Episodes

Assessing Testamentary Capacity. Making sure a client has capacity before signing any documents is an important aspect of being an attorney. Doctor’s notes and family testimony can only paint some of the picture. Additionally, capacity is not either “you have it or you don’t”. Capacity can change with age, experiences and even just time of day. In this podcast, we discuss how we look at capacity in our practice. We hope this gives a clear picture of why we do not include family in meetings wit...

What if I Don’t Have POAs? POA, in this case, stands for power of attorney. These documents determine who will be making financial or health care decisions for you when you are unable. If you choose not to create these documents, it can cause confusion and possible court proceedings. In Arizona, a guardian may need to be appointed by the court to handle medical and care decisions for you, and a conservator may be needed to manage your finances. Both put decision making into the court’s hands ins...

College bound estate planning is not something many people consider as their child goes off to university. Once someone turns eighteen, most parents will no longer be their legal guardian. This may lead to a loss of access to information about their child. Hospitals, universities, banks and other institutions will likely not divulge any information about the adult child that is protected. In this podcast we discuss options that parents have for staying in the loop on their children’s health and...

Naming a Fiduciary Who Will Just Hire the Firm. Many clients want to name their children, friends or other family members in fiduciary roles in their estate planning documents. Some may also have the expectation that these individuals will simply request the law firm that drafted their documents to assist them. In this podcast, we discuss why this is not always the case. Sometimes the firm that drafted your documents will not be able to represent your family member, and even if they do… this do...

Clients often become wary of updating their estate plans after they receive a dementia diagnosis. Fortunately, a diagnosis is not necessarily the cut off for capacity. In this podcast we discuss the level of capacity required to complete estate planning documents. We also discuss some of our experiences with clients who have cognitive impairment diagnoses of various persuasions. Many of them were still able to articulate their wishes and update their documents. A dementia diagnosis does not hav...

Why Won’t My Family Share Trust Information? This may be one of the most common questions we receive as an elder law firm. It may be that you are not entitled to the information… or that the trustee is deliberately hiding information you are entitled to receive. Without a copy of the trust, it is impossible to say. Unfortunately, there is no repository of trusts created for law firms such as ours to draw from. Even if you do have a copy, there is not even a guarantee it is the most recent versi...

AI in The Practice of Law AI is becoming a greater part of everyday life and that includes the legal profession. In this podcast we discuss the applications and pitfalls of AI in the legal space. We touch on hallucinations, confidentiality concerns and human review. Time savings, research and analysis benefits are also points of discussion we will mention. Our experience includes the use of the Clio case management software and its AI systems (especially Vincent), as well as other larger langua...

Gray Divorce is a concept where older couples divorce late in life. This can be done for personal reasons; however, many wish to use divorce as a tool to get an unwell spouse onto public benefits. While this can work under certain circumstances, we discuss why in most this is unadvisable. Divorce can also have unintended consequences. Such as, the capable now ex-spouse having no authority over medical decisions or the estate of the unwell spouse. The wealth distribution also needs to be conside...

Family Real Estate Assistance It is somewhat common for family members to want to assist their loved ones with real estate purchases. Whether this is help with a down payment, outright gifting of a property, or some kind of loan. For estate and tax purposes; however, it is important to be clear about the type of help you are giving. Family real estate assistance can be an amazing gift if done right but good documentation is needed for this. We discuss potential mistakes and consequences for not...

Today we are taking a look at the Hermitage No-Kill Cat Shelter & Sanctuary. Cats have a special place in many of our hearts. Several of our staff own cats and one of our attorneys, Jordan S. Young, even volunteers for the Hermitage. We discuss the Hermitage in this podcast because many of our clients discuss ways they would like to provide for the care of their pets after they pass. The Hermitage has a program specifically for this, so we believe taking a look at the Hermitage may give you some...

AI and Deeds We have had many clients over the past couple of years wonder if Artificial Intelligence could create deeds and other documents for them. While AI can create documents, we do not often recommend using it for this purpose. AI lacks nuance and expertise. It can also make errors that are easy to overlook. In this podcast we discuss artificial intelligence’s role in creating deeds. We also touch on a human attorney’s role in the preparation of a deed and the positives they bring to the...

Today we thought we would provide an example of how charitable giving works. We are joined by Alyce Sadongei the executive director of Mission Garden. Mission Garden is a favorite charity of Fleming & Curti, PLC. In this podcast, Alyce Sadongei and Robert B. Fleming discuss how a charitable organization operates and how gifts are likely to be used. You may feel tempted to leave a charitable gift with a caveat that it be used in a specific way. Charities would love to respect your wishes; howeve...

Retirement accounts offer one of the most effective ways to make charitable gifts. Actually, two of the most effective ways. Charitable giving using Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) can be very tax efficient during your life, especially if you are over age 70 (70 1/2, actually, but let’s not quibble). And if you have reached your “required beginning date” for mandatory distributions, the power of lifetime gifts from your IRA is enhanced even further. IRAs and other kinds of retirement acc...

Making charitable gifts is important to a lot of our clients. It’s a great way to make an impact on your local community. And it’s important to the operation of a robust local charitable economy, especially in times of shortages. We’ve been talking a lot about making charitable gifts this month. Think of it as our own personal Charitable Giving Month. Your favorite charity might promote some of the ideas we describe, and we’d like to help you understand what they’re talking about. While we sug...

We have discussed charitable giving in past podcasts and newsletters. In today’s podcast episode we want to share about some — OK, let’s start with one — of our personal favorite local charities. Join us while we talk about the Friends of Tucson’s Birthplace and their signature project: Mission Garden. We talk with Alyce Sadongei, the Executive Director of the Friends of Tucson’s Birthplace/Mission Garden. she describes the living museum of Tucson’s agricultural heritage. Have you visited Miss...

Some clients express interest in corporate or independent trustees serving as their successors in trusts they have or want to establish. In this podcast we discuss our experiences serving as a corporate trustee. We describe some of the services we offer as well as examples of the type of work we get into. Today we are joined by friend of the firm, Bridget Swartz from Mission Management and Trust Co. Mission Management is a local corporate trust company that we deal with on a regular basis. We h...

Probates in other states can vary greatly from Arizona’s process. This means that advice you receive in Arizona may not apply in states like New York or Texas. For example: some states treat married couples’ assets as community property and others do not. Moving from state to state may also complicate this process. Certain documents may even be invalidated by moving. While we may not be licensed to practice law in other states, we have experience with out of state probates. In this podcast we d...

Trusts and Real Estate Many of us want to leave a legacy. Leaving real estate in trust for loved ones can be a tempting way to accomplish that goal. However, few grasp all of the consequences and potential issues of this choice. It is one thing to have a trustee sell real estate upon your death, and another for them to use trust funds to maintain a home for someone else. In this podcast we discuss some of the potential issues and a few benefits of trusts and real estate. Today we are joined by ...

Joint bank accounts are a useful tool for certain estate planning goals. Unfortunately, there are many pitfalls that people do not anticipate when establishing them. Establishing joint ownership of an account with a child or loved one will allow them to manage that account for you if you become incapacitated. The downside is that once you inevitably die, they will inherit the account regardless of any other documentation you prepare. This can work for or against a well-crafted estate plan. In t...

There are several misconceptions about intergenerational wealth transfer. Many families believe that sharing copies of wills or trusts will prevent misunderstandings. In reality, this can create family conflict, confusion, and estate disputes if changes occur later. In this podcast, we discuss key considerations for sharing estate planning information with children, grandchildren, and other beneficiaries. We explain why it is usually best to keep estate plan documents private. At the same time,...

This week we host our valued colleague Liz Homes. She talks about some of the problems a special needs trust beneficiary might face when moving to a new state. Beneficiaries (and families) may assume a trust created in one state works the same everywhere, but each state follows different rules and uses different terms. We discuss typical considerations when moving a special needs trust across state lines. Attorneys often need to review and update trust documents to meet the new state’s requirem...

Succession Planning for Family Businesses requires careful preparation to balance retirement needs, business value, and family dynamics. A business owner must first assess personal financial security, especially when they have reinvested profits instead of building savings. Determining the company’s true value, evaluating income potential, and understanding all tangible and intangible assets, such as equipment, intellectual property, or business goodwill, is essential before transferring ownersh...

Planning For Digital Assets This episode explains how digital assets affect modern estate planning. Digital assets include social media accounts, online banking profiles, investment platforms, cryptocurrency wallets, and other online accounts. Many of these accounts hold financial or personal value. Because people manage much of their lives online, these assets often become an important part of an estate. The discussion describes the challenges fiduciaries face when they manage digital account...

There are many myths regarding estate and trust administration. Trust administration is quick, easy and flexible. Probate is expensive, slow and a hassle. Google and AI assistants are often quick to confirm these myths. They are trained on data that frequently contains references to misconceptions about these processes. In this podcast we discuss the most pervasive myths in the estate and trust administration business. Our goal is to paint a more realistic picture of the estate and trust admin ...