Ultimate Arizona Estate Planning
Guide: Wills & Trusts
Library of Articles on Arizona
Wills, Trusts, and Estate Planning
By Richard Keyt and Richard C. Keyt, Arizona Estate Planning Attorneys
You are on our estate planning library page that has tons of articles that explain wills, trusts and estate planning. Scroll down to see the list of our wills, trusts and estate planning articles.
Richard Keyt (Rick, the father at 480-664-7478) and his son, former CPA Richard C. Keyt (Ricky at 480-664-7472), are Arizona wills, trusts and estate planning attorneys. They have 294 5-star Google reviews and 407 5-star Google, Facebook & Birdeye reviews. They prepare custom estate plans for Arizonans that protect their most valuable assets – their loved ones. Book a free office, phone or Zoom video meeting.
We Want to Help You Protect Your Most Valuable Assets - Your Loved Ones
Welcome to KEYTLaw's library of Arizona estate planning articles, written by attorney Richard Keyt, who has practiced law in Arizona since 1979. These free resources are designed to help Arizona residents understand how to protect their families, pass assets efficiently to the next generation, and avoid the delays and expense of probate court. The articles below cover the topics our clients ask about most often.
If you own a home, a retirement account, or anything else you want to pass on to the people you love, you need an Arizona revocable living trust to avoid an Arizona probate. An Arizona will alone won't cut it. Many Arizonans don't realize that a will requires your assets to go through an expensive, time-consuming public Arizona Superior Court probate process. A revocable living trust, on the other hand, lets your assets pass automatically to your loved ones without a probate, without court involvement, and without unnecessary delay. After more than 45 years of practicing law in Arizona, I've seen firsthand what happens to families who planned well — and families who didn't. The difference is significant.
At KEYTLaw, every estate plan we prepare is custom-designed around your family, your assets, and your goals. You won't get a cookie-cutter document package. Your plan will include a revocable living trust, a healthcare power of attorney, a financial power of attorney, a living will, a deed transferring your home into your trust, and several other documents that work together as a complete, coordinated system. We also include irrevocable asset-protected trusts for your beneficiaries inside the plan, so that when your children or other heirs receive their inheritance, it's shielded from creditors, ex-spouses, and bankruptcy courts. That's protection most estate plans simply don't provide.
We want to help you protect your most valuable assets — your loved ones. Whether you're a retiree, a parent of young children, a business owner, or someone who simply wants the peace of mind that comes from knowing your affairs are in order, we'd love to talk with you. You can book a free office, phone, or Zoom video consultation at keytlaw.com/calendar, or learn more about Arizona estate planning at keytlaw.com. There's no pressure and no obligation — just a straightforward conversation about what makes sense for you and your family.
List of Topics Below
- Arizona residents: Learn Who Inherits Your Assets if You Die without a Will or Trust — a detailed article explaining Arizona's intestacy laws and who is legally entitled to your estate if you die without a plan.
- Arizona residents: Take our Who Will Inherit Your Property quiz — a short interactive quiz that walks you through your specific family situation and tells you exactly who Arizona law would give your assets to.
Revocable Living Trusts
- Revocable Living Trust 101: How It Works & Why You Need One — the clearest plain-English explanation of what a revocable living trust is, how it works, and why it is the cornerstone of every proper Arizona estate plan.
- Arizona Revocable Living Trust Frequently Asked Questions — answers to the most common trust questions I hear from Arizona clients.
- 18 Benefits of a Revocable Living Trust — a detailed breakdown of every major advantage a trust provides over a will, joint tenancy, or beneficiary designations alone.
- Beneficiary Controlled Asset Protected Irrevocable Trusts — This type of trust protects the trust's assets from the beneficiary's creditors, ex-spouses and bankruptcy court.
- Arizona Certification of Trust Keeps Your Estate Plan Private — explains the document that lets you prove your trust exists to banks and title companies without revealing your confidential trust terms.
Learn How You & Your Loved Ones Can Be Harmed if You Lack Any of These Documents
This is one of the most valuable sections of the library. It explains each critical estate planning document individually — what it does, why you need it, and what the real-world consequences are if you die or become incapacitated without it.
Each of these articles was written to answer the questions real Arizona clients ask me — in language that anyone can understand, not language that only attorneys speak.
Frequently Asked Questions
Every major document in an estate plan has its own dedicated FAQ article. If you have a specific question about any of these documents, these articles probably answer it:
Articles in Our Estate Planning Newsletter
How to Transfer Assets to Your Trust
Signing your trust is step one. Funding it — actually transferring your assets into it — is step two. And it's the step most people don't fully understand until after they sign. The library includes a complete guide on this:
- How to Avoid Probating Arizona Land: Guide to Beneficiary Deeds — This deed causes Arizona land to pass automatically to the heir(s) named in the deed on the death of the sole owner or the death of the last to die if there are multiple owners of the land.
- How to Move Real Estate, LLCs, Investment and Bank Accounts into Your Trust: The Ultimate Guide — a comprehensive, practical walkthrough covering every major asset type and exactly how to transfer it into your trust.
Funding Services We Provide
- Hire Us to Prepare a Special Warranty Deed to Transfer Arizona Land to Your Trust or LLC
- Submit this online questionnaire to Hire Us to Prepare a Beneficiary Deed that transfer your Arizona land to your trust on the death of all current owners.
- Submit our Member Change Questionnaire to transfer an Arizona LLC to a trust or to add or remove a member to or from an LLC.
- Submit this online questionnaire to hire us to transfer assets to your trust
Hire KEYTLaw to Prepare Your Custom Estate Plan
See the Contents of Our Estate Plan
To protect your most valuable assets—your loved ones— read our article that describes the 36 documents and services you will get if you hire us to prepare your comprehensive estate plan with a revocable living trust or watch this video about the documents and services.
Questions? Book a free meeting or call or email one of our Arizona estate planning attorneys. We don't charge to talk to people.
Call or email Richard Keyt, the father
Direct phone: 480-664-7478
Email: [email protected]
Call or email Richard C. Keyt, the son
Direct phone: 480-664-7472
Email: [email protected]