In Arizona (as in most states) a will must be witnessed to be valid. Having your will notarized does not satisfy the requirement. Unless, that is, the courts approve the notary as witness. Actually, we started with a little misdirection. Not every will has to have two witnesses. Let’s explain. But first let us remind…
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If you have minor children, your estate plan will obviously revolve around their care and upbringing. You need to make sure you have the right people involved, and the right tools in place. Guardianship and custody Here’s your first planning question: who will take care of your child (or children) if you die before they…
Sometimes joint owners can’t agree on how to manage — or divide — their jointly-owned asset. The difficulty might arise with real estate, or a business, or even financial accounts. When they can’t agree on what to do, the result might be what the legal system calls a “partition” proceeding. Joint ownership Two — or…
When you think about planning your estate, you probably focus on who will receive what share of your property. You might not focus as clearly on choosing your personal representative or trustee. Consider your choices carefully: acting as fiduciary is not so much an honor as it is a chore. What is a fiduciary? Lawyers…
If you’ve been responsible, you’ve already signed your own will and powers of attorney. Perhaps you’ve even signed a trust. Have you done any estate planning for your pets? Taking care of your closest friends We don’t mean to suggest you ought to write a will for your cat, or an advance directive for your…
Physician assisted suicide is now an option for terminally ill patients in several US states. Is Arizona one of those states? Is it likely to join the list soon? What do we mean by physician assisted suicide? First, some definition of terms. Doctors, of course, are usually in the business of saving lives and curing…
Last week, while writing about Arizona’s new ABLE Act accounts, we realized we have not focused on Section 529 plans before. Let’s take care of that now. What is a 529 plan? Pardon us for starting off all wonky. “529” refers to Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code. That tax law makes tax-advantaged education…
You probably already know a thing or two about the ABLE Act. It offers new flexibility and autonomy for people with disabilities. Now residents of Arizona can open an ABLE Act account with the new AZ ABLE program. What is ABLE? The Achieving a Better Life Experience Act passed Congress in 2014. It permitted states…
We’ve written about this issue before. Don’t put your property in joint tenancy with your child (or children) as a means of avoiding probate. It’s a mistake. Talk to a lawyer. Why don’t people believe us? Though we write impassioned pieces about the problems with joint tenancy, a funny thing happens when we look at…
It’s a problem we see increasingly often. A trust will name a trustee, and even a successor trustee. What’s the problem? The successor trustee is not available, or fails to act, or is otherwise no longer the right choice. How does a new trustee take over? It is sometimes difficult to figure out when the new…