David J. Harowitz, P.C.

David J. Harowitz

fpsirvent — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 23:05:19 +0000

David is President of the firm and has been practicing law for thirty-five years. His practice is dedicated to helping clients and their families in the areas of Veterans Pensions, Estate Settlements and Probate, Elder Law, Estate Planning, and Insurance Reviews. David graduated summa cum laude from Arizona State University and cum laude from its College of Law where he was on the Arizona State Law Journal. He derives tremendous satisfaction from drafting an estate plan that takes into account the unique people, families and institutions involved, and which avoids or lessens the impact of probate as well as estate taxes and administrative costs. David especially enjoys helping his clients achieve their goals, hopes, dreams, and aspirations. David has been and continues to be involved with many of the best estate planning attorneys in the country through various professional associations as well as personal relationships. Every year David devotes hundreds of hours to constant education and development of his skills to better counsel and help his clients.

Professional Credentials

Member, State Bar of Arizona
Member, United States District Court Bar
Member, United States Supreme Court Bar
Accredited, Department of Veterans Affairs
Member, Christian Legal Society
Member, Trust & Probate Section of State Bar of Arizona
Founding Member, Wealth Counsel, a professional, national association of estate planning attorneys
Founding Member, Wealth Counsel Arizona Forum, a professional, Arizona association of estate planning attorneys
Member, Elder Counsel, a professional, national association of elder law attorneys
Member, Academy of VA Pension Planners (AVAPP), national association of VA pensions attorneys
Member, National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys
Mentor, Wealth Counsel attorneys in the southwestern United States
Member, Advisors Forum, a professional association of attorneys and financial advisors
Member, Esperti-Peterson Wealth Strategies Institute, at Michigan State University

Personal Statement:

I married my wife Stacey while in law school and we have three children, Matthew, Andrew and Bethany. I have served as an Elder and an adult Bible teacher at Faith Community Church in Chandler and on the board of Phoenix Seminary. In addition, I am co-founder of Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization, the largest independent Christian tuition organization in Arizona. I have over the years chaired and served on numerous charitable boards and am pleased to be in demand as a teacher and speaker on various Christian and legal topics including teaching related topics to estate planning attorneys.

Francisco P. Sirvent

fpsirvent — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 23:04:52 +0000

Francisco is a partner with the firm. He graduated from the University of Arizona in 2001 with a B.S. in Biosystems Engineering, first in his class. Francisco entered the legal profession as a law clerk in 2002 and then pursued his law degree at Arizona State University. He obtained this degree in 2006 and was one of a few students to also obtain a Certificate in Law, Science and Technology. He led the Elder Law Pro Bono project and Christian Legal Society student chapter, and then interned at Arizona Technology Enterprises. During his last year in a tax and wills & trusts course, Francisco discovered the “fun” of taking advantage of the intricacies of the tax code to help families in estate planning. This area of law brought together his enjoyment of calculating numbers with the practice of law.

Francisco is an accomplished teacher and presenter in the estate planning arena. He has taught numerous workshops, seminars and education courses to attorneys, financial professionals, and the public. Francisco discovered his joy for teaching in English Talk Time, an outreach ministry at his church, teaching conversational English as a second language to immigrants.

Professional Credentials:

Member, Arizona State Bar
Member, United States Federal District Court of Arizona
Accredited, Department of Veterans Affairs
Member, Christian Legal Society
Founding Member, Wealth Counsel Arizona Forum, a professional, Arizona association of estate planning attorneys

Personal Statement:

Nicole and I have four children, Isabella, Gabriel, Sophia and Zachary. Before entering law school, I committed myself to avoid becoming one of “those attorneys”. I promised my family that I would be different. That commitment led me to find this area of practice, one where my skills were being used to build something positive for my clients. When I am not at work, you might find me camping with my kids, fishing, hiking, hunting, working in the church nursery, or remodeling the kitchen.

Veterans’ Pension – Are you missing out on a tax-free $2,000 per month?

fpsirvent — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 06:04:21 +0000

The Veterans’ Administration offers a “pension” for certain service men and women who pass a means test and medical qualification. The VA describes the program as follows:

“Pension is a benefit paid to wartime veterans who have limited or no income, and who are age 65 or older, or, if under 65, who are permanently and totally disabled. Veterans who are more seriously disabled may qualify for Aid and Attendance or Housebound benefits. These are benefits that are paid in addition to the basic pension rate.”

To qualify, the veteran does not have to have retired from the service and does not have to have a service-related disability. Instead, active service during designated times of war and a general or honorable discharge meets the service qualifications. Additionally, the VA will only approve a pension application if the veteran’s income and assets meet the eligibility requirements and the veteran meets certain disability requirements.

Many qualified veterans miss out on the pension benefits they have earned because they are never informed that income has a very different meaning for veteran pension purposes than it does in common usage. A veteran could have annual income of $100,000 or more, retain all of that income and still qualify for a tax free pension of over $2,000 per month as of 2012.

The pension benefit is a reimbursement for medical expenses and is, therefore, not taxable income to the veteran.

How does Arizona Probate work?

fpsirvent — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 04:53:54 +0000

There are only a few words in the English language boring enough to put people to sleep immediately. “Probate” has to be one of the worst! So let’s call it something else…how about “prove”? It’s not boring to prove something, right? Everyone likes to “prove their point”, “prove they are right”, etc. And that is all “probate” means: to prove what that person wanted.

Usually the person’s desires are proven by submitting a Last Will & Testament, but when that isn’t available our government created default rules. These rules are supposed to line up with what the average person would have wanted. A will ensures that specific desires will be followed. The probate process is used to transfer legal title of property from the person who died to the beneficiaries. Since you can’t take it with you to the grave, it must be transferred to someone or something (charity, trust, people, etc.) that is alive.

The only property that is transferred in this process is the “estate”. An “estate” is simply the entire inventory of all assets that the person owned just before he or she died. Anything owned in a different name (like in a trust or a corporation) is not included in this “estate”. But beware, the IRS has a much broader definition of “estate” for estate tax purposes. The estate we are referring to here is the “probate estate” that will go through the Arizona probate court process.

Arizona has five increasingly complex levels of probate. (1) Summary Administrative, (2) Transfer by Affidavit, (3) Informal Probate, (4) Formal Probate, and (5) Supervised Administration. The lowest levels have simpler procedures, but have limits on dollar values of the estate. The higher levels provide additional protection to the personal representative and to the beneficiaries. The “Personal Representative” is the person who is responsible to make sure all probate laws and procedures are followed.

There are three main steps in every probate process: 1) Collect assets, 2) pay debts and expenses, and 3) distribute property to beneficiaries. If any one of these steps is done incorrectly or deficiently, the personal representative is personally liable to the beneficiaries for the error.

In Arizona, “probate” can also refer to types of court proceedings like trust contests, guardianships, conservatorships and protection of minors.

Things you should know about probate:

6-12 month average processing time
Must publish certain notices in newspaper
Every possible family member gets personal notice of the proceeding

When is a Living Trust Used?

fpsirvent — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 23:56:04 +0000

A trust based estate plan uses a revocable living trust to contain all of the instructions that the client wants to apply to their property at their death. Unlike a will, a living trust springs to life upon signing. It is an independent legal entity with rights and responsibilities of its own. The operations of the trust are carried out by Trustees, rather than Personal Representatives. More about Trustees later. Unlike a will, property is transferred from the client to the living trust soon after signing. The trust becomes the legal owner of the property for state and some federal law purposes. When a death occurs, the trust is already the owner and does not need to go to the probate court for supervision. Typically, the client is also the trustee. Upon the death of the client-Grantor the terms of the trust automatically transfer power and responsibility to the successor Trustee who is the person or persons the Grantor has chosen to act as the Trustee after the Grantor’s death.

If you look at the operative provisions of a trust, you will see that they are very similar to those included in a will. This is particularly true for the portions that deal with the payment of expenses, dispositions of specific bequests, disposition of the property, and the powers and responsibilities of the successor trustee or trustees.

Because a living trust springs to life upon signing, it will contain instructions that enable a successor trustee to make decisions during the life of a disabled or incapacitated Grantor. The trust itself is a substituted decision making document of its own. Financial institutions are more likely to understand the concept of a successor trustee than the concept of an Agent under a financial power of attorney.

Of course, any competent estate planning attorney will also prepare a health care power of attorney and a financial property power of attorney. However, the power of attorney used in the trust-based plan is frequently limited in scope to protect the Grantor. This is generally considered to be a considerable benefit of a trust-based estate plan, because if the financial institution will not accept a power of attorney, there is always the successor trustee in the living trust to fall back on.

Who needs a Will?

fpsirvent — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 23:49:21 +0000

A will-based estate plan uses a will to contain all of the instructions that the client wants to apply to their property at their death. In effect, a will is dormant until death occurs, then its terms spring into being and a court supervised procedure, called probate, begins and ensures that the decedent’s last wishes are carried out. The terms of a will progress through naming guardians for minor children, payment of last expenses, distribution of any specific bequests, the disposition of the decedent’s property, including changing the title of the property from the decedent to the beneficiaries, and the powers and responsibilities of the Personal Representative.

All property will pass through Arizona’s default probate laws if a Will is not prepared. Each adult (age 18 and over) who is legally competent should make their own decisions about where their property will pass by preparing a will.

Insurance Review

fpsirvent — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 23:24:44 +0000

We are seeing more and more need by our clients to have their existing insurance reviewed. It is our advice that everyone have their insurance portfolio reviewed every two to three years.

We work with your existing professional advisors to effectuate the necessary reviews. If you do not have an advisor you are comfortable using we have great relationships with many fine professionals who can do the reviews on your behalf.

Because of the fast pace of change in your lives, the laws, and in the insurance industry the idea of purchasing an insurance policy and then never looking at it again is both foolish and dangerous. A once sound company may not now be able to pay your claim when it occurs. The amount of coverage may be more or less than you need. You may have no coverage for some of your greatest dangers. For the same amount of premium you may be able to obtain more insurance from a stronger company or you may be able to reduce the premium for the same amount of insurance. Sometimes the purpose for life insurance may have ceased to exist. We can explore other purposes for the insurance such as creative charitable giving. If the policy is not useful to you often we can help you obtain more than the cash surrender value for the policy.

Avoiding Probate

fpsirvent — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 05:36:54 +0000

A revocable living trust and properly titled assets and other property, will avoid the need for probate proceedings after someone’s death. With the trust, your successor trustee will be responsible for collecting all the assets and creating an inventory, paying all the debts, expenses and taxes, and making the final distributions to your heirs and beneficiaries.

Conservatorships & Guardianships

fpsirvent — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 05:33:25 +0000

The Arizona legislature and Arizona Supreme Court have changed the rules (once again) on how to administer and manage a “living probate”. A living probate is the term we use to refer to a guardianship or conservatorship proceeding. This is a court case where a judge oversees how your healthcare and finances are managed. At least two attorneys are involved, both paid out of your estate if you are the person who needs care or cannot manage your money.

Nursing Home Bankruptcy?

fpsirvent — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 05:30:34 +0000

The average nursing home in Maricopa County costs nearly $6,000 per month in 2007 and the costs are not going down. That is $72,000 per year or $216,000 for a three year stay. The average stay in a nursing home is about 3 years. It is estimated that about two-thirds of all people over sixty-five will need nursing home care at some time. Without proper planning the law requires that the nursing home patient have no more than a house, $2,000, and a few exempt assets before they are eligible for governmental help. The spouse usually can not keep sufficient assets and income to maintain their lifestyle. The adult children end up making up the difference to the detriment of their own families. Proper planning of assets, income, and long term care insurance may help families avoid bankruptcy by nursing home.