Actions May Constitute Acceptance of a Life Estate Under Arizona law, someone bequeathed a life estate can either accept it or disclaim it. Can a person getting a life estate lose her right to disclaim it by first accepting it? The Court of Appeals considered this issue in Estate of Gardner, 283 P.3d 676 (2012). […]

Can Property Held in a Trust be Transferred by a Beneficiary Deed in Arizona? The Arizona Court of Appeals recently considered for the first time in Arizona whether Arizona trust property may be conveyed by a beneficiary deed. The court answered, no in the matter of In Re Augusta Ganoni, No. 1 CA-CV 14-0240 (App. […]

Enforcement of Penalty Clauses in Arizona Estate Plans A penalty clause in a will disinherits anyone who challenges the will. Under Arizona law, penalty clauses are upheld unless the person challenging a will has probable cause to do so. What constitutes probable cause to challenge a will? The Court of Appeals considered this issue in […]

Attorney-Client Privilege for a Trustee in an Arizona Probate Case The attorney-client privilege precludes attorneys from revealing communications with clients without their permission. What happens when the client claiming the attorney-client privilege is a trustee who wishes to prevent trust beneficiaries from seeing documents in the attorney’s file? Does it matter that the trustee paid […]

Mistakes Made in a Will in Arizona Probate courts interpret provisions in a will to fulfill the intention of the person making the will, referred as the testator of the will. What if evidence suggests that the testator did not write what he meant to write? Does the court attempt to correct the error or […]