August 26, 2017
by Nathan HannahIn a case decision that will no doubt be of interest to my friends and clients in the cattle industry, the Arizona Supreme Court has just ruled that the Department of Agriculture can’t record a livestock brand that is identical to a previously recorded brand, even if the new brand is to be placed in […]
» Read moreJuly 29, 2017
by Nathan HannahI have addressed in previous reports the tax consequences of gifts and inheritances, but the subject is worth revisiting because I get asked about it frequently. There is a common misconception that inheritances are automatically taxable. Although the reasoning behind that misconception is usually not clearly articulated or is unexpressed, I think it originates with […]
» Read moreJune 27, 2017
by Nathan HannahThere has been some publicity recently about a piece of Arizona legislation concerning end of life care. The legislation says that a health care provider can’t be discriminated against (fired, demoted, have their wages cut, etc.) because the provider “does not provide [services] for the purpose of causing or assisting in causing the death of […]
» Read moreMay 18, 2017
by Nathan HannahOn at least a couple of occasions in the past I have written about the Arizona statute that requires sellers of unsubdivided land in unincorporated areas to provide an affidavit of disclosure. A commenter recently pointed out an area of uncertainty that I believe I identified in some of my earlier writings on this subject. […]
» Read moreApril 27, 2017
by Nathan HannahWhen I wrote a newsletter with that headline nearly ten years ago, foreclosures were probably not yet part of the general public consciousness. Things have sure changed since then. Even though many more people are at least aware of the subject now than was the case ten years ago, however, I’ll bet that most don’t […]
» Read moreMarch 27, 2017
by Nathan HannahI know I have written at various times in the past about re-titling your assets after you have established a trust, but I still get more questions about it than just about any other topic. So, it’s time for quick review. When you establish a trust, the purpose is usually to facilitate the management, and […]
» Read moreFebruary 27, 2017
by Nathan HannahSometimes I’m asked this question by someone I’m helping with estate planning: What is my legal name? The question is usually asked by someone who has, for generally non-legal reasons, used different names at different times in his or her life. Sometimes the question is asked because discrepancies have, perhaps accidentally, occurred in the way […]
» Read moreJanuary 28, 2017
by Nathan HannahThe IRS announced in its first news release of the year that it will begin accepting 2016 individual income tax returns via electronic filing, and will start processing paper returns, on January 23, 2017. The same announcement says that the deadline for filing 2016 returns is April 18, 2017. Yes, the filing deadline is April […]
» Read moreDecember 21, 2016
by Nathan HannahI am frequently asked about including life insurance in a revocable living trust. Usually the question is something like this: should my revocable living trust own my life insurance? The answer to that one is generally, no, there’s no need for your revocable living trust to “own” your life insurance. There are other types of […]
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December 8, 2016
by Nathan HannahI have written about funeral and burial instructions on a few occasions in the past, but rarely have I discussed the subject in much detail. Maybe I have been reluctant to get into it in detail because of the sensitivity of subject. It is important, however, so here goes. There isn’t as much law about […]
» Read moreNovember 1, 2016
by Nathan HannahI have heard lots of stories over the years about how families have handled removing the contents of the family homestead when the time came to sell it, after the family members who lived there passed away. A blogger whose posts I read occasionally, who uses the screen name Coyote, recently put up a short […]
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September 20, 2016
by Nathan HannahWhy is it so important to preserve an original will? The answer to that question is right in the Arizona probate code: If an original will that was last seen in the possession of the testator cannot be found after the testator’s death, the testator is presumed to have destroyed the will with the intention […]
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August 22, 2016
by Nathan HannahLast year in this space I asked the question: should the income earned on savings be exempt from income tax regardless of the purpose of the savings? Under the federal tax code, there are three common types of savings accounts in which the earnings are given at least some exemption from income tax: retirement accounts […]
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July 20, 2016
by Nathan HannahA story that appeared in The Arizona Republic on June 30 caught my eye. The story is about an all-too-prevalent scam: elderly people receive a phone call from someone claiming to be their grandchild, or claiming to be calling about their grandchild. The caller says that the grandchild is in trouble in some faraway place […]
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June 29, 2016
by Nathan HannahWith Minnesota’s recent enactment of legislation permitting pet trusts, pet trusts are now recognized by law in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The idea isn’t new in Arizona, however. In Arizona we have two separate statutes that deal with pet trusts, one of which is part of the probate code and has […]
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May 23, 2016
by Nathan HannahArizona law requires that a will be in writing, signed by the testator and by two witnesses. A will that does not comply with those requirements can nevertheless be valid, however, if the signature and the material provisions are in the handwriting of the person making the will (that’s the “testator”). Such a will is […]
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