Phoenix Probate Lawyer Blog

An effective estate planning strategy can be relatively simple and straightforward or involve a substantial amount of complex interplay. Circumstances are different for each individual and family.

Sometimes it takes a celebrity to draw attention to one element of estate planning that is not mentioned or put into effect as often as many others, namely, conservatorship.

When the news reports that the conservatorship over Britney Spears' person and financial affairs that went into effect in January of last year is still in effect, many people might not readily understand what that means.

For many people, preparing for their future and that of their families through sound and thoughtful estate planning geared toward asset preservation and growth has perhaps never seemed more necessary. The recession has deep claws, job losses are an ongoing concern and the housing market continues to struggle for traction. The world is an uncertain place.

In recent years, many families have sought to protect and grow their wealth by relying solely on stock market investments. Statistics from diverse sources show an almost roll-the-dice mentality of many Americans to trust all their wealth to a volatile and unguaranteed financial mechanism, in lieu of a focus that considers an appropriate mixture of planning tools and techniques tailored toward their specific circumstances.

Our previous blog discussed the growing concern nationally with financial exploitation of the elderly. Many older Americans are being targeted constantly by unscrupulous individuals and companies offering fraudulent services aimed at only one thing: emptying the pocketbooks of those being solicited. We discussed how astute estate planning measures can help to address and alleviate these concerns.

In this blog, we briefly revisit the subject and reiterate its important theme. The predatory behavior and scamming attempts of con artists online, through the mail and via personal visits needs to be highlighted and combated.

A recent congressional bill merits mention here, because it seeks to do just that. Wisconsin Representative Tammy Baldwin recently authored the "Senior Financial Empowerment Act," legislation that seeks to stop abusive mail, telemarketing and Internet fraud aimed at America's seniors.

Quite simply, estate planning services need to be as well-considered and thorough as they need to be to respond meaningfully to the unique needs of every individual and family. Cookie-cutter solutions to often intertwined and complex considerations are often not solutions at all; rather, they can be impediments to what makes the best sense and serves the estate optimally in a given case.

In some instances, protection from financial exploitation can be a key need of an elderly person. This is a growing problem for many seniors, and one that is getting worse with America's age drift toward an ever-increasing number of older people being targeted by and susceptible to scams and fraudulent services.

One estate planning tool that can be relevant and even essential for some families is a special needs trust. A special needs trust can be an ideal vehicle, for example, for both preserving a family member's eligibility to receive Supplemental Security Income ("SSI") and Medical Assistance benefits and to supplement rather than supplant those benefits.

The concept can seem a little tricky and, as is true with many estate planning components, is best explained by an experienced estate administration and probate attorney. The following information, though, can serve to illustrate the idea in basic form.

Careful and well-considered probate estate planning can comprehensively attend to a host of important matters. In fact, it can seamlessly give a person control over how his or her assets will be distributed and to who, take into account estate tax implications, provide for a guardian if that is deemed necessary, designate an estate executor or administrator over a trust and more. Most fundamentally, a well-crafted estate plan provides certainty and peace of mind.

In Arizona, probate is generally necessary to either validate and interpret a will or, absent a will, to determine the rightful heirs of a decedent. Estate administration is the process of probating the estate and, typically, taking care of things like asset valuation, debt payments, paying taxes and distributing assets.

Many people do not adequately prepare for this; some still think that estate planning entails considerations reserved for only the rich. Estate planning experts routinely confront this view, and counter that it is far from the truth.

An Arizona company has reached a settlement concerning living trusts with the Washington State Attorney General's Office after being accused of violating that state's Estate Distribution Document Act.

Kevin D. Boterman and Robert J. Feinholz, owners of the Preservation Group, were accused of marketing the trusts to Washington seniors as a simpler alternative to probate or a will for passing an inheritance. Washington law limits marketing these vehicles to licensed attorneys, and neither Boterman nor Feinholz are lawyers.

More than 60 seniors paid for the living trusts (which are trusts created and operative during a settlor's lifetime and established for the benefit of another party) and will receive refunds. The settlement also bars the Preservation Group from selling estate planning products in Washington in the future, and requires its owners to pay restitution to those seeking refunds and payment to Washington for its litigation costs.

This blog post relates to our earlier posting regarding the considerable complexity that presently surrounds the estate tax. As we mentioned in that earlier post, Congress might act - and, then again, it might choose not to do so. Estates next year could be governed by estate tax law as it existed prior to 2001 - but, then again, new law could be created by passage of one of multiple bills currently introduced in the U.S. Senate.

Given that level of complexity, we pass along a bit of advice rendered recently by Alexandra Armstrong and Deborah Jacobs, financial planners who stress the need for candid and caring conversations about estate planning needs and inheritances between younger family members and aging parents.

Certainly, not all families have this often sensitive topic firmly under control. Things can be a bit awkward, and the tax rate changes and recent uncertainty in the area only add to confusion that often exists when it comes to estate matters.