Public Fiduciary Offices in Arizona
SEPTEMBER 20, 2016 VOLUME 23 NUMBER 35 When an individual living in Arizona becomes incapacitated, or needs financial protection because of diminishing capacity, a family member, friend or private professional fiduciary might be appointed to act as guardian (of the person) or conservator (of the estate). But what if there is no one available to […]
Probate Judge’s Unique Guardianship Orders Overturned
AUGUST 1, 2016 VOLUME 23 NUMBER 29 At Fleming & Curti, PLC, we handle a lot of guardianship and conservatorship proceedings. We even act as guardian (of the person) and/or conservator (of the estate) in some cases — particularly when family members are unavailable or unable to agree on the best course of action. But […]
Maine Guardianship Violates Uniform Jurisdiction Act
JULY 25, 2016 VOLUME 23 NUMBER 28 Before any guardianship or conservatorship action can be filed in a local court, the court must have jurisdiction over the person subjected to the proceeding. For many decades that had meant (more or less) that the person must be physically present in the state, and not much more. […]
Guardianship / Conservatorship Petition Backfires on Son Who Exploited Mother
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. […]
Not Every Confused Senior Needs a Guardian or Conservator
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 […]
Conservator Has Authority Over Property In Another State
FEBRUARY 15, 2016 VOLUME 23 NUMBER 7 We live in an increasingly mobile world. That assertion is hardly controversial. The reality that America’s patchwork of over fifty separate legal jurisdictions can make for confusion and conflict is well understood by lawyers and observers. A recent guardianship and conservatorship case involving two states (neither of them […]
Mediation in Guardianship Proceeding Can Be Effective, But Raises Questions
FEBRUARY 8, 2016 VOLUME 23 NUMBER 6 Sometimes court proceedings are necessary in order to resolve differences of opinion — but almost everyone recognizes that it is good to seek resolution by a simple agreement when the parties can resolve their differences outside court. Mediation, for instance, is a great way to resolve many legal […]
We Are Creeping Up On a Quarter Century Here
JANUARY 4, 2016 VOLUME 23 NUMBER 1 Note the “Volume” number above. Is it even possible that we’ve been doing this for 23 years? In that time, a number of topics have been perennially popular. We see a lot of internet traffic, and get a lot of questions or comments, when we write about: EINs […]
Management of Risk in Guardianship and Powers of Attorney
DECEMBER 14, 2015 VOLUME 22 NUMBER 46 Imagine: you have just been named as guardian for your aging father. You are responsible for his medical care and decisions, his comfort and his placement. You were appointed, in part, because of your concern about his safety at home — you are thinking perhaps he needs to […]
Handling Your Own Legal Work — Without a Lawyer
OCTOBER 12, 2015 VOLUME 22 NUMBER 37 Last week we wrote about when you might reasonably represent yourself — that is, when you might not need a lawyer for your legal work. We suggested that what lawyers do is not precisely brain surgery, and that reasonably intelligent, informed and diligent non-lawyers might well be able […]
