Elder Law Issues

Hosted by Fleming & Curti PLC

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Episodes

300

Latest episode

Sep 2026

Language

EN-US

About the show

Each week we discuss various elder-law, and elder-law adjacent, issues. In plain language, we review estate planning, guardianship, special needs and other legal and practical developments.

Listen to episodes

60 recent

October 11, 20269 min

A Conversation on Prenuptials

A Conversation on Prenuptials Fleming & Curti, PLC has worked with many clients who have either done prenuptial agreements or are interested in doing them. This can affect estate planning and other conversations in a meeting. For example, if a non-married couple is contemplating marriage and a prenuptial agreement, they will likely have to get separate representation for each side of their agreement. As a result of this, many firms that represent spouses or partners jointly will refuse to create one. We also discuss another concern that spouses or partners have. How does their prenuptial enforce how much they can leave their significant other in their estate plans? We briefly touch upon these topics in today’s podcast. We hope this will inspire you to have a conversation on prenuptials with your spouse or partner.

September 27, 202610 min

Trustee Discretion

How much discretion should you give a trustee? Some clients have felt tempted to restrict a trustee in an attempt to protect their beneficiaries’ inheritance. Today we will explain our position that this is generally not advisable. There may be circumstances that arise where your beneficiary may need funds and the trustee should have the ability to support them. Conversely, forcing a trustee into a fixed monthly distribution may harm a beneficiary’s ability to get financial aid or government benefits. Why have their inheritance pay for things that the university or government should? That is why today’s podcast discusses some of our experiences with the positives of giving your trustee discretion.

September 13, 2026

Pets in Estate Plans

Pets in Estate Plans We are pet lovers here at Fleming & Curti, PLC. Many of us have dogs, cats and even snakes. With that in mind, we believe it is very important to create a plan for your animals in the event you are unable to or pass away. In this podcast, we touch on powers of attorney, bequests in a will and pet trusts. We go over our experiences and recommendations for each of these from an Arizona attorney perspective. We also might share a few anecdotes about our own pets as well as examples of various wishes we have seen in the past.

September 6, 202610 min

Qualified Disability Trusts

Qualified Disability Trusts have been a concept for around 25 years. While the term may be a bit more obscure these days, you may be familiar with one type, the special needs trust. Many people establishing these types of trusts for their beneficiaries have a lot of tax related questions and concerns. In today’s podcast we go over some of these, such as capital gains and the tax brackets of the beneficiary vs. the trust.

August 30, 202613 min

Aging and Technology

Aging and technology can be a scary concept for those of us in an older cohort. Fortunately, many pieces of technology can actually make aging a bit easier. In this podcast we give our thoughts and some examples of these. We discuss calendars, payment applications and multifactor authentication. We also discuss when and where implementing pieces of technology might be most useful in your life, if you are not already tech savvy. Additionally, we speak on when you may want to skip out on certain items like authenticators and password managers.

August 16, 202611 min

Assessing Testamentary Capacity

Assessing Testamentary Capacity. Making sure a client has capacity before signing any documents is an important aspect of being an attorney. Doctor’s notes and family testimony can only paint some of the picture. Additionally, capacity is not either “you have it or you don’t”. Capacity can change with age, experiences and even just time of day. In this podcast, we discuss how we look at capacity in our practice. We hope this gives a clear picture of why we do not include family in meetings with our clients, as well as what we are looking for in these meetings. Assessing testamentary capacity can be challenging without meeting with a client alone.

August 9, 202610 min

What if I Don’t Have POAs?

What if I Don’t Have POAs? POA, in this case, stands for power of attorney. These documents determine who will be making financial or health care decisions for you when you are unable. If you choose not to create these documents, it can cause confusion and possible court proceedings. In Arizona, a guardian may need to be appointed by the court to handle medical and care decisions for you, and a conservator may be needed to manage your finances. Both put decision making into the court’s hands instead of your own. Fortunately, both can be avoided by properly executed powers of attorney. We further discuss the question of, “what if I don’t have POAs?” in this podcast.

August 2, 20269 min

College Bound Estate Planning

College bound estate planning is not something many people consider as their child goes off to university. Once someone turns eighteen, most parents will no longer be their legal guardian. This may lead to a loss of access to information about their child. Hospitals, universities, banks and other institutions will likely not divulge any information about the adult child that is protected. In this podcast we discuss options that parents have for staying in the loop on their children’s health and finances. Whether it is using forms provided by various institutions or taking your child to see an attorney before they go off to school; it is best to do some college bound estate planning before they leave.

July 26, 20269 min

Naming a Fiduciary Who Will Just Hire the Firm

Naming a Fiduciary Who Will Just Hire the Firm. Many clients want to name their children, friends or other family members in fiduciary roles in their estate planning documents. Some may also have the expectation that these individuals will simply request the law firm that drafted their documents to assist them. In this podcast, we discuss why this is not always the case. Sometimes the firm that drafted your documents will not be able to represent your family member, and even if they do… this does not take away all of that family member’s duties and responsibilities. Which is why you should take some time to think before naming a fiduciary who will just hire the firm.

July 19, 20269 min

Dementia Diagnosis

Clients often become wary of updating their estate plans after they receive a dementia diagnosis. Fortunately, a diagnosis is not necessarily the cut off for capacity. In this podcast we discuss the level of capacity required to complete estate planning documents. We also discuss some of our experiences with clients who have cognitive impairment diagnoses of various persuasions. Many of them were still able to articulate their wishes and update their documents. A dementia diagnosis does not have to put a stop to your estate plans. In fact, it may be a good indicator to speak with an attorney before it becomes too late.