Personal Liability for Acting as Personal Representative
When you agree to act as personal representative of a decedent’s estate, do you take on any potential personal liability? Generally not, but you should make sure everyone knows that you are acting as a fiduciary. A recent Arizona case illustrates the risk if you do not. Estate’s property is sold When Gary Barnes (not […]
Guardianship, Conservatorship and Jury Trials in Arizona
VOLUME 24 NUMBER 16 Suppose someone has asked the Arizona courts for appointment as your guardian and/or your conservator. A trial has been set to consider the petition. Do you think you should be entitled to a jury trial before a guardian or conservator is appointed? Under Arizona law, you are entitled to a jury […]
Can You Change Your Will By Writing On It?
NOVEMBER 18, 2013 VOLUME 20 NUMBER 44 So you have a will, and you want to make some changes. Can you just write in the new provisions? How about if you sign somewhere on the document?Can it be a copy of your will, or does it have to be on the original to be effective? […]
Posthumously Conceived Twins Denied Survivors Benefits
MAY 28, 2012 VOLUME 19 NUMBER 21 The United States Supreme Court doesn’t very often weigh in on Social Security rules, so when it does those of us in the elder and disability law community pay attention. Last week’s decision by the Court, interpreting Social Security regulations as applied to posthumously conceived children, addressed interesting […]
Missing Will Presumed Revoked, But Codicil Partially Reinstates It
MAY 14, 2012 VOLUME 19 NUMBER 19 In Arizona (as in most other states) there is an important rule about wills: if the original document was in the possession of it’s signer, and it can not be found after the signer’s death, then there is a presumption that it was destroyed. Not only that, but […]
Arizona Probate Court Changes Coming in 2012
DECEMBER 19, 2011 VOLUME 18 NUMBER 43 It is not exactly a secret that the Arizona probate court system has been widely criticized over the past two years or so. The Phoenix-area newspapers have been filled with stories about alleged abuses of the probate process. Many of those stories have focused on practices in the […]
Arizona Court of Appeals Orders Review of Fees in Guardianship
DECEMBER 13, 2010 VOLUME 17 NUMBER 38 Arizona’s probate court system — and particularly the guardianship and conservatorship arenas — have been embroiled in public controversy for the past year. A series of essays by a prominent Phoenix newspaper columnist has taken the entire system to task over allegations of excessive fees being paid to […]
Draft Will Is Almost (But Not Quite) Admitted to Probate
SEPTEMBER 20, 2010 VOLUME 17 NUMBER 29 There is a lot of mythology, misunderstanding and just plain confusion about wills and probate. Sometimes the reported cases don’t help clarify what makes a will valid, when it is subject to challenge or even what might be a will. The general rule is clear, and ancient. The […]
Conservator May Be Able To Act As Successor Trustee
AUGUST 16, 2010 VOLUME 17 NUMBER 26 Let’s say you have created a revocable living trust, and you have named yourself as trustee. You also name your two children as successor trustees, to act together upon your death or incapacity. Two years later you become incapacitated; because of a dispute between your two children about […]
