“Grandma, it’s me and I need your help.” Don’t Be Fooled By This Scam
APRIL 2, 2012 VOLUME 19 NUMBER 13 We have been hearing lately about a scam that targets seniors. You get a telephone call from a number you don’t recognize. When you answer, the person on the other line says: “Grandma, it’s me, and I need your help.” You learn that your grandchild has been detained […]
Tax Identification Numbers for Trusts After Death of Spouse
MARCH 26, 2012 VOLUME 19 NUMBER 12 Here at Fleming & Curti, PLC, we keep tabs on what brings people to our website. We look at referring pages, at search terms and at a variety of other items. We are intrigued by what persistently tops the search-engine list. The most common search? It’s some variation […]
Guardianship May Suggest Lack of Testamentary Capacity
MARCH 19, 2012 VOLUME 19 NUMBER 11 Can a person under guardianship sign a new will? After all, in order to have a guardian appointed (in Arizona, at least), the court must first have found that the person is impaired by a mental disorder (or some other cause) and that he or she “lacks sufficient […]
Physical Limitations Can Lead to “Vulnerable Adult” Finding
MARCH 12, 2012 VOLUME 19 NUMBER 10 Georgia Griffin (not her real name) moved from Kansas to Arizona in 1997. She lived in her own townhome in Sun City West, a retirement community northwest of Phoenix, until 2001, when she moved in next door to her daughter Barbara, who lived in Scottsdale. Georgia’s story was […]
“Vexatious Litigant” Title Takes On Real Meaning in Phoenix Case
MARCH 5, 2012 VOLUME 19 NUMBER 9 We have written before about changes to Arizona guardianship, conservatorship and probate proceedings adopted in the past year. Changes involved both probate laws and court rules. One thread running through both sets of changes: the notion that proceedings in probate court could be unnecessarily complicated by “vexatious litigants.” […]
Think Your Family Member Needs a Guardian? Proceed With Caution
FEBRUARY 27, 2012 VOLUME 19 NUMBER 8 Phoenix-area resident Larry Robertson (not his real name) was undoubtedly fading mentally, but he had made plans for handling his affairs. He had created a revocable living trust, signed a power of attorney and created a beneficiary deed. All those documents named a husband-and-wife team who were also […]
Amending Your Will–Caution: Do Not Try This At Home
FEBRUARY 20, 2012 VOLUME 19 NUMBER 7 OK — you’ve signed your will and paid the big lawyer’s fee. Now you want to make a change. Do you know how to modify your will? Can you do it without incurring another fee? Shouldn’t it be easy to make the change? All that might have been […]
Guardians Control Care Decisions, But Authority Is Not Absolute
FEBRUARY 13, 2012 VOLUME 19 NUMBER 6 A Texas probate judge appointed Frederick and Lorraine Cooper (see note below) as guardian of their adult developmentally disabled daughter Cathy in 2003. Three years later, Cathy moved into a group home in Grapevine, Texas. After Cathy had lived there for about two years, the group home operator […]
Maine Service Cutback Leaves Disabled Minor Without Program
FEBRUARY 6, 2012 VOLUME 19 NUMBER 5 Here’s an anecdote that we expect to see repeating itself over the next few years. It involves a fifteen-year-old boy with severe disabilities, and the Maine state Medicaid program. It also involves Maine’s efforts, like those of other states (including Arizona), to trim its eligibility roles for Medicaid, […]
Will Rejected in Illinois but Approved by Indiana Courts
JANUARY 30, 2012 VOLUME 19 NUMBER 4 We are frequently surprised by how much trouble people cause for their families and heirs by not taking simple steps to properly plan for their estates. One thread that often recurs involves a fear (or perhaps disapproval) of lawyers, leading to failure to get good legal advice about […]