Arizona Wills, Trusts & Estate Planning Articles

You won’t get a cookie-cutter document package. Your plan is built around your family, your assets and your goals, and includes documents that work together as one coordinated system:

• A revocable living trust that passes trust assets after your death to your heirs automatically without a probate
• A last will & testament that transfers non-trust assets to heirs
• A last will & testament that names who you want to raise your minor children if both of their parents are deceased
• A healthcare power of attorney that names the person(s) who can make medical decisions for you if you can’t communicate with your doctor
• A HIPAA authorization that gives your healthcare agents the right to get information about you from your doctors
• A financial power of attorney that gives your agents the power to deal with your financial affairs if you become mentally incapacitated
• A living will that instructs your doctors and hospitals to pull the plug if you are brain dead being kept alive by machines
• A deed that transfers your Arizona home to your trust
• Optional irrevocable asset-protected trusts created after your death that protect inherited assets from your beneficiaries’ creditors, ex-spouses and bankruptcy court
• See the 36 documents and services in our custom estate plan

Whether you’re a retiree, a parent of young children, a business owner, or someone who wants the peace of mind of knowing your affairs are in order, we’d love to talk with you. There’s no pressure and no obligation, just a conversation about what makes sense for you and your family.

Two quick ways to see who Arizona law says inherits your property if you die without a will or trust, plus a complete list of what our estate plan includes.

• Learn Who Inherits Your Assets if You Die without a Will or Trust — how Arizona's intestacy laws decide who is legally entitled to your estate.
• Take Our “Who Will Inherit Your Property” Quiz — a short interactive quiz that tells you exactly who Arizona law would give your assets to.
• Our Fee & 36 Documents & Services in Our Estate Plan with a Revocable Living Trust

Every family is different. See how an estate plan protects people in your situation.

• Families
• People with Kids
• Blended Families
• Single Parents
• Partners

A revocable living trust is the cornerstone of every proper Arizona estate plan. Start with Trust 101, then dig deeper.

• Revocable Living Trust 101: How It Works & Why You Need One — a plain-English explanation of what a living trust is and how it works.
• Arizona Revocable Living Trust FAQs — answers to the trust questions Arizona clients ask most.
• 18 Benefits of a Revocable Living Trust — every major advantage a trust has over a will, joint tenancy or beneficiary designations alone.
• Beneficiary Controlled Asset Protected Irrevocable Trusts — protects your heirs' inheritance from their creditors, ex-spouses and bankruptcy court.
• Arizona Certification of Trust Keeps Your Estate Plan Private — prove your trust exists to banks and title companies without revealing its confidential terms.
• 8 Assets You Should Never Put in a Living Trust
• How to Store & Share Your Arizona Estate Plan Documents
• How Often Should You Review and Update Your Estate Plan?

Each article explains one critical document: what it does, why you need it, and what really happens if you die or become incapacitated without it. They are written in language anyone can understand, not language only attorneys speak.

• Essential Estate Plan Documents Every Adult Needs
• Why Not Having a Financial Power of Attorney Could Harm You
• Why Every Arizona Adult Needs a Healthcare Power of Attorney
• What Is a HIPAA Authorization & Why Every Arizona Adult Needs One
• Arizona Living Will: What It Is, Why You Need One & What Happens Without It
• Why Every Arizona Resident Needs a Will
• How to Name a Guardian of Minor Children in Arizona: A Complete Guide

Every major estate planning document has its own FAQ article. If you have a specific question, one of these probably answers it.

• Arizona Revocable Living Trust FAQs
• Trustee Signature FAQs: How to Sign as a Trustee
• Arizona Certification of Trust FAQs
• Financial Power of Attorney FAQs
• Healthcare Power of Attorney FAQs
• HIPAA Authorization FAQs
• Living Will FAQs
• Last Will & Testament FAQs
• Guardian of Arizona Minor Children FAQs
• Who Gets Copies of Your Estate Planning Documents FAQs
• 20 FAQs About Arizona Beneficiary Deeds
• Arizona Pay on Death Form FAQs
• Arizona Vehicle Transfer on Death FAQs
• Business Owners Estate Planning FAQs
• Firearms & Estate Planning FAQs in Arizona
• Precious Metals & Estate Plans FAQs

Our 13-part newsletter series, in order. Read it start to finish for a complete estate planning education.

1. Will Your Loved Ones Be Protected if Something Happens to You?
2. Our Estate Plan: What You Get and What It Costs
3. Arizona Probate Costs Loved Ones Time, Money & Stress
4. Ultimate Arizona Estate Planning Guide: Wills & Trusts
5. What Our Clients Say About Our Estate Plan Services
6. What Happens to Your Family if You Can’t Speak?
7. Who Raises Your Minor Children if You Die?
8. Second Marriage? You Need a Custom Estate Plan
9. Protect Heirs’ Inheritance from Creditors & Ex-spouses
10. Is Your Business in Your Estate Plan?
11. Problems Created by Owning an Asset as a Joint Tenant
12. Estate Planning Mistakes of the Rich & Famous
13. 10 Common Estate Planning Mistakes to Avoid

Signing your trust is step one. Funding it (actually transferring your assets into it) is step two, and it is the step most people don’t fully understand until after they sign. Start with the Ultimate Guide.

• How to Move Real Estate, LLCs, Investment and Bank Accounts into Your Trust: The Ultimate Guide — a practical walkthrough of every major asset type and exactly how to transfer it.
• How to Transfer Real Estate to a Trust
• How to Avoid Probating Arizona Land: Guide to Beneficiary Deeds — land passes automatically to the heirs named in the deed when the last owner dies.
• Use an Arizona Beneficiary Deed to Transfer Your Home to Your Trust
• Pass Your Arizona Car to Your Heir Automatically (No Probate)
• Put Your Business in Your Estate Plan
• Pay on Death Forms Can Avoid Probate for Accounts
• How to Legally Leave Firearms to Your Loved Ones in Arizona
• How to Transfer Cryptocurrency to Heirs in Arizona
• Funding a Trust with Gold, Silver & Precious Metals
• Problems Created by Owning an Asset as a Joint Tenant

Let us do the paperwork. Submit the questionnaire for the service you need.

• Hire Us to Prepare a Special Warranty Deed — transfer Arizona land to your trust or LLC.
• Hire Us to Prepare a Beneficiary Deed — transfer your Arizona land to your trust on the death of all current owners.
• Submit Our Member Change Questionnaire — transfer an Arizona LLC to a trust, or add or remove an LLC member.
• Hire Us to Transfer Assets to Your Trust

Four simple steps to a complete, custom estate plan, plus amendments and probate help.

• How to Hire Us to Prepare Your Custom Estate Plan & Trust
• Our Fee & 36 Documents & Services in Our Estate Plan with a Revocable Living Trust
• Book a Free Office, Phone or Zoom Video Meeting
• Submit Our Online Estate Planning Questionnaire before Your Meeting
• Hire Us to Amend Your Estate Plan Documents
• Hire Us to Do an Arizona Probate