Sometimes people want to leave their husband or wife completely out of their estate plan. But can you disinherit your spouse? Last week we talked about disinheriting family members generally. Not that we're in favor of it -- in fact, few of our clients want to completely disinherit children or other close family members. But there is a lot of mythology about the topic. Do you have to leave $1 to anyone you want to disinherit? (Spoiler alert: no -- in fact, it's a bad idea.) Do you need to mention cousins, aunts, uncles and other more distant relatives? (Spoiler alert: generally, no -- unless they are your closest relatives.) But what about disinheriting your spouse? Can you arrange to leave nothing to your husband or wife? The law varies widely from state to state. In Arizona, as we discuss, it might be easier to substantially disinherit your spouse than it is in many other states. But that's really a product of Arizona being a community property state, and the assumptions written into Arizona law as a result.

Can you disinherit a family member? Do you have to leave something to children, spouses and other close relatives? Last week, in our Elder Law Issues newsletter, we wrote about disinheriting a child. Particularly, we addressed the increasingly common request we see from clients: what if I don't approve of my child's politics, or lifestyle? But there's also a broader question to address, which we tackle in this podcast episode. CAN you disinherit a family member? Don't you have to leave something (a dollar? a particular token item? a minimum amount?) to children and other close family members? There is plenty of mythology around disinheritance issues. You can easily find evidence online that disinheritance is disfavored, or even prohibited in some circumstances. Under Arizona law, it's usually pretty easy. Is it advisable? That's a different conversation. But do the same rules apply to disinheritance of a spouse? No -- but that's a podcast for a later date. Like next week.

If you are trustee of an Arizona trust, you must provide information to "qualified beneficiaries" of the trust. But who are those people? If you join us for this week's podcast episode, we'll help you understand the legal phrase, its meaning and effect. We hope that helps you figure out how to discharge your legal responsibilities. Perhaps you are a trust beneficiary. We can help you figure out what information you are titled to receive. This week's podcast episode is for you, too. Arizona law is based on the Uniform Trust Code, so our Arizona information about qualified beneficiaries might be useful in other jurisdictions, as well. But please remember that we do not mean to suggest that our description of the law will apply in your state -- you should talk with a local estate planning or elder law attorney.

There are trust reporting requirements for every trustee. Those requirements vary depending on the circumstances, though. Is the trust revocable or irrevocable? Who are the current beneficiaries? What happens to the trust after the death of current beneficiaries (or, perhaps, the passage of time)? As we discuss in this podcast episode, Arizona's trust reporting requirements are fairly specific. They derive from the Uniform Trust Code, which Arizona adopted in 2008. Does Arizona's version of the trust code apply to you? It's a hard question to answer in the abstract. But for people who are governed by the Arizona version of the Uniform Trust Code, our podcast discussion might help explain the applicable requirements.

You have a long pattern of making gifts -- to your children, to other family members, and to charities. Do you want to continue to make those gifts after incapacity? You need to make your intentions clear now, while you are still able to express those wishes. Perhaps you are managing someone else's affairs. Maybe you are acting as trustee, court-appointed conservator, or agent under a power of attorney. Can you make (or continue) gifts from their assets despite their current limitations? The rules are murky, and they depend on your state law and the documents appointing you as fiduciary. Generally speaking, you need to be very cautious about making even small gifts after incapacity of the principal. There are plenty of people eager to challenge your authority. In this podcast episode, we review some of the principles and make some suggestions. One key suggestion: if you want gifts to continue after your own incapacity, you need to make that clear and leave good instructions.

We're already in December! That means (among other things) that it's time to consider your end-of-year gifts. You already know that you are limited to making gifts of $15,000, right? Wrong! There is no such limit, as we explain in this week's podcast episode. The "limit" is just on gifts that escape any reporting requirement at all. If you make a gift over the $15,000 figure, you do have to file a gift tax return -- but that doesn't mean you have to pay any tax. Nor does the recipient have to pay tax on what they received. Can you just pop checks in the mail for your end-of-year gifts, and be done with it? No (as we explain). This late in the year, you might want to get a bank check, just to make sure your gift has gotten out of your bank account before December 31. There are some rules about making end-of-year gifts. The good news is that it's not that hard to comply with them. At Fleming & Curti, PLC, we are big fans of making gifts. We just want to make sure you do your gift planning thoughtfully, and we hope you can get it done earlier in the year.

Addiction and mental health issues in the family -- these two problems confront many of our clients. In this week's podcast episode, we talk about some of the planning concerns facing clients with family members who are not able to manage their own care or finances. That often (but not always) means that clients create (or at least consider) third-party special needs trusts. Does every impaired family member require a special trust? Not necessarily. But possible future treatment, limitations on ability to handle finances, and our restrictive public benefits systems require consideration. Not every issue is financial, of course. Sometimes clients are more concerned about securing placement or treatment for their family member with a disability. Sometimes they are concerned about their own future care needs. We are accustomed to questions about addiction and mental health arising during our estate planning consultations.

Are you moving to Arizona? Welcome to the desert! Yes, it's warm here -- but it's a dry heat. Even if you completed your estate plan before moving, you'll want to revisit it here. Your existing estate plan won't be invalidated because of your move, but there are a number of things we do differently. Join us for a plain-language explanation about some of the things you'll want to address after your move to Arizona.

Clients sometimes tell us: "I hate my trust." What they usually mean, of course, is that they don't understand it. Or perhaps they think they paid too much to set it up. Sometimes clients believe they no longer need a trust. So should they revoke the trust and start over? Usually the answer is "no." As we explain in this week's Elder Law Issues podcast episode, once a trust is in place there's almost never a good reason to revoke it. Even if we would not recommend that you create a trust in your current situation, that's not the same as suggesting that you revoke your existing trust. The bottom line: even if you hate your trust, it's not necessarily time to eliminate it. When we meet to discuss your estate plan, we'll go over the alternatives and make sure you are comfortable with your documents.

Everyone knows that it's important to arrange your estate to avoid probate. Is everyone (always) right? In other words: is probate bad? In every circumstance? Join us for our weekly "Elder Law Issues" podcast episode while we discuss the bad things about probate. Spoiler alert: we're not going to tell you that it's a good thing for your estate to be subjected to the court process. But probate may not be as bad as you think. Probate avoidance, like so many legal issues, is about balancing costs and benefits. Having your estate go through the courts might not be so bad that you need to spend a lot of time, energy or money to avoid it -- at least in Arizona. But you get to decide where the cost-benefit analysis fits into your own planning.