Elder Law Issues

Must administrators prepare formal inventories in probate and trust administration? Does every case require employment of a professional appraiser? Is an inventory public, so that anyone can know what was left to whom? How about beneficiaries, or family members who were left out of the will or trust?

In this podcast episode, we discuss the nature of inventories in probate and trust administration. We explain that few inventories need to be filed as part of any public record. And there’s more good news: a full appraisal of asset values is seldom required.

Everyone knows that it’s important to avoid probate, right? But what is probate, anyway?

Is probate expensive, time consuming and invasive? Well, it certainly can be — but most often it’s not very complicated and easy to handle. And also, most often it is easy to avoid.

Last week we discussed probate avoidance. This week we focus on defining the term — and explaining when probate is required.

Avoiding probate: most of our estate planning clients are already sure that’s important. But how can you avoid probate? And is it important? What (if any) problems might develop?

In this week’s regular podcast episode, we talk about avoiding probate in Arizona. We explain beneficiary designations, Arizona’s beneficiary deed option, and some of the other techniques. We help you understand the significance of probate avoidance.

One primary technique we discuss: establishing a trust. But even that’s not enough. If you want to avoid probate, your trust will help — but only if most or all of your assets are retitled into the trust’s name. That’s called “trust funding,” and it’s an important step in the process.

Join us for a conversation about probate avoidance. And feel free to pose your own questions in comments or by email.

Tom Curti has a lot of practice memories. Tom retired from Fleming & Curti, PLC — and the practice of law — last summer. He had a 43-year career in the practice. More than half of that was at Fleming & Curti, PLC, but that is not all he did in those years.

Recently Tom came back into the office to talk about retirement — and to reminisce about his years of practice. He can tell good stories, and he shared a few of them with us.

We’re still doing estate planning in the pandemic. In this podcast episode, we discuss the kinds of issues clients are asking about, and what steps we encourage people to take.

What is the single most important document for you to get in order now? (Spoiler alert: we think it’s your health care power of attorney.)

In Arizona, as in most states, law offices like ours have been identified as “essential“. That means we can stay open — but we’re taking lots of precautions to make sure clients and staff are as safe as can be. We think it’s important for clients to take care of their planning during these difficult times.

As we discuss in this podcast episode, we’ve been a little bit surprised about how the coronavirus pandemic has affected our clients and their concerns. Planning during the pandemic has not been precisely what we might have expected. Of course the fear of COVID-19 is high on clients’ list of those concerns — but we’re finding that people tend to be more reflective even than usual.

Tom’s retirement. What does an estate planning lawyer learn from advising others about his own retirement planning?

Tom Curti, founding partner of Fleming & Curti, PLC, retired just one year ago. At the time Tom was a 44-year lawyer. The Fleming & Curti partnership had been in place for more than a quarter century. For all of that time, Tom focused on estate planning. He was, in fact, certified as an Estate & Trust specialist by the State Bar of Arizona.

So when an Estate & Trust specialist plans to retire, what do they think about in advance? And what surprises do they discover even though they thought they were prepared? Or is all just about the golf?

Tom’s retirement means we don’t see him at Fleming & Curti, PLC, all that often any more. But we still have extremely fond feelings for him, and he still drops by occasionally to check on us. During one recent visit we sat down with him to talk about retirement planning, and how he’s enjoying it. Spoiler alert: Tom’s retirement is working out very well.

Oh, and that book Tom recommends? It’s “How to Retire Happy, Wild & Free“, by Ernie Zelinski. A student in one of our classes reviewed it for our website back in 2011.

You completed your estate planning, signing a will, and maybe even a trust. At the same time you signed a durable financial power of attorney, and a health care power of attorney. You planned for the possibility that you become incapacitated or die. But what happens about agents who become incapable of handling your affairs for you?

The agents you named in your powers of attorney are extraordinarily important. In fact, we have previously observed that those powers of attorney are probably the most important documents in your estate plan. Your chosen agents have your life and future and their hands — both literally and figuratively.

In this podcast episode, we discuss the importance of powers of attorney and what to do about agents who become incapable of completing their duties. That might be because of their own incapacity or death — or simply because they are unavailable or unwilling to act.

Concerned about the possibility of your agents becoming incapable of acting? Start by looking at your existing documents. They might tell you what happens next. Then join us for a discussion about how the succession actually works.

Join us for an engaging podcast discussion with our friend Gerry Beyer. Professor Beyer teaches law at the Texas Tech University College of Law. He is a national authority on a number of topics — but especially on, shall we say, unusual estate planning issues. Like gun trusts, and pet trusts, and digital wills.

Prof. Beyer often lectures on estate planning issues raised by planning for your pets. In fact, he is one of the leading experts in the country on “pet trusts.” Here he explains the concept(s), and the planning decisions you need to make to plan for your pets.

Another of Prof. Beyer’s favorite topics to discuss involves marijuana. Yes, it is illegal under federal law. But it is legal under many state laws. In Arizona, for instance, medical marijuana is legal. And, in fact, within a few months of this engaging discussion, Arizona voters approved a recreational marijuana law — making the drug widely available to everyone.

People with stocks of the plant, or proceeds from legitimate sales, do occasionally die. What special considerations must be faced for those folks? Prof. Beyer confronts this unusual Elder Law Issue — and more.

You already understand the importance of signing a durable financial power of attorney. You know that you need advance health care directives, including a health care power of attorney. But have you thought about the importance of selecting your agents and alternate agents?

How many agents should you name on your powers of attorney? Should multiple agents be empowered to act independently of one another? Or should they have to act together, or by some kind of consensus?

What about the naming of alternates? Would they be authorized to act any time the primary agent is unavailable, or should the succession only take place upon the death or incapacity of your primary agent?

Most people overlook the significance of identifying their agents and alternate agents, and giving them directions about when — and how — to act. In this podcast episode, we talk about some of the rules — and your choices.

We occasionally get asked about “gun trusts.” Does everyone who owns a firearm need to think about setting up a gun trust? Or is this something only gun dealers need to worry about?

For most casual firearm owners, there’s no need to worry about a separate trust to handle guns. But join us for our podcast episode, as we talk through the issues with a nationally-known expert on gun trusts. Prof. Gerry Beyer, who teaches law at the Texas Tech College of Law in Lubbock, speaks about the issue all over the country on a regular basis. Prof. Beyer is also well-known for speaking on topics like pet trusts and electronic wills. He was gracious enough to sit down with us recently to discuss the relationship between estate planning and firearm ownership.