When someone creates a trust — any trust — they have some purpose or goal. What is a special needs trust’s purpose? That seemingly simple question is the focus of a recent North Carolina case. Indeed, four different levels of that state’s courts seem to have trouble coming up with a straightforward answer. The guardianship…
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We have written several times about common law marriage. It is a topic that generates lots of confusion and discussion. Despite the fact that most states do not recognize common law marriages, the problems continue to crop up. That happens even in the states that do not authorize their own citizens to enter into such…
We wrote last week about the law of parentage, and how Arizona law is evolving in the modern world. Other jurisdictions, and other problems, address related issues. Surprisingly, perhaps, the probate of Prince’s estate sheds light on some of those problems. Prince’s family history As any rock fan of rock music or popular culture knows,…
When a married woman in Arizona gives birth, her husband is presumed to be the father. The father’s parentage is subject to challenge by, for example, genetic testing — but the presumption is strong. That law is well established, and is similar to laws in most (if not all) of the other American jurisdictions. Arizona’s…
Near the end of each year (usually in October) the Internal Revenue Service updates a number of inflation-adjusted income, estate and gift tax figures for the upcoming year. Well before the official figures are released, though, some private groups usually can predict the next years’ changes. We already know the estate and gift tax thresholds…
After someone’s death, what happens when no one can find a will? Their estate usually passes according to the law of “intestate succession.” That means the state’s legislature has effectively written a will for the decedent. What, if anything, can be done about a missing will? Of course, a missing will might indicate that the…
Alan and Glenda were engaged. Tragically, Alan was in a 2010 automobile accident. He suffered a head injury, and his daughter filed a petition for appointment of a guardian. Soon, a guardian “of the property” was appointed. More than a year later, Alan and Glenda went ahead and got married. Was their attempted marriage valid?…
We often write about cases of lawyer discipline. That’s not because we enjoy relating the stories, but because they often provide guidance even to non-lawyers. For one example, many of the lawyer discipline cases involve breaches of fiduciary duty. The duties owed to an estate are the same whether the executor is a lawyer or…
Probate avoidance is often a key goal for our estate planning clients. Sometimes that is best addressed by establishing a living trust. In other cases it might be just as efficient to focus on beneficiary designations. In fact, even when a living trust is involved, beneficiary designations help meet the purposes of the trust. At…
In our last newsletter, we discussed the importance of following up your estate planning. Beneficiary designations are an important part of that process, we emphasized. Your IRA beneficiary designation can be particularly challenging to get right. You may have already noticed, too, that things change. A recent federal appellate decision (involving an Arizona state law)…