Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Arizona

Re: change of name of heir

No new will is needed if she is identified as your grandchild, since you only have one with that first name and it is easily proven who she is. If there is any unclear wording that would give doubt a new will should be made. If the will was properly done in the first place a replacement should not be needed. As usual, we cannot comment on a specific document we can not review and do not have the exact wording quoted by you.

Ask yourself also, do I have estate documents in place to avoid probate? A will does not do so. Do you have beneficiaries who are minors? Do you have a large estate of several hundred thousand dollars? Do you want to avoid the possibility of a guardianship if you are incapacitated? Do you want your beneficiaries to get their inheritance at age 18? Do you have proper medical documents to avoid a controversy like the Schiavo case? Do you have a financial power of attorney that meets the requirements of the Arizona statutes? These are issues which may find solutions in trusts, beneficiary deeds, powers of attorney, personal medical directives and some planning. Stores sell forms. Estate attorneys put together a plan that works the way you want your estate to be handled, with state of the art documentation. If you want more free information, call 480.835.1500.

Best regards,

James D. Jenkins

Re: change of name of heir

No, a new Will is not required because a person named has married and taken a new name. You should regularly review your Will to make sure that it still states what you want it to say and the persons that you have named, are still the appropriate persons.

More important, everyone needs to have a durable health care power of attorney, regardless of their age or occupation. Because of the recent changes in Federal law, a relative or spouse or parent does not have legal authority to make medical decisions or access your private information, without written authorization from you. The result of not giving someone such authority, will be that the doctor will make decisions for you without imput or direction from your family members or designated representative.