We were listening to a local radio station's public service announcements about the concept of charitable planning. The radio station only had 30-60 seconds to explain what they were talking about. We have much longer in our podcasts, and no fixed time limit. So we decided to go through some of the charitable planning choices the radio station seemed to be alluding to.

Of course you can make direct charitable gifts of cash during your life. It's a good idea, and it allows you to support your favorite charities. It can also leave you with a warm glow of satisfaction.

But the radio announcement talked about making various kinds of gifts that would take effect only at your death. Some of those, as the announcement suggested, can even produce lifetime financial benefits for you. What might they have been hinting about?

In this discussion, we touch on charitable gift annuities, charitable remainder trusts, charitable lead trusts, and some of the other, creative ways you can satisfy both your charitable preferences and your desire to maximize the effect of your gifts.

Another easy and obvious way to engage in charitable planning is to name your favorite charity in your will or trust. We can also help you with that --whether your favorite charity is that helpful radio station or a completely different organization. Oh, wait -- you can even do all this in a way that lets you change your charity of choice later!

Case management and care planning are central to our elder law practice. We have to actively monitor the care arrangements for the beneficiaries of our trusts. We also act as guardian (of the person) or conservator (of the estate). Both require us to manage care for vulnerable individuals.

In this podcast episode, we discuss some of our experience with case management issues. If you are responsible for overseeing the care of an aging and vulnerable individual, we might have some insight to share about those techniques and goals.

Of course, your goal in handling the affairs of another individual should be to support, but not necessarily control, the individual. Maintaining individual autonomy and balancing the need for safety can be challenging. Also rewarding.

The last two years have certainly been disruptive. One thing you might not have expected to change, though, was your retirement plan. Turns out that a retirement account update for 2022 is very much in order.

You probably realize that the SECURE Act of 2019 changed many retirement rules. The best-publicized change: most beneficiaries (other than spouses) have just ten years after the owner's death to withdraw all of the funds from an inherited IRA, 401(k), 403b or even Roth account. That's clearly bad news for most retirement account owners. But less discussed: there's also some good news to share.

First, there's good news in the retirement account update for 2022. Your life expectancy just got extended! Well, most people's life expectancy did, anyway.

For a 75-year-old IRA owner, for example, pre-2022 life expectancy was another 22.9 years -- or almost age 98. Now, the IRA owner turning 75 in 2022 has been given almost two extra years to live! The current 75-year-old is (actuarially) expected to live to age 99.6 -- another 24.6 years.

Want some quick illustrations?

Imagine that you turn 75 this year, and you have accumulated a $100,000 IRA. Your minimum distribution amount: $4,065 and change. But if you had turned 75 in 2019, you would have had to withdraw a little more than $300 more -- and pay the additional tax. Of course, if your IRA is $1 million you can multiply those numbers by ten. And all owners of IRAs, 401(k), and most other defined contribution plans get the same benefit.

Not a huge difference, but there is some good news for 2022. There's also some good news in the SECURE Act itself.

Chief among the good news items is that the minimum distribution requirement doesn't even start until age 72 -- up from 70.5 in previous times. Of course, 2020 was a holiday for virtually all required distributions. And that holiday extended even the five- and ten-year distribution requirements by the missed year.

The bottom line: there's both good news and less-good news in the retirement account update for 2022. Join us for our podcast discussion of some of the changes.

Here we are, going into 2022. We're also creeping up on the second full year of pandemic restrictions. What's in our future?

Who knows? But we have some observations to share about the new year, and the next chapter.

Not, of course, about the course of the pandemic itself. We're not qualified to make medical predictions. But join us for our podcast discussion of the effects of our past two years' experience and the coming year.

Beneficiary deeds are very popular in Arizona. A property owner who signs such a deed can avoid probate and simplify administration of their estate. It's pretty easy to create and sign a beneficiary deed -- many people do it without involving a lawyer. We want to shed a little light on how the process works. We discuss who should consider taking such a step -- and who should not.

To be clear, we discuss only Arizona law. Other states may have a similar kind of document available. In fact, one source reports that something similar is available in 29 states (and the District of Columbia). We aren't vouching for the accuracy of that list, and we don't know how it works in those states. Your experience in another state could be very different. Check with a local estate planning attorney.

But in Arizona, beneficiary deeds have been around for two decades. In fact, we reported about the then-new idea back in 2001. There have been some changes in the law since then, but the idea remains the same.

The basic premise almost sounds too good to be true. You sign and record the document. Maybe the only cost is a $30 recording fee. When you die, the person listed on the document records a copy of your death certificate -- and they own the property.

But, as we discuss in this podcast episode, the beneficiary deed is not for everyone. People with complicated personal circumstances, particular intentions for their property, or large families might not be good candidates for a beneficiary deed.

Here's the thing: the difficult part is not preparing beneficiary deeds. It's figuring out whether that's the right approach. That's when a qualified estate planning attorney should be involved. Come see us first if you are an Arizona property owner.

We have some ideas for last-minute Christmas gifts for seniors. Here's the thing: we think your mother/father/grandparent would mostly like to hear from you. A regular message is better than candy -- even better than flowers.

We've made recommendations for gifts in the past. Some of those have come from our own experience with family members. Others are reports from clients about what has worked well.

But our best ideas are more about regular contact than new stuff. Not that stuff won't be appreciated.

We also have some ideas about the best ways to visit with your aging family member. Consider the limitations they might have in vision or hearing. Give some thought to going to their place rather than bringing them to large family gatherings. But don't skip getting together with them just because it can be challenging.

Of course, in pandemic times you also have to be concerned with safety. It may be easier to maintain distance in a series of smaller visits to your elderly relative's home or apartment. Spreading the visits out, and keeping them small, might be safer and more generous.

Christmas gifts for seniors can be difficult, no doubt. Didn't you give slippers last year? How much candy do they need. But there's no limit to the amount of loving contact they can use.

Many of our clients feel strongly about burial and cremation. Over two-thirds of Arizonans, in fact, prefer cremation over burial. In this podcast episode we discuss some steps you should take to help assure your wishes are carried out.

We often include burial and cremation directions in our estate planning documents. But, as we explain here, that's not really the best way to direct your funeral/burial arrangements. What should you do? Several things:

Discuss your preferences with your family. Include any family members you think might not agree with your choices.

Make arrangements with a funeral provider. Sign any forms they offer to describe your wishes. And, most importantly, pre-pay for your chosen arrangements.

Do you prefer cremation? Sign a cremation directive. Then put it with your other important documents.

Do you intend to donate your body to science, or to a particular organization? Make sure that you have contacted them, discussed the process, and signed any documents necessary to accomplish the donation.

Do you favor burial in a family plot, or with other family or loved ones? And make sure there's a plot in your name, and make sure everyone knows the details. And prepay for transportation, and the actual burial arrangements.

In your will and/or power of attorney, spell out your burial and cremation preferences. But that's not sufficient all by itself -- it just helps make sure your family knows you were serious.

Cremation frequency is rising rapidly, with industry experts estimating that well over half of all Americans choose cremation. Interestingly, with a large increase in deaths in 2020, cremation rates appear to have accelerated somewhat. But if you want to direct burial or cremation you should take steps to ensure your wishes are carried out.

One common concern for fiduciaries who oversee home care: how should they handle household payroll? Are in-home caregivers independent contractors? Or must the fiduciary withhold Social Security and taxes from their paychecks?

As we explain in this week's podcast, in-home caregivers are almost always employees. They simply do not meet the standards set out by the Internal Revenue Service for treatment as independent contractors.

Join us as we review some of the considerations facing fiduciaries who hire caregivers, including:

How complicated it actually is to manage a household payroll

What liability the fiduciary (trustee, conservator, financial agent) might have for making the wrong choice

The benefits to employees who are hired on payroll

The distinction between "salaried" and "exempt" employees

Once you've listened to this episode, you might have additional questions. Of course our podcasts are not individual legal advice, and we can't represent you based on your online questions. But we do benefit from seeing our listeners' questions -- on this and other issues. Let us know what lingering concerns you have about household payroll for in-home caregivers, and maybe we'll be able to address some of your questions in future discussions.

Also: talk to your CPA about household payroll. They hold a unique position from which to advise you and help steer you to the right resolution.

The end of the year is upon us. So is the holiday season. You might be considering making gifts to your grandkids. Or perhaps to other people who are minors (or just young).

First a bit of good news. For the past four years, the federal gift tax exclusion amount has been $15,000. That has meant that a gift to virtually anyone -- minor or not -- under that figure meant no tax filings, no taxes and no liability. As of January 1, 2022, that exclusion figure will increase -- all the way up to $16,000.

But that begs the real question: how do you make a gift to a minor? They can't have their own bank accounts, sign their own tax returns or make investments of their own money. So how do you give them a substantial gift? And, by the way, what is "substantial"?

In this week's Elder Law Issues podcast, we discuss some of the options -- including UTMA accounts, 529 plans or other educational accounts, and establishment of trusts.

Which is right for your circumstance? The classic lawyer's answer applies here: it depends.

Who knew it would be so hard to make gifts to grandkids? We did, that's who. But we'd like to try to make it a little easier for you to figure out.

We see this practice when we represent trustees, conservators and other fiduciaries, and we always counsel against it. A trustee, for instance, might pay trust bills from their own funds and then make a reimbursement to themselves as fiduciary.

It can seem simple and unobjectionable. The person handling another's financial affairs pays for something themselves, or puts it on their own personal credit card. Then they make reimbursement to themselves as fiduciary, and make a note documenting the transaction.

Yes, it's permissible. Even if you file the accounting with a court, they are likely to approve it. But it's still a bad practice.

As we discuss in this week's podcast episode, a fiduciary needs to keep meticulous records. When the fiduciary writes checks to themself it is automatically suspect. Unless each transaction is thoroughly documented, the likelihood that someone may object increases.

In the real world we find that recordkeeping is often spotty. You may be able to total up all the transactions and show that the reimbursements are justified, but a skeptical observer may find the paper trail inadequate. It's easier -- and safer -- to simply avoid the conflict and make payments directly to vendors. When you use a credit card, pay the credit card bill directly rather than writing a reimbursement to the fiduciary. Help keep the transactions clear.