Wills & Trusts
Protecting Beneficiaries with a Third Party Trust
We are seeing more and more that our nation is struggling with mental illness with the acknowledgment of maternal mental health issues and climbing suicide rates for all ages. In 2020, “more than 87,000 Americans died of drug overdoses over the 12-month period that ended in September, according to preliminary federal data, eclipsing the toll…
READ MORE →Why Advance Directives are Essential: NHDD
Next week (Tuesday the 16th) is National Healthcare Decisions Day (NHDD). Why is such a day necessary or even important you might be thinking? According to a 2003 article by the US Agency for Healthcare Research and Study: Less than 50 percent of the severely or terminally ill patients studied had an advance directive in their medical…
READ MORE →Don’t Leave Your Health & Welfare Decisions in “Jeopardy”
When Alex Trebek announced his cancer diagnosis, my first thought was that I hoped he had taken care of his legacy planning so he could concentrate on beating his disease and spending quality time with his family.
READ MORE →Estate Documents in the Cloud
So, if you visited me and created one or more of the following documents, I have some good news. The state of Arizona helps you store these documents safely and at no charge. Save These Arizona Advance Directives Online AND for Free: Medical/Health Care Power of Attorney Mental Health Care Power of Attorney Living Will…
READ MORE →The Law of Unintended Consequences
Just before the holidays we shared a post about Muhammad Ali’s son from online source Meaww.com. The report claimed he “is ‘penniless’ and ‘has no plans for Christmas’ except looking for odd jobs.” The article went on to explain that the late heavyweight champion’s son had expected to inherit $5 million after the boxing legend…
READ MORE →New Year’s Resolution: Update your Estate Plan
Happy New Year! We are just a week in and many of us have started our New Year’s Resolutions. Number One on the list seems to be to get healthier and number two seems to be more organized. May I add a third? If you’ve invested in an estate plan for your family, this is…
READ MORE →Blended Families Require Different Estate Planning Tactics
With Thanksgiving this week, I thought we’d post our blog early. This also seemed like a good time to discuss family, especially blended families which are becoming more and more common these days. According to the American Psychological Association, 40-50 percent of married couples in the United States divorce. The divorce rate for subsequent marriages…
READ MORE →Don’t Forget Your Pets: Pet Trusts Provide for Furry Family
A pet trust is a legal arrangement that provides for the care and maintenance of pets in the event of their owner’s death or incapacity.
READ MORE →Privacy Matters: Wills Vs. Living Trusts
Wills Vs. Living Trusts. The terms are used interchangeably but are they really the same thing? The quick answer is definitely not. One affords more privacy in the long run than the other. Most of us are not celebrities, but we may for one reason or another want to keep our private matters private, even…
READ MORE →Estate Plan: Party of One
Estate Plan: Party of One We often hear how hard it is for clients to choose from various family members to execute an estate plan, but what if you are single and without children (at least nearby)? “About 35.4 million Americans lived alone in 2016, comprising 28.1 percent of all U.S. households, according to the…
READ MORE →Summertime: Read This Before You Go On Vacation or Off to College
This Memorial Day, one of my clients was acknowledging a loss of her own (in addition to the loss of many brave men and women who fight for our country). It marked the 20th anniversary of the loss of her brother while away on vacation on the Colorado River in Laughlin, Nev. Despite the years,…
READ MORE →Three Documents Your 18-Year-Old Needs, 2021 Edition
Here in Arizona, as kids turn 18, they are considered adults and parents don’t have the same legal authority to make choices for them any longer. If your 18 year old is temporarily or permanently unable to make choices (due to an illness or injury), no one would be able to intervene in medical or…
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