As the end of the year approaches, we’ll begin to see some predictable estate planning changes. Some will be driven by tax planning considerations. But many seem to us to be motivated by holiday season and client’s recent experiences. We’ll find ourselves pretty busy for the last months of the year ..read more

Every October for over two decades (well, every October except one) Fleming & Curti, PLC lawyers have travelled to Florida for the annual Special Needs Trust program hosted by Stetson University College of Law. In fact, Robert Fleming has spoken at every one of those annual meetings — including the 2020 meeting that was held virtually. This week we’re off to Stetson again. Two of our lawyers are speaking at the four-day-long program. We explain (and brag just a little) in this week’s podcast about the annual Stetson Special Needs Trust Program ..read more

When clients come to us seeking guardianship over a family member, we almost always spend considerable effort trying to come up with alternatives. Guardianship can be expensive, time-consuming, and even debilitating to the subject of the proceedings. Can we help develop a plan to avoid it? Of course, sometimes guardianship is required. Even then, though, there may be some limitations that might help. We think it’s our job to try to minimize the cost and impact in most cases ..read more

How common are will contests? And how often do they succeed? If you’re concerned about the possibility of someone contesting your will, we have some good news for you. It’s not very likely, and it’s especially not very likely to be successful. Join us for more discussion ..read more

We frequently get calls that begin with “I need a power of attorney for my mom”. Sometimes, of course, the caller is asking about their dad, or child, or other relative. Sometimes it’s even about a neighbor or friend. In this podcast episode, we talk about the legal conundrum: if your mom can’t make decisions for herself any longer, then she probably can’t sign a power of attorney, either. And if she can sign a power of attorney, then she would be our client ..read more

Making decisions for someone else at the end of their life can be excruciating. Now imagine that someone is making those decisions for you. Wouldn’t you like to make it easier for them? And how do you make the decisions if you’re acting for someone else? Are there things you are permitted to consider? Maybe even required to consider ..read more

Emergency guardianship and conservatorship proceedings can often be completed in a week or less, at least in Arizona. That sounds a lot more attractive than the non-emergency option. Uncontested proceedings often take six to eight weeks to complete. Most people who seek a guardianship or conservatorship think that their situation is an emergency. But an emergency guardianship and conservatorship proceeding means something else again to the judge. And because the judge is slow to see an emergency, lawyers practicing in the field often find themselves explaining to clients that they will have to ..read more

Last month Stetson University College of Law hosted its 25th annual Special Needs seminar in Florida. Fleming & Curti, PLC, partner Elizabeth Noble Rollings Friman spoke to the national audience — twice. In this week’s podcast we talk about the program, Elizabeth’s presentations, and the significance of special needs planning in our practice ..read more

Why do we ask so many nosy questions in our initial interview with clients? Why do we care about how your children are doing, or how they get along? It’s all in furtherance of figuring out your family dynamics and making sure we consider the best way to accomplish your goals ..read more

We’ve said it before: probate (at least in Arizona) is not the awful beast that most people think it is. That’s not to say you should be eager to have your estate go through probate — but it’s not nearly as bad as you have been led to believe. Let us explain how modern probate works in Arizona, and how it compares to the cost and time involved in probate-avoidance techniques ..read more