Arizona Living Trust Portfolios
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Mike On Money

August 27th, 2025. Well it’s time to add to my blog. Seems like the Covid ordeal put a damper on posting. This blog post is about disinheritance actions. I can say very honestly that this subject is one of the most controversial consulting areas in my legal documents practice. When I am hired to draft legal documents in estate planning that limit or completely disinherit a child or grandchild, my heart starts beating faster. I have had to do it a lot over my long career and it never sets well with me. However, the dictate to create terms of disinheritance for offspring does have value in the estate planning arena.

Perhaps, more and more children, grandchildren in the past few decades have gone against the wishes of their parents or grandparents and acted in ways, (including inactions as well) that did not please the estate client who after much deliberation, has come down to dictating this legal move to remind them, after the death, that there was a cost to pay for certain habits, actions, in-actions, harmfully spoken words in anger never recalled, abandonment of visiting, etc.

I hate to see the “hammer” come down this way after a client dies, but they are in charge at the time they draft and they have their reasons to restrict or eliminate certain beneficiaries, normally their own children, who they are unhappy about their lifestyle, habits, that have hurt the estate owner/s. So it is a way to remind after a death, the true cost of their actions. (or inactions) If this is something you are exploring, I have a lot of experience in drafting legal documents (Wills, Trusts) that will help carry out your wishes to disinherit someone. Smart attorneys can contest the provisions and try to prove a “senior” was not at full mental capacity when the disinheritance clauses were drafted. Or try to prove in a formal “contest” court filing they simply forgot them.

Just know, as much as I hate doing these, I have studied for years the best terms to draft so that the decision does not get amended by a Judge in a formal court contest filing. Since 2009, Arizona trust code law is pretty liberal in this area compared to other states (such as my home state of Iowa who will let a Judge disinherit you if you even get mad at a Executor or Trustee), as it takes a formal “contest” court procedure here in Arizona and an extremely clear and egregious situation in order to lose your share of an estate you were named a beneficiary (heir) of.

I close in saying the wording in Wills and Trusts will normally in most states contain language that you are to be treated as if you (and perhaps all of your offspring) are to be treated as if you pre-deceased the descendent. I tell clients that in honest frank language, (without practicing law of course), that this pretty well means you are “dead” to the parent who disinherited you and thus, not able to get any share. Leaving other siblings to redivide the money and assets amongst themselves right in front of your eyes. (legally dead, personally very much alive).

A free 15 minute conference by Zoom or in person can discuss the general legal information pertaining to drafting such a provision in your Will or Trust with me. Call me at 1-800-782-2806 or email me at mdanderson@webfsi.com

I hope and pray this blog post does not apply to you!

M.D. Anderson

Secret IRA

There is a secret IRA only a few financial advisers know about…

There is a secret IRA only a few financial advisers know about…

Back in 2012, I put together a Self Directed IRA (SD-IRA) for a major real estate broker (one of the top producers in the valley) in the East Valley that had all the bells and whistles. We wrote and shot 20 separate videos and uploaded them to YouTube. Our website (CenturyIRA.com) talked about the secrets held in the investment world for 40 years. We explained the ability to self direct your retirement money and buy more that what the broker, banker or insurance agent were selling you since 1974, the year Congress created IRA accounts.

The program was an abject failure! Not because the effort or work was not outstanding, it was. But because the website name was overwhelmed with a mutual fund company “hits” of a similar name that put us past page 20 of Google search results. And only a few found the videos on YouTube. Together, the program failed miserably after investing thousands of dollars and countless hours of editing and video production time.

That was then, this is now. FSI is working to bring back the proper education and assistance in providing Self Directed IRA consulting for both our current clients as well as our prospective clients. We want to help you discover the secret of SD-IRA’s that frankly, is still hidden for multiple reasons from consumer’s eyes.

The “Secret IRA” as stated in this blog title has been hiding in plain sight since all IRA’s were created in 1974 by Congress. Since then, they added the Roth IRA in 2008 and many other flavors and variations such as the Self-SEP. Yet consumers don’t get the proper information on self directed investing of their retirement money for five main reasons:

  1. Most insurance or investment financial advisers are not aware of the option or if aware, have never spent the time to understand how they work. Being a financial adviser now for over 42 years, I fully understand you will never recommend something to a prospective client unless you understand it yourself.

  2. The competing industries, mainly the securities industry goes out of it’s way to distort the true facts on how to set up an SD-IRA, who can administer them, and uses mostly fear tactics to dissuade anyone discovering the secret from taking action.

  3. Most CPA’s and Attorney's believe what they hear or read on the internet printed or promoted and pushed by the securities industry which purports that buying anything other than stocks, bonds or mutual funds with your IRA money is risky.

  4. The real estate industry as a whole remains asleep on this area of real estate sales that would greatly enhance their sales if they only understood the largest asset folks retire with today is their IRA (former pension/401-k, 403-b plan). Even when they die, when our firm touches 5 to 25 million of IRA money in consulting practice (www.inheritedirahell.com), the average real estate agent or broker is clueless that the opportunity to assist in re-investing inherited IRA money for clients may be the biggest opportunity of any market they could enter! Our consulting this week alone for just two clients was on current or inherited IRA money of 2.5 million dollars!

  5. Education and invitation. To understand SD-IRA’s and how to buy rental real estate, bare lots, part of a commercial building, etc. — first takes education. One must learn the pros and cons and things you can do and not do with an SD-IRA before investing. Thus comes the invitation…

FSI would like to invite you to sit down with us first, then arrange a meeting with your CPA or accountant so the information and education can be delivered properly, the myths can be dispelled clearly, and the opportunities can be outlined which will allow you for the first time to properly diversify your investment portfolio (including your retirement money or perhaps inherited IRA money) to finally include REAL real estate, not a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) sold by your securities broker. Property in your back yard. Or around the world for that matter. There are no restrictions where you buy real estate to fund your SD-IRA!

I could write a book about SD-IRA’s… but this is your invitation. Fill out a response tab or call me at 1-800-782-2806. Even if you don’t live in Arizona, I can do tax consulting for you to assist in setting up an SD-IRA. Perhaps with the stock market at all time highs, TODAY is a good day to think about diversification and managing risk properly. As a well known accountant in the Phoenix area, I tell all of my clients that losing money with their retirement dollars (IRA’s or whatever), is not tax deductible. A 40% drop in the stock market with retirement money is a real 40% capital loss with no tax write off. (IRA’s have a zero basis for tax purposes)

It would be going too far to tell you to wake up and smell the roses and look around. Ferris Bueller did that in the movie. But, the bell is ringing to consider alternative investing. I have the secret to share with you. When can we meet?

M.D. Anderson

1-800-782-2806

Arizona Estate Planning, Retirement PlanningMichael AndersonFinancial Strategies, Inc.Self Directed IRA, SD IRA Investing, Self Directed IRA Adviser