Episodes

We usually agree to joint representation of spouses in estate planning. Most married couples would be surprised to hear that there is any controversy or concern about that kind of arrangement. But joint representation is actually an ethical challenge for lawyers. We try to make sure married couples understand that there are tradeoffs in having us represent both spouses. This is true for any lawyer, incidentally. Your lawyer owes you a duty of disclosure AND a duty of confidentiality. That usual...

Are there alternatives available to creation or management of small trusts? Of course there are. We talk about several of the most common alternatives in this week’s podcast episode. In the appropriate circumstances (and after good legal advice) an Arizona trustee might be able to simply terminate the trust and distribute the balance to the appropriate beneficiary or beneficiaries. Sometimes it might be advisable to look into a Uniform Transfer to Minors Act (UTMA) account. Other trustees might...

Do you have a spendthrift provision in your trust? Have you wondered how that actually works? In this week’s podcast, we discuss the mechanics of spendthrift trusts and how a trustee might interpret the limitations — and the authority.

The American Bar Association’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct govern most lawyers’ ethical duties. For elder law attorneys, particularly, one of the main principles goes by the name of one of those rules: Ethical Rule 1.14. What does Rule 1.14 say? It addresses representation when a client has diminished capacity. The lawyer must treat the client as nearly normally as possible. Elder law attorneys often see clients with dementia, mental health issues or other limiting factors. Our job is ...

Continuing Care Retirement Communities (usually referred to as CCRCs) are a relatively new idea. What if you could move into an independent living apartment with elegant appointments. In the same complex, there would be an assisted living wing and even a skilled nursing facility. That way you could simply move from one part of the complex to another as you aged and needed increasing assistance. But that does mean two things: The facility will need to be large enough to have all of the options,...

We so often hear (see, read) common myths about estate planning. Recently we wrote about the myths we encounter regarding special needs planning. Last year we busted (we hope) some of the myths about wills and trusts. For this podcast episode, we revisit common myths about wills. Talking about them gives us a chance to expand a little bit on the misunderstandings and misimpressions we encounter. It also helps us elucidate the issues for aural learners.

Great! You’ve completed your estate planning. We’ve helped you get things titled correctly and your beneficiaries established. What advice do we have for you now? No futzing. Please. We see it all the time. Clients focus on their estate planning and complete the documents. They get beneficiary designations completed. They get to take a deep breath and stop thinking about their estate planning for — well, at least for a few years, or until something changes in their lives. But instead, they li...

A recent Wall Street Journal article reminded us about beneficiary deed problems. The article pointed out a number of concerns about the growing use of beneficiary deeds as part of estate planning. Actually, beneficiary deeds are too often used instead of thoughtful estate planning. What are the beneficiary deed problems we see? In addition to the ones mentioned in the WSJ article (like loss of property insurance on death of the owner), we have seen some of these: Family disharmony can be exa...

Fleming & Curti, PLC, co-founder Tom Curti dropped by for a visit (and some carrot cake) last week. It was his birthday. Happy birthday, Tom! While he was here, we dragged Tom into our broadcast booth to talk about his retirement (he’s been fully retired for a little more than five years now). Also about his connection to the practice, his clients and his colleagues. We counsel clients on retirement issues every day. It’s an interesting change of perspective to consider one of our own retiring...

What happens on the death of a fiduciary? That is, who takes over as trustee, conservator, agent on a power of attorney or other fiduciary? And what do they have to do to assume their new role? Death of a fiduciary is not often anticipated. It’s hard to think that you might outlive the person you name to take over on your own incapacity or death. But you might be surprised at how often we see the problem arise. The problems are at least two-fold. How do we know who is next in line, and what st...

Last year the Arizona legislature adopted a new law based on a national model. The Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act looks a little bit like a simplified probate proceeding, though it has a slightly different focus. The problem: sometimes, and especially after the death of a property owner if no one initiates a probate proceeding, the interests of descendants can be complicated and difficult to determine. A grandchild, for example, might own a 1/32 interest in the property. And her cousin...

At Fleming & Curti, PLC, we are sometimes named as a future fiduciary. That is, you might have named us as successor trustee, to take over on your death (or disability). Or perhaps you’ve named us as agents on your power of attorney. When we are scheduled to be a future fiduciary, what role do we take in the meantime? We do want to keep in contact. We want to know if we need to step in. Or perhaps the time for our involvement is growing near, and we want to keep tabs on how you’re doing. Someti...

Pope Francis died earlier this month. You almost certainly knew that. But what you might not have heard or read about is that even the Pope left a will. The will Pope Francis signed two years ago, though, was unusual. It didn’t address anything about his property, or who would receive anything. It didn’t even indicate whether the Pope had any property to leave to anyone, or whether he had made other arrangements for property disposition. The Pope’s will explicitly identifies itself as his last...

Advance directives and DNR orders confuse laypeople. Especially in Arizona, where the existence of a special kind of advance directive adds to the confusion. We’ve written (and talked) about the Pre-Hospital Medical Care Directive before. It’s an Arizona-specific form. Most people refer to it as “the orange form.” And quite a few of them call it a DNR Order. It’s not really a DNR, though it might get to the same result. It’s actually more like the POLST paradigm, a concept familiar to people w...

The Social Security Fairness Act of 2023 was, confusingly, signed into law on January 5, 2025. More confusion: what the Act did was to eliminate Social Security’s Windfall Elimination Provision. Wait — it eliminated an elimination? Yes, that’s right. At the same time, the new law also eliminated the Government Pension Offset. The WEP and GPO, together, had reduced Social Security payments for people who had paid into both Social Security and some other pension program. Those provisions were in...

Springing vs surviving powers of attorney: what’s the difference? Which is better? As we explain in this week’s podcast episode, there’s not really a “better” choice. Or at least, there’s not a choice that’s better for everyone. The “springing vs surviving” debate is about whether you wish your financial power of attorney to be immediately effective (“surviving”) or want it to only become effective if/when you become incapacitated (“springing”). You need to be comfortable with your choice. As...

We often find ourselves advising non-citizens about the problems that might arise if they face deportation. The level of concern is particularly high right now, of course. But many of our neighbors have been living in fear and uncertainty for years or even decades. Many non-citizens have legal status, but worry that their status might be disrupted without much (or any) notice. Others have lived with the constant threat of removal and do not have — and may not be able to qualify for — citizenshi...

Kathy Kreuzer has been a primal force at Fleming & Curti, PLC, for 28 years. Last month she retired. It’s a sign of both the longevity and the flexibility of Fleming & Curti’s staff. Kathy, our principal legal assistant for decades, was the longest-term employee in our law office. Well, not counting co-founder Robert Fleming. But even Robert only had a couple years on her. The firm started in 1994, and Kathy started working for us in 1997. Her prior legal experience had included similar work f...

You might have questions about choosing a fiduciary. We encourage you to think about your choices. Maybe even discuss the idea(s) with family members and others. Wait. What are we talking about? That is, what is a fiduciary, and do I need one? “Fiduciary” encompasses the personal representative of your estate (we used to call them “executors”). The term also covers the agents you name in your powers of attorney (financial and health care). If you’ve established a trust, the successor trustees ...

Ambiguity can be a strategic choice. Perhaps a speaker wants to leave a vague impression, offending no one. Maybe a writer hopes the reader will fill in intentional blanks. In a will or trust, though, ambiguity is almost always a problem. When a provision can be read two (or more) different ways, disappointment and disagreement often follows. In drafting estate planning documents, lawyers try hard to avoid any ambiguity. That’s a large part of the reason “legalese” sounds the way it does. But ...

We occasionally talk with clients (and others) about choosing to decline or disclaim. Why would someone choose to decline or disclaim, and what’s the difference? Those (related) questions often confuse people. In this week’s podcast episode, we try to explain why you might decline (to serve) or disclaim (an interest), and what the two words mean to lawyers.

If you are acting as personal representative of an estate, or as trustee, you might want to know how you can facilitate dispute resolution. Good news: Arizona law gives you a couple of good dispute resolution tools. Let us explain what they are and how they might help you to wrap up the trust or estate you’re administering.

If you have any interest in out-of-state real estate, it can significantly complicate your estate planning process. Why? Because one primary motivation in estate planning is to avoid probate. And real estate in two (or more) different states makes it more likely that multiple probate proceedings could be required. So how do we deal with out-of-state real estate in planning for your estate? We often recommend that clients consider creating a trust. Usually (but not in every circumstance) that me...

Furniture and accessories matter in a law office like ours. Of course we want to have attractive and functional fixtures. But we also recognize that our client base includes people with various kinds of limitations. We also know that we need to accommodate family members, caregivers and equipment that might come into our waiting room. Making the furniture and accessories work well in our environment is a constant process. We’re now in the process of making our third change of chairs, for exampl...