“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 […]
Can You Make Your Estate Plan Irrevocable?
Clients often ask how to make their estate plan irrevocable. In most (but not all) cases, the question comes from a married couple — often in a second or later marriage, and with children from earlier marriages. The actual question one spouse asks: how can I be sure that my spouse can’t change our estate […]
Disappointed Heirs Not Permitted to Make Claim Against Dad’s Lawyers
JANUARY 25, 2016 VOLUME 23 NUMBER 4 Like a lot of Americans, Fred Brown (though that’s not his real name) had a complicated family life. He had been married twice, and had two daughters — Martha and Sally — from his first marriage. He was still married to Barbara, and she had two children from […]
New Florida “Trust Protector” Case Shows How the Idea Can Work
DECEMBER 8, 2014 VOLUME 21 NUMBER 44 We’ve written several times about the relatively new concept of “trust protectors.” The idea is that a trust can be much more flexible if someone — necessarily someone who is entirely trustworthy — has the power to make at least some kinds of changes after the trust becomes […]
Step-Children and Disinherited Children Might Have Rights — It Depends
NOVEMBER 12, 2012 VOLUME 19 NUMBER 41 A prospective client asks: “Can my mother cut me out of her will after my father dies? His will leaves everything to the children after her death.” That deceptively simple question comes in a number of variations (like: “My mother’s will left everything to her children, but her […]
Is a Contract Not to Revoke Your Will Enforceable? A Good Idea?
AUGUST 20, 2012 VOLUME 19 NUMBER 32 Imagine this scenario: you and your spouse have been married for thirty years, and it is a second marriage for both of you. Each of you brought children to the marriage (your two and your spouse’s three), and all five kids were raised together from their teens as […]
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 […]
Reciprocal Wills Enforceable After Death of One Spouse
JULY 26, 2010 VOLUME 17, NUMBER 23 Imagine a couple, each married for the second time. Perhaps each has children from a first marriage. Perhaps the couple has been married for years — even decades. They think of all the children as “their” children, even though they fully understand that the other spouse’s children are […]
Dispute Over Family Home Pits Children Against Stepchildren
OCTOBER 19, 2009 VOLUME 16, NUMBER 58 More than a decade ago we told you about a Utah case involving a widower’s remarriage (see Surviving Spouse Revokes Trust–Children Disinherited from February 2, 1998) . Although the children of the deceased woman and her surviving husband were supposed to receive everything on his later death, the widower […]