Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Arizona
In June 2003 we created the O'Brien family trust (this is a revocable living trust) while living in the state of California. We are a married couple with no children. In 2004 we relocated to Arizona. At this time we wish to ammend the family trust using a Living trust ammendment from findlegalforms.com. Should we purchase and use the Arizona or California living trust Ammendment kit or do we have to start over again?
1 Answer from Attorneys
You should use the California form, as the Trust was created under CA law and even though it is enforceable in AZ, the AZ court will apply CA law in dealing with the trust. You do not have to start over again.
That being said, if you created the trust using a family trust "kit," I suggest that you have your trust and supporting documents reviewed by good legal counsel and that you make an informed decision about how to amend your trust or if you need to start over again or some combination thereof. You should have created the trust agreement, as well as a Will, a durable Healthcare power of attorney, durable general power of attorney and perhaps a living will/an advance medical directive. If you did make a durable health care power of attorney in 2003, I believe that you need a new one, one that has proper HIPAA authority, the law that was passed in 2003 and implemented in 2004.
Using trust kits or internet forms requires knowledge and skill to fill out correctly. These forms do not ask you questions about you, your family, and your circumstances that raise the requirements to be included in the documents, nor do they tell you how to make the decisions required when putting these documents together.