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Sheriff Joe Arpaio visited Anthem on April 17 to speak at the local tea party meeting.
The sheriff said that, before he was sheriff, he did not understand the importance of a sheriff that answers only to the people (that is the voters). Before gaining this perspective about 20 years ago he said that a sheriff should be appointed. He now proclaims that his former opinion was wrong, and that the people are better served by an elected sheriff. read more »
Estimates are that more than half of the homes in Arizona are underwater, meaning the amount owed on the mortgage balance exceeds the current value of the property. A homeowner that wants to sell an underwater home is faced with the unpleasant task of bringing money to the table in order to pay off their loan balance. The alternative is to either “short sell” the home or to just walk away and let the home go to foreclosure.
Over the past few years I have observed several homeowners that have listed their homes at a price that would just be enough to cover the
payoff of any loans and the closing costs. However, the listing price ends up being much higher than the current value and the home just sits there with no interest from potential buyers. If they do happen to find a buyer that wants to buy the property, the deal often falls apart when an appraisal for a value that is much lower than the contract price prevents the buyer from obtaining a sufficient mortgage. I have seen properties go through this process for two years or more, only to end up in foreclosure when the seller falls hopelessly behind in their loan payments.
Several years ago, it was very difficult to short sell a property. The banks were not prepared to handle the rising number of requests for short sale relief, and it would take months to get an approval. By the time the approval was obtained, the property would have dropped further in value, and the potential buyer would no longer want to purchase the property. However, foreclosures continued to rise, and banks soon realized that they were in a much better position short selling a property than going through a foreclosure which took longer and netted them less. These days many banks are encouraging underwater homeowners to short sell their home and the process has been expedited. There still is quite a bit of paperwork that needs to be completed to obtain the approval, but most real estate agents have negotiators that will work with a seller to that end. A SHORT SALE WILL NEGATIVELY IMPACT YOUR CREDIT, but your credit score will improve again over time. read more »
Each of the 49 states in the U.S. possess their own specific statutes that address the matter of visitation rights for grandparents. In Arizona, reasonable visitation rights may be granted to grandparents if two circumstances are met.
The first thing that must be proved to the court to establish visitation rights for grandparents is that it is within the best interests of the child for the visitation to occur. In making this determination, the court will consider all factors relevant to the matter (per A.R.S. 25-409), which include:
In addition to proving that visitation is within the best interests of the child, one of three situations must also be true. The first is that the marriage of the parents of the child must have been dissolved for at least three months. Second, a parent of the child must be deceased OR missing for at least three months. The court will consider a parent to be missing if the location of the parent has not been determined and if the parent has been reported missing to a law enforcement agency. Finally, visitation rights can be sought if the child was born out of wedlock.
If a grandparent is able to acquire visitation, and if it is logistically possible and appropriate to do so, the court will typically allow the visitation to occur when the child is spending time with whichever parent that the grandparent used to claim the grandparent’s right of access to the child. However, the court recognizes that this sort of scenario is not always possible and will order alternate arrangements if necessary to minimize conflict and maintain a safe and stable environment for the minor child.
Though this statute applies specifically for grandparents, a provision also provides the same rights to great-grandparents if they can meet the elements listed above.
Like most actions involving custody and/or visitation of a minor child, the outcome is largely contingent upon what is in the best interests of the child. Because these matters are often hotly contested, it is usually a good idea to contact an experienced and knowledgeable attorney to help guide you through the process. To speak with an attorney regarding Grandparents’ Rights in Arizona, contact The Carroll Law Firm at (623)551-9366.
Wills offer a number of benefits for protecting one’s interests after his or her passing. In addition to appointing a personal representative, assigning custody/guardianship for minor children, setting up testamentary trusts, and more, one of the most important benefits is deciding the distribution of assets upon one’s death. Whether you’re in a life-long relationship or a single person, if you are unmarried you should have a will.
Unmarried couples often get the short end of the stick when it comes to inheritance rights. In Arizona, a community property state, spouses are entitled certain rights upon the deceased spouse’s death. Unmarried parties, however, are not automatically granted the ability to inherit their partners’ assets. By law, upon a person’s passing, his or her next of kin has the right to inherit any property left in the deceased party’s estate unless otherwise stated in a properly executed will. Therefore, even if a couple has been together for decades, the partner will not inherit property from the deceased party’s estate unless expressly written in a will. In fact, an estranged family member could inherit a person’s estate instead of a life-long partner under intestacy laws.
To protect one’s life partner, whether the couple is an unmarried heterosexual couple, a homosexual couple, life-long friends, or virtually any other scenario, a will must be formally executed prior to passing. In our country, even if a gay couple is married in a state that currently recognizes gay marriages, if that couple moves to Arizona one’s spouse is not necessarily granted the same rights of inheritance as he or she would receive in the state that recognizes the marriage. For this reason, if a gay couple moves to Arizona, and the parties wish to leave all assets to each other, it is imperative that those parties execute a will outlining their wishes.
Even single people not involved in a long-term relationship should execute a will. If a person does not execute a will, the next of kin has the right to inherit under state law. If the deceased person has a child or children, the estate would pass to the children. Absent a will, however, the guardian or custodial parent of those children may be responsible for the assets left to the children. Our simple wills allow you to set up a testamentary trust to make sure the minor child does not receive a disbursement of assets (except for education or other necessities) until the age of your choosing. You may also appoint a trustee which could be anyone from a trusted friend to a close family member who would act in the children’s best interests, to manage those funds.
If you don’t have children, you should execute a will to allow your estate to pass to a family member, friend(s), or charity. If, upon your passing, your next-of-kin are unable to be located, your estate could be escheated to the state. If you assets are escheated to the state, the state basically collects your assets and keeps it for its own spending. By preparing a will, you can decide instead to make sure your hard-earned assets pass to a loved one or a charity of your choosing.
If you have questions about why you need a will, or would like to set up a consultation to prepare a will or any other estate planning documents, don’t hesitate to call The Carroll Law Firm at (623)551-9366.
We’ve received electronic copies of over 6,000 pages worth of documents. We are still in the process of reviewing the thousands of pages of financial and other related documentation that the trustee’s attorneys provided to us this past month to see what, if any, recovery may be available outside of the bankruptcy. We are still working with the trustee to try and either sell or allow clients to take title to the many properties within the bankruptcy estate. The trustee is dictating the schedule of which properties are addressed at which time, and we are in contact with those clients who are on the trustee’s current list. At the end of this process, as the estate winds up, we’ll know what, if any, recovery within the bankruptcy estate is available to our clients that had unsecured liens. As always, feel free to contact our office with any questions or concerns.
