in the forefront of minds and media attention in this election year. But not much is written or discussed about the ability of someone under guardianship to exercise their right to vote. This week an Arizona appellate decision created a slight opening to discuss the topic further. Angie Weber’s story Angie Weber […]
General Powers of Appointment and Your Planning
Two weeks ago we wrote about powers of appointment, introducing the concept. The basic idea: you can give someone else the power to designate the ultimate recipient of a gift or bequest. We didn’t distinguish between (or describe) general powers of appointment and limited powers of appointment. We saved those concepts for another day. Today. […]
Trust Accountings for Irrevocable Trusts
There are a lot of duties and responsibilities that come with being the trustee of a loved ones irrevocable trust. One of those duties is to keep good records. Another duty is to keep qualified beneficiaries reasonably informed about the administration of the trust. This means the trustee should respond promptly to any reasonable request […]
