A Living Will is different from a normal Will. A Will is a common estate planning document that controls the distribution of a person’s property after he or she dies. It is not effective until death. A living will, however, is effective during a person’s lifetime and serves a wholly different purpose. Also known as an “advance directive” a living will allows a person, in advance, to give written instructions for medical treatment should he or she become terminally ill…
Much has been written by estate planning attorneys as to how to avoid probate. It is true that drafting of estate planning documents with a goal of probate avoidance is of great value to families. But sometimes a probate is needed or can be useful. Here are a few of the benefits of the probate procedure: The most important benefit is that a probate provides a court supervised procedure. This encourages a timely and more formal administration of the estate.…
A divorce decree that involves minor children must address legal decision-making for those minor children. Arizona defines legal decision-making as: “the legal right and responsibility to make all nonemergency legal decisions for a child including those regarding education, health care, religious training and personal care decisions.” See A.R.S. § 25-401(3) Joint legal decision-making is a common parental authority agreement. A.R.S. § 25-401(2) defines joint legal decision-making as: “both parents share decision-making and neither parent’s rights or responsibilities are superior except…
A life estate is an interest in real property that terminates upon the death of a specified person, usually the owner of the life estate. There are some terms that are unique to life estates. The owner of a life estate is often called a “life tenant.” The life tenant has the right to reside in the home for life or for so long as he or she may choose. Upon the termination of the life estate the persons who…
Estate planning documents are designed to help and provide for families at a critical time, usually upon the death or incapacity of a family member. The typical estate plan focuses on financial needs. But religious needs and the communication of religious values are also important to many of us. Your estate planning documents can be an effective means to communicate your religious and cultural values to those close to you. This can be done in any number of ways. A…
Military members typically receive many benefits for their service to our country. These benefits may be counted as income when calculating child support in Arizona. For instance, a military member may receive money for a housing allowance or the military member may receive free housing rather than a housing allowance.
In the Arizona Court of Appeals case of Patterson v. Patterson, the Court ruled that the value of military-provided on-base housing might be included in a parent’s income for child support calculations, based on the court’s determination as to whether the value of that benefit is significant and reduces the parent’s living expenses.
The court’s opinion relied on the language in the Arizona Child Support Guidelines which states that “income from any source” is includable as gross income. These guidelines also require the cash value of “other non-cash benefits” be counted as gross income if they are significant and reduce personal living expenses.
Cracks in your foundation, a leaking roof, water damaged walls, among other issues can all indicate the presence of serious defects in a home’s construction. Fortunately, the law holds builders and contractors accountable to their customers, and in many cases, requires them to repair or pay for repairs to the home. Homeowners affected by construction defects have a number of options at their disposal. First, they can seek help from the Arizona Registrar of Contractors. The Registrar may require the…
A Court in Arizona has just granted you spousal maintenance and child support in your divorce case. How can you ensure that your children will continue to be provided for in the event that your spouse dies before those obligations are fulfilled? One option is to require your spouse to obtain or maintain a term life insurance policy in an amount sufficient to fully cover the total financial obligation in the event of a death. In Arizona, an ex-spouse is…
Collection of Child Support is often difficult, but government, State and Federal, wants payment to be made and has provided a large amount of help. If a parent does not pay child support, he or she is subject to enforcement measures to collect regular and past-due payments.
Prior to 2006, there was a three year statute of limitations for collecting on a judgment for child support arrears. The statute of limitations for collection of child support was eliminated in 2006. The following are some of the enforcement measures for collecting past due child support.
As grandparents, parents or other family members grow older, they often get to a place where they need the assistance of others to make decisions regarding their persons or their property. At those times, when prior planning has not been accomplished or is not sufficient, Court intervention may be necessary in the form of a guardianship and/or conservatorship. A guardian is a person appointed by the Court to make decisions for a Ward concerning personal care issues such as healthcare…
Reasonable Fees
