Ex-Husband Must Return Late Wife’s Retirement Savings
Dividing retirement savings in an Arizona divorce proceeding can result in confusion and inequity. Sometimes the problems don’t appear for years — or even decades. A recent Arizona appellate decision illustrates the importance of paying attention to retirement savings plan details. Sandra Brown’s (brief) marriage In 1992, Sandra S. Brown married John M. Brown. That […]
“Revocation On Divorce” Law Interpreted in Arizona
Suppose a married couple signs wills leaving everything to one another, and naming each other as personal representative of their estate. What happens when they later divorce? In Arizona, our broad “revocation on divorce” law kicks in. The concept is straightforward. After a divorce you probably want to change your estate planning documents. Maybe you […]
Retirement Account Divided in Divorce
Arizona, of course, is a community property state. How does that affect the retirement account accumulated by one spouse during their marriage? Community property and the retirement account One spouse may have an interest in the other spouse’s retirement account, especially when it was accumulated during the marriage. State law, however, often takes a back […]
Divorce Decree Modifies Life Insurance Beneficiary Designation
Elder law and estate planning — which is what we practice at Fleming & Curti, PLC — doesn’t usually include divorce and family law issues. Sometimes, though, the two practice areas overlap. As, for instance, when a divorce decree effectively changes an estate plan. ERISA preemption Before we tell you our story this week, we […]
IRA Beneficiary Designation Affected by Divorce
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) […]
Divorced, Separated or Filing Soon? Think About Your Estate Plan
JULY 23, 2012 VOLUME 19 NUMBER 28 We’re sorry to hear about your marriage breaking up, and we know you have a lot of other things on your mind. But could we get you to think about your estate plan for a moment? We suspect that in the process of getting divorced or separated, you […]
