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Appointing an Out-of-State Agent or Trustee

Out-of-state agent

Arizona has no prohibition on an out-of-state agent for your power of attorney. However, you might want to make your agent or trustee someone who lives in the same state as you for a number of reasons. What is required to designate an agent? A.R.S. § 14-5501 lists the requirements for designating an agent under […]

July Review: Aretha, Pop Culture Gifts, and So Long

July, 2023

July is coming to an end and so has my time writing Elder Law Issues newsletters. This is my last review of the prior month’s developments in elder law. New Fleming & Curti associate Matt Mansour and law clerk Jordan Young will be contributing articles instead. Maybe they’ll continue monthly or occasional news reviews. We’ll […]

Is Divorce a Strategy for Securing Long-Term Care Assistance?

Is divorce a strategy?

We spoke at a seminar last week. An audience member asked: is divorce a strategy for securing government assistance with long-term care costs? Our short answer: usually not. But the fuller answer is more interesting. First, some background Sometimes seniors believe that their Medicare coverage will help pay the costs of long-term care. Their children […]

Mental Health Care Powers of Attorney in Arizona

Mental health care power of attorney

When people are creating their advance directives, they often overlook one important document– the mental health care powers of attorney. Mental health care powers of attorney (POA) are legal documents that allow a person to make mental health treatment decisions on behalf of another person when they are unable to do so for themselves. The […]

Estate Planning: It’s About Your Wishes, Only Your Wishes

Family togetherness and professional collaboration are great. Most of the time. For estate planning? Proceed with caution. Or just say no. It’s common for family members and advisors to encourage estate planning. That of course is a good thing. But the planning itself should not be a group project. Group efforts are so prevalent that […]

Supported Decision Making Comes to Arizona

Supported decision making

Just a few weeks ago we told you about the Arizona legislature’s bill to create a “supported decision making” law in our state. We told you then that there was no chance the bill would even get a committee hearing, much less become a law. We were wrong. In a flurry of last-minute activity, the […]

June Review: From Politics to Very Special Pets

With July less than a week away, it’s time for our monthly edition of elder law news and developments. For the June review, there’s politics, planning, and some very, very special pets. Political Developments June 14 was World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, and President Biden issued a proclamation to  “highlight the signs of this crisis, […]

Can a Conservator Change the Beneficiaries on an Account?

Conservator change the beneficiaries

Can a court-appointed conservator change the beneficiaries on an individual’s investment accounts? It’s a question that comes up from time to time, and there is no clear answer. First, some definitions of terms. In Arizona, a conservator is appointed to handle the finances of a person who is in need of protection. That’s different from […]

2026 Estate-Tax Sunset on the Horizon

In a little more than two-and-a-half years, it will be 2026. That’s when the historically high estate tax exemptions are scheduled to sunset to $5 million, the 2017 level, adjusted for inflation. Most think that number will be around $7 million. 2026: A Crystal Ball Would Be Nice Obviously, Congress and the president can change […]

How We Actually Use ABLE Act Accounts

How we actually use ABLE Act accounts

We’ve written and talked about ABLE Act accounts before. But we’d like to revisit the subject with a very practical update. Let’s answer the question: how do we actually use ABLE Act accounts in our practice today? Start with a recap: what’s ABLE? Before we get practical, though, we do need to review the concepts. […]

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.