The 56th Arizona Legislature is in Session. Uh-oh!

Here at Fleming & Curti, PLC, we’ve tried to keep track of what the 2023 Arizona legislature is up to. We monitor bills that affect our clients and the folks we advocate for, and in past years we’ve occasionally even travelled to Phoenix to testify. This year has been mostly pretty quiet — for us. […]
When Does Your Family Member Need Guardianship?

Suppose you have a 17-year-old child with a developmental or cognitive disability. Do you need guardianship before they turn 18? Is it OK to wait, or to forego guardianship altogether? First: what is guardianship? While your children are minors, you have the authority to make medical and placement decisions for them (we’re ignoring the possibility […]
Guardians’ Fees for Advocacy Work Disallowed by Court
DECEMBER 12, 2011 VOLUME 18 NUMBER 42 Last month we saw an interesting variation on fee requests for guardianship and conservatorship proceedings. A Washington State Supreme Court case dealt with the payment from wards’ estates to a professional fiduciary organization in unusual circumstances. James R. Hardman and his mother Alice Hardman are certified professional guardians […]
What Preparation Do I Need For My Son’s 18th Birthday?

APRIL 4, 2011 VOLUME 18 NUMBER 12 My son will be 18 in a little more than a year. He is in high school, in the special education program. What do I need to do to prepare for his eighteenth birthday? Excellent question. Assuming it is limited to legal matters (those are the only ones […]
Benefits Eligibility Irrelevant in Lawsuit Over Trust Terms
FEBRUARY 6, 2011 VOLUME 18 NUMBER 5 What can a parent do to ensure continuing care for his or her adult child with a disability? That was the dilemma facing Californian Earl Blacksher in the late 1980s. His daughter Ida McQueen lived with him in the family home in Oakland. She was developmentally disabled, and […]
Medicaid Eligibility Lost After Recipient Moves From District
JULY 15, 2002 VOLUME 10, NUMBER 2 Although many of the legal problems facing the elderly and the disabled are addressed through state laws, the underlying problems are regional, national or even universal. Though the national medical program for the elderly and disabled, Medicaid, is partially funded and broad guidelines set by the federal government, […]
Housing Project Allowed To Refuse Mentally Ill Applicant
OCTOBER 25, 1999 VOLUME 7, NUMBER 17 In 1980, a non-profit group in Cleveland, Ohio, applied for federal funds to renovate a former Franciscan Monastery. Our Lady of Angels Apartments, Inc., used the money to turn the former monastery into housing for the elderly and disabled. A decade later, Our Lady of Angels was sued […]
Developmentally Disabled Man Dies Before Court Decides His Fate

AUGUST 16, 1999 VOLUME 7, NUMBER 7 Though once viewed as slightly out of the mainstream of American thought, the “right-to-die” movement has become widely accepted today. Few would argue with the notion that a competent patient has the right to refuse life-sustaining treatment, even when the medical community collectively believes that the treatment should […]