Can a Conservator Change the Beneficiaries on an Account?
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 […]
January Review: Avoid Mistakes & Acquire a Talley?
It’s the end of the month. That’s when we like to survey the elder law landscape and share interesting or useful items that surfaced over the past few weeks. Here’s our January review: January’s Planning Tips Here are eight common estate planning mistakes from AARP. The most common errors we see out of those eight: […]
Top Ten Elder Law Lessons from 2022
At the end of each month, we take stock of elder law news and developments and share them. For the December review, we look less to outside news and commentary and instead think about what we (or others) have learned or wish we (or others) had learned before something unfortunate happened. Here are some lessons […]
Marriage Annulled by Court After Spouse’s Death
Imagine a terminally-ill person marrying a long-time companion in the final weeks of life. If he or she was incapacitated at the time, can the marriage be annulled after the new spouse’s death? The Nebraska Supreme Court thinks so. Molly Stacey’s last years Greg Meyer, then 54, moved in with Molly Stacey in 2009. The […]
Retirement Account Beneficiary Designations
It is often difficult to figure out how to complete your retirement account beneficiary designation. Do you have a living trust? Should you name your trust as beneficiary? Are you married? Do you intend to leave money to charities — and should that money come from your retirement account(s)? All of these questions make it […]
IRA Beneficiary Designation Controls Distribution at Death
We’ve written about this issue before. Generally, your IRA beneficiary designation will control who receives your account. Your will (or trust) provisions will not override the beneficiary designation. Arizona’s community property rules won’t have much effect — in fact, they will normally have no effect. It’s all about your IRA beneficiary designation. Of course, people […]
Automatic Injunction Did Not Prevent Beneficiary Change
When a married person files for a divorce, Arizona law requires issuance of an automatic injunction. The injunction prevents changes in assets or titles until the divorce is resolved. It maintains the status quo while the legal system kicks into gear. An automatic injunction also issues in other, related kinds of actions. For instance, filing […]
Disclaimer Strategy Leads to Surcharge of Conservator
Disclaimer is an important tool in the estate planning toolbox. After an individual’s death, they obviously can’t fix any estate planning mistakes. Sometimes a disclaimer will allow the decedent’s intentions to be carried out. But there are problems with disclaimers. It is important to figure out how to use the strategy fairly and effectively. Joanne […]
Beneficiary Designations May be Key to Probate Avoidance
Probate avoidance is often a key goal for our estate planning clients. Sometimes that is best addressed by establishing a living trust. In other cases it might be just as efficient to focus on beneficiary designations. In fact, even when a living trust is involved, beneficiary designations help meet the purposes of the trust. At […]
IRA Beneficiary Designation Affected by Divorce
In our last newsletter, we discussed the importance of following up your estate planning. Beneficiary designations are an important part of that process, we emphasized. Your IRA beneficiary designation can be particularly challenging to get right. You may have already noticed, too, that things change. A recent federal appellate decision (involving an Arizona state law) […]
