Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
SHOULD YOU WRITE DOWN YOUR OWN LIVING TRUST?
By JacksonWhite Elder Law Attorneys
People often wonder if they could do their own estate planning. A will can have guardians chosen for your children if something should happen to you. A trust can hold assets for your benefit if you are not capable of managing them yourself. Even if it seems easy and a smart idea, there are many things that could go wrong with writing a will or trust on your own. These bloopers can cost you a lot more than you saved in legal fees.
In 1984, a man set up his own trust using a three-page form he purchased at an office supply store. He documented a deed to transfer his home into the trust, but accidentally dated the deed 1983. In 2009, this man wanted to borrow against his paid off mortgage on his home. However, the mistake he made back in 1984 prevented him from receiving a loan from the bank because he didn’t have a clear chain of title to his home. The problem was fixed over the course of two weeks and cost him $2,000 in legal fees. That was about twice the amount he would have had to pay back in 1984 if he had a firm do it for him instead.
To make sure you and your family members receive the best return on your investment, it is essential that you put some time into planning your estate. We service the whole state of Arizona including Phoenix, Mesa, Scottsdale, Stafford, and Tucson.
Contact the Arizona estate planning attorneys at JacksonWhite to have your estate assessed during a free estate planning consultation! Call (480) 818-6912.
For more information about JacksonWhite Elder Law or to download any of their free resources, feel free to visit:
www.arizonaseniorlaw.com/resources
www.arizonalongtermcare.com
www.arizonaseniorlaw.com/resources
www.arizonalongtermcare.com
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
ALTCS ~ Seniors and the Law
Seniors and the Law is authored by the attorneys at
Jackson White Attorneys at Law and addresses legal issues that arise for the
elderly and their families. Questions
can be sent to firm@jacksonwhitelaw.com.
Q: I moved in with my mother about three
years ago to provide her with care.
Since that time I have been able to attend to her needs, but I am
starting to require some additional help.
I want to help Mom apply for the ALTCS program, but I hear that the
state will take her home, which is troubling given that I currently reside in
this home. Is there advice you can
offer?
Before I address your question, I
want to address a piece of misinformation that seems to be guiding your
assessment. It is important to
understand that the state never takes an ALTCS member’s home in exchange for
ALTCS eligibility. Rather, the general
rule is that ALTCS can place a lien on an ALTCS member’s home if that ALTCS
member’s spouse, minor child, or disabled child does not also live in the
home. The state can only enforce this
lien upon the member’s death.
Assuming that you are no longer a
minor child, then, ALTCS will likely attach a lien to the home if your mom
qualifies for the program and if she
is placed in a facility. However, like
most rules of generality, the rule that ALTCS can recover against the equity in
its members’ homes does have a few exceptions.
One such exception seems to apply to the facts presented in the question
above.
If the child of an ALTCS member
has lived in that member’s home for a period of two or more years and has
provided care to the ALTCS member that has kept that member from being
institutionalized, the ALTCS member can transfer his or her home to the child
without penalty. ALTCS will need to
examine the evidence before allowing this type of a transfer, but this is
definitely worth exploring given the facts presented here.
Richard
White is an elder law attorney at JacksonWhite Attorneys at Law. For more information on Elder Law at JacksonWhite,
please visit www.ArizonaSeniorLaw.com.
This article is provided for
informational purposes only and is not intended to replace individual legal
advice.
For more information about Jackson White Elder
Law or to download any of their free resources, feel free to visit: www.arizonaseniorlaw.com/resources
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
TWILIGHT WISH FOUNDATION ~ El Tour de Tucson 2014
You're invited to the
El Tour de Tucson 2014
Saturday, November 22, 2014
It's official........Twilight Wish Foundation was presented
with the greatest opportunity this year and we are honored! We were invited to
be one of the supporting beneficiaries for El Tour de Tucson this year. The
date of the event is Saturday, November 22, 2014.
I am looking for 10 riders
that would like to participate in the event this year and ride for Twilight
Wish Foundation. Sponsoring Twilight Wish Foundation will help enable us to
grant wishes for our deserving veterans and seniors. Riding in this event I can
tell you is life changing, so if you have ever thought about it then follow
that dream. The choices of mileage start at 1/4 mile, 6 or 11 mile fun rides up
to 40, 55, 75 and 104 miles.
We will pay your registration fees which would be
$135.00 and provide you with a Twilight Wish Foundation cycle jersey. The only
requirement is that you help raise $250.00 per rider.
Please message Lisa at
az@twilightwish.org for additional details and help spread the word so we can
help make this event successful! Thank you all! Visit us at: www.twilightwisharizona.org
When: Saturday, November
22, 2014
Times: To Be Announced
Where: Tucson,
Arizona
Starting point depending on mileage chosen to ride and ending
at Armory Park
Thursday, April 24, 2014
Guardianship Tucson
Guardianship
By Wendy W. Harn
Tucson Estate Planning Attorney
Morris Hall & Kinghorn PLLC
What is a guardianship?
A guardianship is the appointment, by a
court, of an individual or entity to provide care and to make personal
decisions for a minor or an incapacitated adult. A person is
determined by the court to be incapacitated when he or she lacks the ability to
make responsible decisions concerning his or her daily living needs. The person for whom a guardian is
appointed is called a ward.
What are the duties of a guardian?
A guardian has powers and responsibilities
similar to those of a parent. The guardian may make personal decisions for the
ward, such as living arrangements, education, social activities, and
authorization to withhold medical treatment. The guardian must make sure the
ward is living in a safe environment.
A guardian must submit an annual report to
the court which includes information on the health and living conditions of the
ward.
Who
may serve as a guardian?
·
Individual
Private
fiduciary - a person or an entity that holds a license to act as a guardian for
someone and is paid to do so.
·
Public
fiduciary – appointed by the court. Generally does not act as a guardian for a
minor.
The law provides a list of priorities for
appointment, although the court may appoint someone with a lower priority if
such appointment is in the best interests of the ward. Before being appointed
as guardian, the individual must provide background information and other
information to the court.
A guardianship should be considered
a last resort and should never be used unless it is the only option. If you
know of someone that may be having difficulty in making his or her routine
daily decisions, please contact one of our experienced estate planning
attorneys to learn if a guardianship is needed or if there are less restrictive
options available.
Visit us at: www.morristrust.com
Thursday, April 10, 2014
POWER OF ATTORNEY ~ Seniors and the Law
SENIORS AND THE LAW is authored by the attorneys at
Jackson White Attorneys at Law and addresses legal issues that arise for the
elderly and their families. Questions
can be sent to firm@jacksonwhitelaw.com.
Q: Years
ago, my father added me to what I believed were all of his financial
accounts. The rationale here was that he
wanted me to manage his funds in the event that he became unable to do so
personally. He has since digressed into
severe dementia and most of his funds have been depleted. I recently discovered that he has an IRA account
on which I am not named. Dad does not
understand how to close this account and access the funds – is there any way
for me to do this for him?
My
first question to you would be whether or not your father executed a financial
power of attorney while he was able. It
sounds like he wanted you to handle his affairs, as evidenced by him adding you
to his other accounts, but unless he executed a power of attorney memorializing
as much, you cannot access his IRA on his behalf. Sadly, this would be true even if the IRA held
his last sum of money and he was in desperate need of those funds for
sustenance.
If
your father does not have a financial power of attorney, and he did not
designate you as his agent under a power of attorney of the institution that
holds his IRA account, you would need to petition the court for conservatorship
in order to access those funds. In a
case like this, I would suggest seeking a limited conservatorship, just to
handle the single transaction of closing the IRA. Limited conservatorships are simpler in
nature because they do not have the same accounting requirements as full
conservatorships. In short, if your
father did not execute a power of attorney, and if this is the only transaction
you need to handle, a limited conservatorship could be a very suitable remedy
to your dilemma.
Richard White is
an elder law attorney at JacksonWhite Attorneys at Law. For more information on Elder Law at
JacksonWhite, please visit www.ArizonaSeniorLaw.com
This article is
provided for informational purposes only and is not intended to replace
individual legal advice.
For more
information about Jackson White Elder Law or to download any of their free resources, feel free to visit:
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