Blog
Short, plain-English articles about wills, trusts and looking after the people you love.
Many Arizona and Utah families come across the phrase healthcare power of attorney when they start thinking about planning for medical decisions. In plain terms, a healthcare power of attorney is a written document in which one person names another trusted person to speak for them about medical care if they become unable to communicate their own wishes.
October 13, 2026 5 min read
Many Arizona and Utah parents first meet the idea of naming a guardian when they sit down to think about a will. In plain terms, a guardian for a minor child is the adult who would have legal authority to care for that child if no parent is able to, and a will is one of the most common places where parents write down who they would want that person to be.
5 min read
Many Arizona and Utah families hear the phrase durable power of attorney when they talk about planning for money and property during life. In plain terms, a durable financial power of attorney is a written document in which one person (the principal) names another person (the agent) to handle certain financial and property matters—and that authority is designed to continue even if the principal later cannot manage those matters alone.
5 min read
Many Arizona and Utah families who explore a living trust also hear the phrase successor trustee. In plain terms, a successor trustee is the person—or sometimes an institution—named to step in as trustee of a living trust when the original trustee resigns, becomes unable to serve, or dies, so trust property can continue to be managed under the trust’s terms.
5 min read
Many Arizona and Utah families who explore a living trust also hear the word funding. In plain terms, funding a living trust means retitling or transferring property into the trust during life so the trust actually controls that property.
5 min read
Many Arizona and Utah families who explore a living trust also hear about a pour-over will. In plain terms, a pour-over will is a will that leaves leftover probate property to a trust, so those assets can later be handled under the trust’s terms.
4 min read
Many Arizona and Utah families hear that someone has been named a personal representative—or an “executor”—and wonder what that role actually involves. In plain terms, a personal representative is the person a court appoints to gather estate property that goes through probate, pay valid debts and taxes from estate assets, and distribute what remains to the people who are entitled to it.
5 min read
Many Arizona and Utah families hear that someone died “without a will.” The legal word for that is intestate. In plain terms, state law—not a will—decides who inherits the property that still needs the court process.
5 min read
Many Arizona and Utah families write a will and assume it covers every account. A beneficiary designation on a life insurance policy, retirement plan, or payable-on-death account is a separate instruction that often travels with that asset.
5 min read
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