Domestic Partners Get Visitation Rights
April 30, 2010
Who would you like to have with you when you are ill or injured in the hospital? Most likely you would hope to have your partner of many years there with you to hold your hand when things get rough. Although many of us take for granted that we would be allowed that luxury, until just recently unmarried couples had no assurance that their partner would be allowed to visit them in the hospital—especially if a “recognized” family member such as a parent or sibling chose to refuse access.
In February 2009, Phoenix passed an important milestone when the City Council adopted an ordinance that gives domestic partners, same sex or not, the right to register as domestic partners and establish the right to hospital visitation until the registration is officially revoked.
Before this ordinance, and in other parts of the state, even if the domestic partners had executed health care powers of attorney and HIPAA releases, the family could still exclude the partner from visitation. Now however, if the domestic partners reside in Phoenix and have registered, they will have established a paramount right to visitation. Area hospitals outside Phoenix are not bound by the registration and as of now the only other Arizona city with a domestic partners registry is Tucson. Mesa’s city council is trying to adopt a similar provision, but opposition forces are organizing against the effort.
The registration conveys no other rights, but might be useful in establishing the credentials necessary to obtain benefits where such benefits are offered.
It appears more opposite sex couples than same sex couples are taking advantage of Phoenix’ ordinance, but the ordinance is hailed as a progressive step toward the recognition of human rights across sexual preference boundaries.
Estate planning for unmarried couples is crucial if property rights are to be inherited and disruption to the survivor’s lifestyle is to be avoided. Traditional tools such as rights of survivorship, POD/TOD, beneficiary deeds, Wills, trusts, and powers of attorney can all effectively be used to provide an estate plan, but the impact on the decedent’s family and the survivor must be carefully considered. Even small estates must be carefully planned if disputes are to be avoided.
You Think It’s Your Time To Go? “Not So Fast,” Says the State of Arizona
November 4, 2009
Pablo Picasso's "Death of Casagemas"
On July 13, 2009 Arizona governor Janet Brewer signed HB 2616 into law. The law, hailed by the right to life movement as a great victory, intrudes on your right to privacy and injects the state into the midst of the dying decision of every Arizonan without a living will that expresses the intention to die with dignity.
The law requires every petition for the appointment of a guardian for an incapacitated person to contain a statement that the authority may include the authority to withhold or withdraw life sustaining treatment, including artificial food and fluid.
The law forbids any surrogate without written authority from the patient or a court order from consenting to or approving the permanent withdrawal of artificial administration of food and fluid.
The law provides an automatic stay of not less than 5 days to allow the entry of any order allowing food and fluid to be withheld or withdrawn to be appealed
The law creates a presumption that the absence of a living will means the patient in an irreversible coma or persistent vegetative state did not intend to have food and fluids withheld or withdrawn and the patient intended that all procedures, including medically invasive procedures, be administered in an attempt to prolong the patient’s life. The law provides stringent guidelines for rebutting the presumption.
Personally, I do not believe the state or any strangers should be involved in any medical decisions, including the most difficult and emotional decisions facing loved ones when the patient is dying. I believe in the right to privacy, including the right to exercise life and death decisions for your spouse, parent, or child, when that decision is supported by overwhelming medical evidence. I think your doctors are a better source of information than your government.
However, I respect your right to disagree, and now the state of Arizona gives you a clear choice: If you do not want food and fluid to be artificially administered once you are in an irreversible coma or persistent vegetative state, you should be certain you have a living will that clearly announces your intentions and a valid health care power of attorney appointing the people you want to direct your medical care if you are unable to do so.
If you fail to create a living will, you and your loved ones may endure the pain and suffering of the full weight of the judicial system oppressing you at your most vulnerable moment.
Protection or meddling? You decide.
Living Wills, health care powers of attorney, and HIPAA declarations are part of every estate plan prepared by our firm. We will explain to you the effect of each document and assure that your choice will be plainly heard when needed.
Changes to Trustee Reporting Requirements Under The Arizona Trust Code
October 28, 2009
If you are currently or soon may be serving as the trustee of an irrevocable trust you should be aware that the Arizona Trust Code (ATC), which became effective January 1, 2009, imposes certain new obligations on trustees of irrevocable trusts.
Prior to January 1, 2009, ARS §14-7303 required the trustee to provide beneficiaries reports of the trust activity only upon request of a beneficiary. Who qualified as a beneficiary entitled to request information was ambiguous, but current income beneficiaries were clearly within the class of beneficiaries entitled to information.
Now the ATC defines both qualified and permissible beneficiaries to distinguish who must receive information and who may receive information. Generally qualified beneficiaries are current income beneficiaries and those who become entitled to principal or income upon the death of the current income beneficiary.
Unless the trust agreement provides otherwise, the trustee of an irrevocable trust must provide a report to the qualified beneficiaries, permissible beneficiaries, and other beneficiaries who request it.
The report must be provided at least annually. The first reporting period ends December 31, 2009.
The report must contain the following information:
- A list of the trust property and the market value of such property, if feasible.
- Liabilities
- Receipts and disbursements.
The report need not be prepared according to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). There are no guidelines on what form the report must take, but a modified form loosely based on the form used to file a judicial accounting will probably be sufficient. The outline for such a report is as follows:
Schedule A = Opening inventory. A listing of the assets and their respective values.
Schedule B = List of outstanding debts.
Schedule C = List of all receipts
Schedule D = List of all expenditures
Schedule E = Summary of all other schedules ending with an ending balance.
An alternate format could be as simple as providing copies of account statements for the year (raw data).
If assets are held other than insured brokerage or bank accounts, a short narrative report describing the assets and their characteristics is probably appropriate.