After I pass away, will there be a formal reading of my will? In Arizona, the answer is no, there will not be a formal reading of your will. In most cases, a will is admitted to probate through what’s called an informal probate proceeding. The will is submitted to the clerk of the court […]
Posts Tagged ‘estate planning’
ESTATE PLANNING LAW REPORT: January 2020 Do I Have To Pay Tax On My Inheritance?
I 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 […]
ESTATE PLANNING LAW REPORT: November 2019 Electronic Wills Are Here, But Are Not Quite Ready For Prime Time
You may have heard about a new law that says electronic wills are now valid in Arizona. I’m not against the concept, but I am reluctant to bring it up now because the new law contains specific rules about the steps that have to be taken to make an electronic will valid, and those steps are […]
ESTATE PLANNING LAW REPORT: October 2019 I Can Give You Lots Of Good Reasons To Get Your Estate Planned
A business looking to get referrals for estate-related services recently sent me a copy of its newsletter. It is one of those reverse “10 best reasons” lists. This one just happens to address a subject I know something about. Its title is: “The 10 Best Reasons NOT To Do Your Estate Plan.” Naturally, I agree […]
ESTATE PLANNING LAW REPORT: May, 2018A Primer On How To Make A Will, Including A Holographic Will
Arizona 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 if the signature and the material provisions are in the handwriting of the person making the will (that’s the “testator”). A will that is handwritten […]
ESTATE PLANNING LAW REPORT: October 2016 What Not To Do, And What To Do, When Deciding How To Handle The Contents Of The Family Homestead
I 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 […]
ESTATE PLANNING LAW REPORT: A Trust For Your Pets? Yes, It is Possible Now In All 50 States and DC
With 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 […]
ESTATE PLANNING LAW REPORT: Adding Your Child To Your House, Car or Bank Account As Joint Owner Is Both Unnecesary And Dangerous
For as long as I have been advising clients on estate planning and estate administration, I have seen elderly people who have made one or more of their children a joint owner on their house, their car, their bank account, or all three. The reason for doing it is almost always that the parent wants […]
Estate Planning Law Report: August 2015
Designating A Beneficiary On the Title and Other Ways to Plan for Gifts of Your Vehicle and Other Things
Several years ago, legislation was adopted in Arizona to create the Beneficiary Designation For Vehicle Title Transfer Upon Death. It’s Arizona Department of Transportation, Motor Vehicle Division Form 96-0561, and is available on the Motor Vehicle Division’s web site (www.azdot.gov/mvd). As its name implies, the form allows you to designate one or more individuals to receive […]
Estate Planning Law Report: MAY 2015
A Sensitive, But Important, Subject
I have in the past touched on the subject of burial instructions, but probably not in as much detail as I should have. Maybe that’s because it’s a sensitive subject. There isn’t as much law on the subject as you might expect. There is an Arizona statute that says a legally competent adult may prepare […]
TAX LAW SPECIAL REPORT Is A Gift Taxable Income?
December seemed like a good time to talk about gifts, for some reason. It’s a popular subject all the time, but particularly this time of year. A misconception that I encounter frequently is the notion that when assets are distributed from an estate, the recipient has to pay tax on the distribution. Although the rationale […]
Estate Planning Law Report: October 2014
What Do I Need To Know And Do To Prepare For Planning My Estate
Last month I discussed why the details are important in planning your estate, and why any suggestion to the contrary is, in my opinion, just wrong. This month, I’m going to give you some suggestions on how to get ready for a meeting with your lawyer to prepare your estate plan, or if you already […]
Estate Planning Law Report: September 2014
Estate Planning For Dummies?
You know about the “…For Dummies” series of books, right? Is there an “Estate Planning For Dummies” book? If there is, it would be impossible for it to go into a lot of detail. That’s where the tricky parts are, in the details. Getting the details right is important when it comes to something like […]
Estate Planning Law Report: May 2014
Writing Down Your Last Instructions is No Fun, But It Can Avoid a Bad Scene
I’m a little wary of getting into this topic, but it is a situation that comes up with enough frequency that it’s worth discussing. I’ll try to discuss it in a sensitive fashion. What happens when there is a disagreement among family members about how to handle the remains of a deceased person? The question […]