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Lawyer Suspended for Bad Special Needs Trust Advice

MAY 16, 2011 VOLUME 18 NUMBER 18 Sometimes in our zeal to help solve problems we lawyers can get carried away. We are constrained by ethical rules to avoid conflicts of interest. We also have to act competently. In a case involving an injured young man, a special needs trust and the state’s Medicaid claim […]

What Preparation Do I Need For My Son’s 18th Birthday?

Son turns 18

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 […]

How Should Special Needs Trust Funds Be Invested?

Here’s a question that comes up frequently in our practice: how should the funds held in a special needs trust be invested? The answer should be obvious: a good investment plan for a special needs trust — just like a good investment plan for an individual — should consider the amount available to invest, the […]

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 […]

More on Types of Trusts — Some of the Less Common Varieties

Types of trusts

JANUARY 24, 2011 VOLUME 18 NUMBER 3 Last week we wrote about different types of trusts you might have encountered, and tried to explain some of the generic terms, differences among and between types, and likely settings where a given type of trust might be appropriate. We wrote about spendthrift trusts, bypass trusts, special needs […]

Different Types of Trusts for Different Purposes

JANUARY 17, 2011 VOLUME 18 NUMBER 2 We frequently are asked to explain the differences between different types of trusts, or to analyze a trust with no more information than its type. Confusion about the differences is widespread, and we hope to provide a little clarity to consideration of trust types. Before we embark, we […]

Trustee Is Not Required To Create Special Needs Sub-Trust

DECEMBER 27, 2010 VOLUME 17 NUMBER 40 Kenneth Boyd established a revocable living trust in 2002. He named his daughter Carol Boyd as trustee, and directed that the trust be divided, upon his death, into three shares. One share each was to go to Carol, to Kenneth’s mother Elizabeth Boyd, and to Carol’s son Ben […]

Can My Brother’s Special Needs Trust Pay His Property Taxes?

Can my brother's special needs trust pay his taxes

DECEMBER 6, 2010 VOLUME 17 NUMBER 37 A client’s question: My brother has a special needs trust, and I am the trustee. He lives in his condo and gets services from AHCCCS and ALTCS. Can the trust pay his property taxes? Interesting question. The answer isn’t as easy or straightforward as it ought to be. […]

Trust Named as IRA Beneficiary? Here’s How it Works

OCTOBER 18, 2010 VOLUME 17 NUMBER 32 Three weeks ago we wrote about how to leave an IRA (or other qualified retirement plan) to a special needs trust for your child who has a disability. Two weeks ago we wrote about whether you should (and how you would) name any trust as beneficiary of an […]

How To Leave An IRA To A Child Who Has a Disability

SEPTEMBER 27, 2010 VOLUME 17 NUMBER 30 This is so confusing to clients, but it needn’t be. The rules are actually simpler than they seem. Stay with us, and we’ll walk you through it. OK, here’s the set-up: You have three children, one of whom (the youngest) has a disability. We’ve decided to name her […]

Robert B. Fleming

Attorney

Robert Fleming is a Fellow of both the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. He has been certified as a Specialist in Estate and Trust Law by the State Bar of Arizona‘s Board of Legal Specialization, and he is also a Certified Elder Law Attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation. Robert has a long history of involvement in local, state and national organizations. He is most proud of his instrumental involvement in the Special Needs Alliance, the premier national organization for lawyers dealing with special needs trusts and planning.

Robert has two adult children, two young grandchildren and a wife of over fifty years. He is devoted to all of them. He is also very fond of Rosalind Franklin (his office companion corgi), and his homebound cat Muninn. He just likes people, their pets and their stories.

Elizabeth N.R. Friman

Attorney

Elizabeth Noble Rollings Friman is a principal and licensed fiduciary at Fleming & Curti, PLC. Elizabeth enjoys estate planning and helping families navigate trust and probate administrations. She is passionate about the fiduciary work that she performs as a trustee, personal representative, guardian, and conservator. Elizabeth works with CPAs, financial professionals, case managers, and medical providers to tailor solutions to complex family challenges. Elizabeth is often called upon to serve as a neutral party so that families can avoid protracted legal conflict. Elizabeth relies on the expertise of her team at Fleming & Curti, and as the Firm approaches its third decade, she is proud of the culture of care and consideration that the Firm embodies. Finding workable solutions to sensitive and complex family challenges is something that Elizabeth and the Fleming & Curti team do well.

Amy F. Matheson

Attorney

Amy Farrell Matheson has worked as an attorney at Fleming & Curti since 2006. A member of the Southern Arizona Estate Planning Council, she is primarily responsible for estate planning and probate matters.

Amy graduated from Wellesley College with a double major in political science and English. She is an honors graduate of Suffolk University Law School and has been admitted to practice in Arizona, Massachusetts, New York, and the District of Columbia.

Prior to joining Fleming & Curti, Amy worked for American Public Television in Boston, and with the international trade group at White & Case, LLP, in Washington, D.C.

Amy’s husband, Tom, is an astronomer at NOIRLab and the Head of Time Domain Services, whose main project is ANTARES. Sadly, this does not involve actual time travel. Amy’s twin daughters are high school students; Finn, her Irish Red and White Setter, remains a puppy at heart.

Famous people's wills

Matthew M. Mansour

Attorney

Matthew is a law clerk who recently earned his law degree from the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law. His undergraduate degree is in psychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Matthew has had a passion for advocacy in the Tucson community since his time as a law student representative in the Workers’ Rights Clinic. He also has worked in both the Pima County Attorney’s Office and the Pima County Public Defender’s Office. He enjoys playing basketball, caring for his cat, and listening to audiobooks narrated by the authors.