Wills and Living Wills

Articles and Info

Revocable Living Trust

Find out about trusts, how they are set up and what they can as you plan ahead.


Staying in Charge of Your Future

Planning ahead allows you to remain in charge of your future. There are laws to protect your wishes. But the right to have your wishes carried out later is worthless unless you act now - while you still can.


Life Care Planning Packet (Advanced Directives), Information and Documents from the Arizona Attorney General

Find out about Durable Health Care Power of Attorney, Living Will (End of Life Care), Durable Mental Health Care Power of Attorney, Letter to My Agent (Representative) and More!

by: Arizona Office of the Attorney General

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Related Questions


Question: My father recently died ( he was 92 yrs) He lived in Iowa and was in a Nursing home.He was a US Veteran, I was the rep Payee for his checking account, his only daughter, and his VA fiduary, only one to make his funeral arrangements and pay the mortuary. He had no will, do I need to file formal estate paperwork and all other documents since I am his heir ? I do not have the money to file.
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Question: I have a trust fund that was set up for myself and brother when our mom passed away in 1990. My grandma was the trustee until she passed away 4 years ago. My brother is now the trustee along w my aunt. I do not have a good relationship w either of my trustees and I cannot get any communication from my brother about my trust. I have repeatedly requested info about my trust but I never get a response of any kind. I dont even know if my trust can legally be kept from me anymore or if it shld have been dispersed by now. My brother wont give me any info so I need to knw what my options are & rights
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Question: I own a rental property with another person, can I leave my half of the property to my children with a beneficiary deed?
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Question: Hello, my Mom remarried and passed away within 4 years. She had written a holographic will, that was notorized, and verified as her handwriting. She had notated that when/if the house was sold, it would be split amongst her children. She had also mentioned a life insurance policy in her will. This will was shown to all children and spouse. Before passing, Mom learned her life insurance was canceled. Questions: Even though life insurance is no longer available, but mentioned in will, is the will still valid? Also, does the Widow recieve portion of funds from house sale when not designated?
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Question: are wills in Arizona required to be recorded /registered, and are they open to the public? 
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Question: My husband is POA for his mother, 90 yrs with dementia. She has a bank acct with approx $200Kin a major bank. Approx 6 weeks ago, after submitting the POA to their legal dept we were advised not to withdraw/close the acct as a transaction that large could be questionable and "raise a flag". Today we returned to the bank to withdraw $5K to cover her expenses. They said that they did not have the POA on file and need to submit to legal again. A note on the acct from Feb 2016 states that she (MIL) wants to make sure 'nobody' can touch her money. As such, the bank now DECLINED the POA. Can they?
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Question: I have inherited $50000 from a neighbor I cared for. Do I have to pay any taxes on this income? Would I be able to ask estate to pay down my mortgage directly or do I have to receive money and do it myself.
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Question: My mother passed away 5 weeks ago. She didn't have a will. My sister and I both were on a few bank accounts for wells fargo of hers but not on her IRA account and a US bank account. My mom had no debt, no house, no cars just these bank accounts. I need help, do I get a lawyer? I am unsure of how much the IRA is I am pretty sure it is under 75,000 but what if it isn't? Do you have advise of what type of lawyer to get.. any recommendations?
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Question: My Father In-law Passed away and I am named as executor in his will. He had no life insurance and only his home which is still under mortgage. Do I need to file an informal probate for his will or due to the small size of his estate it is not required?
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Question: what are the legal obligations/duties of the administrator to the other beneficiaries.
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Question: Im my mom's will she left my daughter a mobile home with a will document stating that I was to live in the mobile home for lifelife. Now my daughter wants to kick me out and I'm a senior with no where to go on social security daughter lives in new york. the will says I can live there at no cost or expense to me for life use what can I do I need help she sent me a letter to move out
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Question: My friend's father passed and had no will. Where do I send him for help in dealing with the transfer ownership of the car motorcycle and other property his father left behind? What paperwork besides a death certificate will he need?
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Question: Both of my parents have passed away leaving their small estate in a trust. I am the executor of the trust. The estate is small and fall within the dollar limits of real estate and personal property within the estate, where probate proceedings are not required. My question is; to complete the estate, do I need to To complete the estate, so I need to place a “Notice to Creditors” in a newspaper as described in A.R.S. 14-3801? (There are no known creditors).
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Question: My husband died and our Grant Deed for our property shows he has a 30% tenants in common share of the home. I have 70%. He further has a will that states he leaves any properties to me. He also has a son that will not dispute this. Do I need to go to probate since his 30% value in the home is minimal (K40-45K net value). Or what form can be filed to correct the Grant deed to reflect my full ownership?
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Question: I need to go into court and file some emergency paperwork because MerrillLynch USTRUST are doing some really bad things and after giving me monthly distributions for last 2 years of $3000 and paying all my expenses they just Stopped and I haven't seen my statements in a few months and I couldn't even get a letter from trust officer to give DES for emergency food stamps. My Aunt is reason behind this. My Dad adopted us girls therefore she did not consider us family. She sits on board with former CEO of merrilllynch ustrust of this mutual fund they invested all of our $ in afterDadpassed.
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Question: My parents have passed away and in their Trust and Wills I am listed as their representative. What do I have to do in order to sell their properties?
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Question: My husband has already passed away and we have 1 adult daughter. I do not have a lot of money & cannot afford an attorney. My estate will be worth less than $15,000. How do I give my daughter authority to dispose of my possessions?
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Question: my grandfather has recently passed away. he financed a car for me 6 months before he passed. his name is the only one on the loan. how do i transfer the loan into my name although i dont have an established credit history.
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Question: My mother passed and she has had livestock which she paid the pasture fees and a vehicle she paid for. The problem is the vehicle is in my brothers name and she had him care for animals when she was not able to. Now, are the property now his or should it be probated to all the living children.
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Question: My daughter was raised by her deceased father for her 10 years he died and now the family has disowned her.they were involved until he died.there is a possibility that he is not the father but he didn't ever acknowledge that isn't there a law that allows him to be known as her father and her the aires to estate .she knows no diffrent
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Question: can a mother say she had no children in a last will and testament if she does. Then state that no one of her lineage can contest the will?
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Question: Is it possible to force a will into probate as I can't get a copy of the will?
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Question: I want to change the executor on my revocable trust. I want the new executor to inherit some property and money. My question is: can an executor inherit? Thank you for your attention to this.
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Question: Can I transfer stock from my name into my 12 year old grandson name as a gift
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Question: My brother is the Trustee of our deceased Mother's estate. I have asked him on several occasions to give me copies of various documents and he has failed to do so. I have very little information regarding the Trust or the financial distributions. How can I get copies of those documents? He has since sold the house that our mother left to both of us but I have seen no money from that sale. He still refuses to give me any information. What can I do?
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Question: If an attorney tells you not to contact someone, is that legally binding?
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Question: Can I apply for my 75 year old grandma to get help filling out a Will and POA.
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Question: HOW DO I CANCEL POWER OF ATTORNEY
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Question: I need a revocable living trust packet with forms and instructions. Where do I find one?
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Question: I need to rewrite my will for a third time. The two people I had named as 'Executors' have both passed away. I do not have anyone to act as my Executor. I would like to leave my estate to my college alma mater. How do I handle this in my will?
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Question: Thank you for taking the time to answer my question. I have 2 siblings and a step sibling who are sole beneficiaries of a trust. My step dad passed almost a year ago. We have heard nothing about the status of the trust. All of his personal property has been sold and presumably those funds have been added to the trust. None of us are contesting the distribution of funds. How long should it generally take for us to hear when we may receive our inheritance and how can I follow up on the courts progress? Kindly, Sharon D.
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Question: Should a will include property with defined beneficiaries such as a trust or a POD account in a bank? Is it a bad idea to include such property?
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Question: Is there an agency that can help prepare a trust? I have a friend that is terminal (still mentally competent) that has not prepared a will or trust. She is on disability and low income.
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Question: My father passed away 10/22/13. He had a Revocable Family Trust, I was listed as a cotrustee. I was promised a copy of the trust several times but haven't seen it yet. If wife of 7 or 8 years is refusing to let me see it and says it will now be changed and if there's anything left when she passes we'll get then. Is she required by law to give me a copy of the trust now? Don't I have a right to see what the trust says on the day of my father's death? Please advise.
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Question: I am on a fixed income. we need to setup a will or trust. My wife is older than I and we want to have our wishes setup in legal order for our benefactors. We have grown children from previous marriages. Since AZ is a survivor right state, God forbid, if something were to happen to us both, we want legal docs in place for the kids to be governed by. How can we proceed in setting this legal process in motion?
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Question: My neighbor is dying and wants to leave me his mobile home, truck any monies and personal items.  What do we do?
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Question: My grandfather is 91 and not expected to live much longer. He has a house valued at 60K but he owes 50K on it. The house is deeded to "the trust of..." Who gets the house upon his death and also, who is responsible for maintaining the payments? I am the executor of his will and current POA for him but there is no special provision regarding real estate. He does have a trust set up and we only have the "abstract of trust" that states who the trustee is upon his death.
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Question: how would you find out what happened if someone willed proprty to you after they died several years ago
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Question: How should we be holding title to our home if we want our children, from prior marriages, to inherit our respective portions of community property? Currently it is CPWROS. I know this is wrong as my daughter will get nothing if I pass first.
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Question: How do I file a complaint against a lawyer?
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Question: Is a copy of my trust legal. I lost the original.
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Question: My sister died in April leaving her estate to 2 foster children. Her personal representative quit in May and no one has assumed control of the estate and he has not turned it over to anyone. I fear the home will go into foreclosure. I would like to have a private fiduciary take over, what do I have to do to make that happen? The foster children are listed as her only heirs, my brothers are furious, can they prevent a private fiduciary from assuming control and force the foreclosure and loss of her estate? I don't have funds to hire a lawyer, how can I get this accomplished?
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Question: My exhusband and I remained close since our divorce.I spoke to him the day before he died.He stayed in our home and was the only one on the deed etc. He told me the last time we spoke he had mortgage insurance naming me as benificiary. However, he had no wll or named executor so the house is in probate. Most important to me is not the house but my belongings in the house most of which is sentimental. The car I have the title to is gone. Who is it I can call? I don't know who is in control of the house. I hear it is the government but who? I worry about so many things in the home I wish I had.
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Question: The decedent's will is in the office of his former attorney in Arizona. He died as a resident of another state. His final state of residence requires the original will in order to register it. How do I get the original will from the Arizona attorney?
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Question: Do you have to file your power of attorney paperwork with the county recorder for it to be legal and final.
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Question: Does a notorized statement overide a power of attorney
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Question: A California court awarded me full legal and physical custody of my daughter after her father hit her. He has been convicted of domestic violence, drug and misc criminal charges. He is supposedly "clean" now and court ordered that he can call my daughter once per week. This is the extent of their relationship. I currently live in Arizona and want to be sure that if something were to happen to me, my sister would have guardianship. My daughter is now 13, does not want to live with him and I strongly believe it is not in her best interest to live with him. She has very close relationship with my sister and my sister would provide stability. Can I "transfer" my custodial rights to my sister and direct that custody not go to my ex or his family in a will?
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Question: How do I go about preparing and recording a beneficiary deed for my mother's home which is now solely in her name? She wishes to leave her property to my siblings and myself upon her death.
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Question: We are told a new law became effective in Jan. which requires changes to the Trust having to do with notifying beneficiaries every year of the amount of the estate and their inheritance. Is it true? The lawyer wants the full price of the trust to amend it. Can I find the law on the Internet? Is it boilerplate and easily done without using that same lawyer? Please direct me. Thank you.
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Question: Our former estate lawyer failed to pay for 'records storage' (among which were our wills and trust) and now that we need them because we need to update our trust, the company won't release them to us. How can we get the company to release our papers? We are willing to pay an access fee.
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Question: what does it mean when stated in a will "and hereby revoke any and all wills and Codicils heretofore made by me."
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Question: I have a Living Trust that has my daughter as the executor. I want to change it to have my granddaughter as the executor however the company that wrote up the trust says my daughter has to be present in order to change the trust. Is there a law that says she must be present?
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Question: How long do family members need to wait to be allowed copies of a Will? Do family members get notices?
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Question: My mother passe away and I am the beneficiary of her home according to her will. My name is not on the title of the home. What steps should I take to get the house before it goes into probate?
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Question: How do i object to a petition for approval of ist account? Conservator has KNOWINGLY left items out of the inventory. This is the 2nd time.
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Question: My father is on his death bed in bullhead city. All past wills have included #1 I want to be buried in the nearest VA cemetary. His current wife of 3 years has paid for a cremation. She has a new will and will not produce it to any of 3 children. She has power of atty. We also believe she requested he be taken off cardiac meds when going into hospice, and believe this was negligent?? When does she need to produce a will?? Please help
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Question: Is there a way to read a will without contacting the surviving spouse and/or immediate family?
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Question: When a person passes away are the outstanging debts,like credit cards passed on to their adult children?
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Question: Our living TRUST was updated for the state of California; should it be updated for Arizona since this is now our primary residence?
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Question: Our living will was updated for the state of California; should it be updated for Arizona since this is our primary residence?
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Question: What makes a Will valid in the state of Arizona
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Question: My mother passed away. She does have a will and I was nominated as the executer and trustee. I am the sole beneficiary. She only has a bank account but when the account was setup nobody was on the account but her. no payable unpon death. What is required by the bank for me to access the account to begin paying for her expences? Her will did state that I shoud have immediate access without going through the courts.
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Question: What are the duties of a personal representative in probate?
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Question: How do I begin to file probate if there is no will?
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Question: What steps must be taken to obtain a Judicial Determination of Heirs in Arizona?
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Question: How does a disclaimer of rights of survivorship in jointly held property work?
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Question: Will my beneficiaries’ inheritance be taxed?
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Question: How will my property be distributed upon my death?
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Question: Do I need a will?
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Question: What is a living will?
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Question: What is the difference between a 'living will' and a 'last will and testament' type of will?
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Question: If a person dies and does not leave a will, can a family member take over the dead persons home.
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Question: I need info pertaining to my rights power of attorney for my father and how to keep ex-stepmother from getting his pension.
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Question: How can I set up a FREE Living Will? Do I have to have an attorney to do this?
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