JUNE 20, 2016 VOLUME 23 NUMBER 23 Suppose your sister is developmentally disabled, and your brother has been appointed as her guardian, to make medical, placement and other decisions. Suppose your brother has moved her to a facility you aren’t sure about, and has restricted family access to visit her. Can you do anything to…
JUNE 13, 2016 VOLUME 23 NUMBER 22 John Richardson was 86, living on his family farm in rural Nebraska, when he became ill enough that he could no longer take care of himself. His long-time companion Elaine had been living with him and providing care, but she could no longer handle his care, either. John’s…
JUNE 6, 2016 VOLUME 23 NUMBER 21 Spoiler alert: the cost of long-term care can be really high. One of the leading national insurance companies (Genworth USA) conducts an annual survey of the actual costs, breaking them down by state and even by major cities within each state. Genworth’s estimate of the cost of a…
MAY 23, 2016 VOLUME 23 NUMBER 20 It will come as no surprise to anyone who has been involved in guardianship and conservatorship proceedings: the legal fees and related costs can often spiral out of control. Though most guardianship proceedings do not cost tens of thousands of dollars, some do. In fact, the battle can…
MAY 16, 2016 VOLUME 23 NUMBER 19 Frankly, we are surprised by the number of cases we see in which wills are improperly prepared or signed. The rules governing wills are not really that complicated, and it should be pretty straightforward to comply with them. The cases we see mostly involve people who want to…
MAY 9, 2016 VOLUME 23 NUMBER 18 First, a short primer on “joint tenancy with right of survivorship”: In Arizona, there are two main ways that two or more people can own property together (assuming they are not married). One choice is for the owners to be “tenants in common.” The other is to be…
MAY 2, 2016 VOLUME 23 NUMBER 17 When a litigant asks the court for particular relief, lawyers call the request a “prayer.” It isn’t always as spiritual or respectful as that sounds, but it does give us a chance to offer good generalized legal — and life — advice: be careful what you pray for.…
APRIL 25, 2016 VOLUME 23 NUMBER 16 It was a horrible, tragic story. In June, 2012, Phoenix resident James Butwin killed his wife and three children, drove the family car to a remote area in the desert, set the car on fire and killed himself. News stories soon revealed that the couple were enmeshed in…
APRIL 18, 2016 VOLUME 23 NUMBER 15 Your estate is simple, your family relationships clear, your intentions easy to understand. Why can’t you just write your own will, and save the legal fees? Because of Esther Hill, that’s why. Actually, that’s not her real name — we change the names of most of the people…
APRIL 11, 2016 VOLUME 23 NUMBER 14 It is unusual to see an appellate court decision overturning an order appointing a guardian (of the person) or conservator (of the estate). Judges tend to be protective about elderly people showing even a little evidence of mental decline — often to the point of paternalism. It was…