Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Arizona

Re: Can a Group home be part of my will?

Hard to say what you have not thought of without a list of what you have thought of.

Did you leave your daughter out of your will because you did not want her to get any benefit from your estate after you died? Did you purposefully not do a specail needs trust? Did you consider a special needs trust?

I am not sure what your question is from your post. Are you asking for a list of requirements to start a group home? If so, ask the appropriate lecensing agency. Are you attemting to describe some benefit for your daughter in your estate plan that will coincide with having a group home? Are you planning a group home for profit, as a service, or a place to house your daughter?

Re: Can a Group home be part of my will?

Your description gives rise to many questions that you must answer before you can work with an attorney to establish a comprehensive estate plan, which addresses the issues that you have raised. First and foremost, you should be sure to take steps necessary to protect yourself during your lifetime. A Will only has effect at your death. A "living will" only has effect if you are terminal. Neither document does anything to protect you during your lifetime,when you are not able to manage your own affairs. Durable health care and durable financial powers of attorney are essential to protect you during your lifetime. You should consult with a financial advisor to determine if you have your assets properly invested so that you are financially secure for the rest of your life. Then, a capable estate planning attorney can work with you to protect your interests, as well as create a regime (legal documents and authority) to carry out your wishes when you have passed away. From your statement, it sounds like your daughter is now being maintained and supported by the State of AZ, and in order to keep her elgible for state aid, you did not include her as an heir of your estate. There are alternative ways to supplement her needs, particularly providing those items that the state does not provide. You can set put money into a trust fund for her which will not disqualify her for state aid, but will allow the trustee to give her things that she needs and promote her happiness and well-being. Do not assume that you can easily create a group home, particularly a group home that would be a suitable place for your daughter. A group home is a business and must be run as such, and profitably, or your good intentions of providing a house to be used for that purpose, will fail and the home value lost. The AZ Dept. of Health Services will give you the requirements for qualifying a home to take in residents, including the requirements for the person running such a home to qualify as a care home operator. There are many considerations that you have not thought of. Without knowing much more, I could not list what those considerations would be. I know you are trying to do the right thing for your daughter, however, you must first carefully assess your own needs for the rest of your life, and what would happen if you are in a catastrophic accident or suffer an illness, that requires a great deal of medical care and money for your support and maintenance. Then, you must get a professional assessment of your daughter's needs and who and what is required to satisfy those needs, what the state provides and what else she needs that is not provided. Do not hesitate to pursue this planning as you never know when something may happen. We all can be hit by a car tomorrow, and if that were to occur, you may not be able to do any planning at all.