Bouman Law Firm is a registered subscriber to the Arizona Healthcare Directives Registry (“AzHDR”), an online registry for secure storage and sharing of your health care power of attorney and living will declaration. The registry was established by the Arizona Department of Health Services and is currently administered by Contexture, a nonprofit organization that
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New IRS Regulations for Retirement Accounts after SECURE Act
The IRS recently issued proposed regulations regarding the treatment of tax-deferred retirement accounts after the SECURE Act of 2019. Here are 2 highlights relevant to estate planning:
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FDIC Insurance Rules for Trusts are Changing
The FDIC recently approved a rule to change how it calculates the amount of insurance is available for bank accounts held in trusts. Effective 4/1/2024, a trust account will be insured up to $250,000 per beneficiary, not to exceed five, regardless whether the trust is revocable or irrevocable or how the trust allocates inheritance among…
Arizona Estate Administration Answer Book
A revised 2022 edition of the Arizona Estate Administration Answer Book was recently published by Barnes & Noble Press.Practical Answers to Common Questions for Any Size Estate in ArizonaThe Arizona Estate Administration Answer Book is your best resource for understanding practical issues that commonly arise when responding to the death of an Arizona resident or…
DocuBank (Instant Access to Vital Documents)
A DocuBank membership provides 24/7 access to your health care directives. You will receive a wallet card instructing medical providers how to instantly acquire copies of these documents, plus any other health-related information you choose to make available. DocuBank also offers an online SAFE to store copies of your estate planning documents in one secure…
Important Law Change: Homestead Exemptions in Arizona
First, the good news: On 1/1/2022 the Arizona homestead exemption amount increases from $150,000 to $250,000. The homestead exemption, which is automatic in Arizona, is intended to protect an Arizona resident’s primary residence (“homestead”) from creditors. But the new law includes several intricacies that make it more complex than it initially appears. For example, the…
Will a LLC protect an Arizona resident's personal residence and non-retirement brokerage investments?
No, because the LLC must have a legitimate business purpose. A business purpose would include providing a service, product, or usable space to an unrelated person or company. Every small business provides a service or product, or both, to the general public, while investment real estate provides a place to live or do business. Your…
What is an Irrevocable Arizona-based Hybrid Asset Protection Trust?
Many people I meet would benefit from an irrevocable asset protection trust, a strategy generally assumed to be too complicated and too expensive. But I am not referring to families with vast inherited wealth or the Mark Zuckerberg-type entrepreneurs. So how do you know if an asset protection trust might be right for you? Consider…
Arizona Domestic Asset Protection Trusts – Coming Soon?
In May 2020 the executive council for the Probate and Trust Section of the State Bar of Arizona approved a proposed statute permitting the creation of Arizona qualified spendthrift trusts. This type of self-settled trust is more commonly known as a domestic asset protection trust. The proposed statute (A.R.S. 14-10821) would establish a framework for…
The Estate Planning Toolbox
In order to be successful as an estate planning lawyer, I must break down complex topics to manageable teaching points. Here are a couple examples:There are 3 tools in the estate planning toolbox for transferring assets upon death:1- Beneficiary designation2- Will3- TrustThere are no more tools. Every estate plan will use a combination of these…