No will, no trust - more paperwork, twice! Several years ago, brother died having failed to do any estate planning. Mother and sister were left to clean up the financial mess. DeAngelis Legal assisted sister to obtain Letters of Personal Representative issued by the probate court through an informal intestate probate and successfully transferred the [...]
In Arizona, a successor of a decedent may sign an affidavit effectively transferring the decedent's personal property and real estate without the need for a probate if the value of the asset is under certain limits. A.R.S. § 14-3971. On March 31, 2025 the governor signed HB2116 increasing the personal property limit to $200,000 and [...]
It happened again! Successful, smart, responsible Scottsdale couple signed well drafted estate plan documents with another law firm and after signing, promptly threw the documents in a drawer. Fast forward 10+ years, numerous asset acquisitions in their individual names and an unexpected death, the surviving spouse engaged DeAngelis Legal to sort out the mess. DeAngelis [...]
New Scottsdale client engaged DeAngelis Legal to assist with changes to her estate plan, which included an irrevocable trust. The joint trust created with her deceased husband contained provisions dividing the trust principal into a Survivor’s Trust and a Family Trust, with the later being irrevocable. After reviewing her alternatives, DeAngelis Legal prepared a Non-judicial [...]
Does your estate plan look like this old mine? The pieces are there, but you just don’t know if it is going to work. Not all things stand the test of time, and that includes estate plans. Is it time to review your estate plan? DeAngelis Legal has updated and administered estate plans drafted before [...]
Estate Planning Update January 2025 2024 Annual Gift Tax Exclusion: increased to $19,000 per donor, per donee. 2024 Gift and Estate Tax Exemption: increased to $13,990,000 per donor through 2025 (an increase of $380,000). See paragraph 6 below. Marital Deduction for Transfers to U.S. Spouse: remains unlimited. 2024 Generation Skipping Tax Exemption: increased to $13,990,000 [...]
An irrevocable trust held title to vacation properties and an operating fund used for family reunions. The trustee engaged DeAngelis Legal to assist with the trust administration. Certain members of the family desired to continue to use the property, while others were ready to liquidate the trust and distribute the proceeds. Unfortunately, title to the [...]
Two more informal probates. In two separate matters, the decedent had a valid and enforceable revocable trust. As we see time and time again, the decedent's transferred a majority of their assets to their trust, but failed to transfer a few of them, thus requiring the survivors to open probate. DeAngelis Legal prepared and filed [...]
Estate Planning Update July 2024 2024 Annual Gift Tax Exclusion: increased to $18,000 per donor, per donee. 2024 Gift and Estate Tax Exemption: increased to $13,610,000 per donor through 2025 (an increase of $690,000). See paragraph 6 below. Marital Deduction for Transfers to U.S. Spouse: remains unlimited. 2024 Generation Skipping Tax Exemption: increased to $13,610,000 [...]
Surviving spouse was surprised to learn that the revocable trust created by the couple 10+ years ago became irrevocable upon the 1st spouse’s death. In addition, the trust split the couple’s assets and allocated half to a trust where the surviving spouse only had limited rights to the assets. After reviewing the survivor’s alternatives, DeAngelis [...]
