Common-Law Marriage, Divorce and Probate, All In One Case
DECEMBER 19, 2016 VOLUME 23 NUMBER 47 Here’s a question we hear frequently: how long does a couple have to live together in order to be considered married? The answer in Arizona: until the wedding ceremony. In other words, Arizona does not recognize “common-law” marriages. That strong, direct statement, however, masks a more complicated answer. […]
Public Fiduciary Offices in Arizona
SEPTEMBER 20, 2016 VOLUME 23 NUMBER 35 When an individual living in Arizona becomes incapacitated, or needs financial protection because of diminishing capacity, a family member, friend or private professional fiduciary might be appointed to act as guardian (of the person) or conservator (of the estate). But what if there is no one available to […]
Court Invalidates Will and Trust Naming Lawyer as Beneficiary
JULY 11, 2016 VOLUME 23 NUMBER 26 One principle governing lawyers is obviously and intuitively correct: A lawyer may not prepare a will or trust (or, for that matter, any other document or arrangement) by which a client makes any substantial gift to the lawyer. Similarly, lawyers are precluded from preparing documents giving or leaving […]
Disappointed Heirs Not Permitted to Make Claim Against Dad’s Lawyers
JANUARY 25, 2016 VOLUME 23 NUMBER 4 Like a lot of Americans, Fred Brown (though that’s not his real name) had a complicated family life. He had been married twice, and had two daughters — Martha and Sally — from his first marriage. He was still married to Barbara, and she had two children from […]
Woman’s Holographic Will Effective Despite State Law
JANUARY 18, 2016 VOLUME 23 NUMBER 3 It might seem odd that interstate problems in probate proceedings arise. After all, we have had 50 states and a handful of other jurisdictions gathered together in the United States for a half-century, and nearly that many for most of the two centuries before that. Shouldn’t differences in […]
Handling Your Own Legal Work — Without a Lawyer
OCTOBER 12, 2015 VOLUME 22 NUMBER 37 Last week we wrote about when you might reasonably represent yourself — that is, when you might not need a lawyer for your legal work. We suggested that what lawyers do is not precisely brain surgery, and that reasonably intelligent, informed and diligent non-lawyers might well be able […]
Attorney’s Fees in Probate Proceeding Challenged, Approved
SEPTEMBER 7, 2015 VOLUME 22 NUMBER 32 How much can an attorney charge in a probate proceeding? In Arizona, at least, the principal rule is one that is difficult to determine: attorney’s fees must be “reasonable”. But what does that actually mean? A recent Arizona Court of Appeals decision approving the fees charged by the […]
Is Dispute Inevitable When Two Children are Named as Co-Trustees?
MAY 18, 2015 VOLUME 22 NUMBER 19 So often our clients assure us that their children are different from other children. Our clients know that their children will fundamentally get along. They are sure that there will be no big problems when they die, and that the children will communicate and cooperate. Fortunately, that turns […]
Lessons From a Day in Probate Court
JULY 7, 2014 VOLUME 21 NUMBER 24 One day last week I found myself sitting in probate court, watching other cases get resolved while waiting for the Judge to get to my own cases. The matters I was listening to seemed to me to be instructive, and give me a chance to share some observations […]
Do-It-Yourself Will May Not Save Costs After All
APRIL 7, 2014 VOLUME 21 NUMBER 13 From time to time we devote our weekly newsletter to a story about estate planning gone wrong — often (but not always) because of an individual’s decision to forego the help of a lawyer in drafting a will or trust. Lawyers also make mistakes, of course, but they […]
