Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Arizona

Re: Developing and A-B Trust

The purpose of the A-B trust is to avoid estate taxes at death, not to avoid nursing home expenses before death. You have a Medicaid issue. With a surviving spouse, dependent children, or with special needs adult children, there are other options, but you will need an estate planning attorney to create a specialized trust that can help.

Re: Developing and A-B Trust

A trust does not give protection against creditors' claims, however, depending upon the actual provisions of this trust, the wife's share of the trust may provide some insulation. In general, each spouse has a duty to provide support for the other,

Re: Developing and A-B Trust

Splitting the community property into separate halves (which is not what a A-B Trust does anyway) is not really the issue. What you are trying to do is not lose one half of the assets if one goes into a nursing home.

There are attorneys who specialize in this type of planning. If you need a referral call 480.835.1500. Do not attempt to do this type of planning on your own. Long Term Care Insurance is another way to protect yourselves. I would be happy to discuss your situation in more detail in a free, no obligation consultation by phone or in person if you contact me. I need more facts about your situation.

Best regards,

James D. Jenkins