"WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW" TOPICAL Q&A ARTICLES

BRIEF AND TO THE POINT.

ESTATE PLANNING

• Estate Planning (in general)
• Health Care Power of Attorney
• Financial Power of Attorney
• Living Will
• Revocable Living Trust
• Beneficiary Deed
• Trust Funding
• Ways to Title a Bank Account in Arizona
• Ways to Title a Car, RV, or Mobile Home in Arizona
• Naming Minor Children as Beneficiaries in an Estate Plan
• Naming Adult Children as Beneficiaries in an Estate Plan
• Asset Protection Planning
• Asset Protection Exemptions
• Protecting a Home from Creditors
• Estate Taxes
• Credit Shelter Trust
• Inheritance Protection Trust
• Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust
• IRA Protection Trusts
• Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT)
• Sales to Intentionally Defective Grantor Trust (IDGT)
• Qualified Personal Residence Trust (QPRT)
• Grantor Retained Annuity Trust (GRAT)
• Lifetime QTIP Trust
• Pet Trust
  
• Trust Protector
• Buy-Sell Agreements
• Effect of Divorce on an Estate Plan
• Designating Beneficiaries of ASRS Benefits

ESTATE ADMINISTRATION

• Probate in Arizona
• Small Estate Affidavits in Arizona
• Final Arrangements and Organ Donation
• Trust Beneficiary Notices and Trustee Reports
• Annuities after the Owner's Death
• IRA Distributions after the Owner's Death
• Debts of a Deceased Person in Arizona
• Transferring Arizona Real Estate of a Deceased Nonresident
• Tax Filings for an Estate in Arizona
• Duties of a Trustee (in 200 Words or Less)

OTHER ARTICLES OF INTEREST

A Closer Look at IRA Protection Trusts

By: Thomas J. Bouman

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This popular 14 page article takes an in-depth look at the IRA Protection Trust, a sophisticated estate planning technique intended to coordinate the administration and distribution of IRA assets after death.  I originally wrote this article in 2006 and have updated it regularly ever since.




Five Alternatives to Leaving Inheritance Outright

By: Thomas J. Bouman

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Any simple will can leave inheritance outright to a beneficiary.  But is it really the best option?  Probably not.  What if you have a favorite charity or cause that you want to support, or your beneficiary is under age 18 or mentally-disabled or physically-disabled or a spendthrift or irresponsible or likely to get divorced or dealing with creditor and bankruptcy issues, or in a high risk profession for getting sued, or very wealthy, or married to someone you don't trust, or receiving needs-based government benefits, or unable or unwilling to take over management of whatever property or business you currently own, or you just think it would be unwise to leave a windfall to someone in one lump sum.  These are some of the reasons to consider an alternative to leaving inheritance outright to a beneficiary. 

Memorandum to Banks and Credit Unions Regarding Re-Titling of Personal Cash Accounts into Living Trust

By: Thomas J. Bouman

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The purpose of this memorandum is to provide guidance to banking professionals when a client of my law firm requests a bank or credit union to re-title personal cash accounts into a revocable living trust for estate planning purposes. 



Memorandum to Banks and Credit Unions Regarding Adding Agent to Account using Power of Attorney

By: Thomas J. Bouman

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The purpose of this memorandum is to provide guidance to banking professionals when a client of my law firm requests a bank or credit union to add an agent under power of attorney to a personal account.  This is often used when a client needs to remove a child as joint owner and then add the child as agent instead. 



Asset Protection Planning for Arizona Residents

By: Thomas J. Bouman

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This article explains the use of LLCs to protect small business interests and investment real estate, and the use of Arizona-based hybrid asset protection trusts to protect personal homes and other personal investments.