Succession Planning for Parents and Guardians
Parents and Guardians should have a succession plan. Most people know that a will’s primary function is to determine where their property goes when they die. For people with minor children, the will should serve another function: name a guardian if the parent dies before the child reaches the age of majority — age 18. […]
Supported Decision-Making in Arizona
As we sit in a national lawyers’ meeting discussing “supported decision-making,” it seems like a good time to write about the concept for Arizona proceedings. Is there supported decision-making in Arizona? Not precisely, or at least not yet. What is supported decision-making? Long advocated as a less-intrusive process than guardianship, supported decision-making law have been […]
March Review: Green Book, Bees, and McMurtry’s Boots
April is around the corner, so it’s time for the March review of elder law issues. At the end of each month, we like to survey the internet and share items of interest. Here’s what we found this month: Estate & Tax Planning We never pay that much attention to the president’s “Green Book” – […]
Aging and Dementia in the News Lately
Is it just us, or is the news filled with stories about aging and dementia in the past couple months? We’ve been reading stories and listening to podcasts about: Different ways to deal with dementia We heard a heart-warming podcast about aging and dementia last month. As part of the “First Person” podcast series, Lulu […]
Think Twice Before Messing With Mom
A recent Arizona Court of Appeals decision has an important lesson: Think twice before messing with Mom. She might fight back, and she might win. In Re Lindquist centers on Arizona’s vulnerable adult exploitation statute (A.R.S. § 46-456). But the more general message is one we’ve noted before: If you are a child trying to “help” […]
Who Gets Special Needs Trust Balance on Death of the Beneficiary?
A special needs trust, of course, is for the primary benefit of the individual with a disability. But what happens on the death of the beneficiary? The trust might spell out its “remainder” beneficiaries — the ones who receive the balance on the death of the disabled beneficiary. But sometimes the trust just says that […]
February Review: Rich, Famous & Elder Law
It’s almost the end of February, which means it’s time for us to survey elder law news and share items we think are interesting or entertaining. This month, we’re struck by the number of developments involving the rich and famous, both living and gone. So that’s our focus for February. February’s Most Famous Faces For […]
Additional Information for Beneficiaries of a Special Needs Trust
Two weeks ago we offered some suggestions to help beneficiaries of special needs trusts better understand how their trust might work. At the end of that article we solicited questions we still needed to address. Based on that feedback, we have some additional information for beneficiaries of special needs trusts. If I don’t receive SSI, […]
Good Beneficiaries Keep Tabs on the Trustee
We hate to say it, but beneficiaries should never blindly trust their trustees. Good beneficiaries pay attention to the process. The trustee-beneficiary relationship works properly only if beneficiaries are engaged and looking out for themselves. Yes, the trustee legally owes duties to the beneficiaries a whole bunch of ways. But it’s the beneficiaries who must […]
On Being the Beneficiary of a Special Needs Trust
There’s a fair amount of information available to guide the trustee of a special needs trust. That includes the popular Trustee Handbook from the Special Needs Alliance. There’s far less help for being the beneficiary of a special needs trust. Beneficiaries might legitimately have a lot of questions. Let’s see if we can help with […]
