Estate planning FAQ.

Our flat-fee estate plans start at $2,300 for individuals and $2,800 for married couples. That includes a revocable living trust, pour-over will, financial and healthcare powers of attorney, deed transfer for your primary residence, and a complete document binder. There are no hourly billing surprises and no upcharges for routine questions. More complex situations (asset protection structures, dynasty trusts, business succession) are quoted as flat fees during the consultation, before you commit.

Most of our work is by video — easier on schedules and just as effective for the planning conversations. The only step that legally has to happen in person is the signing, where Arizona requires a notary and two witnesses. For clients in Mesa, Gilbert, Chandler, Tempe, Queen Creek, or Scottsdale who would rather meet in person from start to finish, our office is at 48 N Macdonald in downtown Mesa.

Three to five weeks from the consultation to signed documents in your hands, for most clients. The bulk of that is a drafting and review cycle — we send you the documents, you read them, we revise based on your questions, and we schedule a signing. We can move faster when there is a real reason to (a serious diagnosis, an upcoming surgery, an out-of-state move).

Drafting all core documents (revocable living trust, pour-over will, durable financial power of attorney, healthcare power of attorney, living will / advance directive, HIPAA authorization), the deed transfer to retitle your primary residence into the trust, a certificate of trust, your document binder, and unlimited Q&A through signing. Trust funding for the rest of your accounts is offered as an optional done-for-you add-on.

Yes, when it helps. Half due at signing of the engagement letter and half due at signing of the documents is the standard structure. We can split it further for clients who need it.

Yes. Arizona is one of nine community property states. In short: most assets acquired during marriage are owned 50/50 by both spouses, regardless of whose name is on the title. This affects how property gets characterized at death, how it can be transferred during life, and how trusts should be structured for married couples. If you moved to Arizona from a non-community-property state (most of the country), an out-of-state trust may need adjustments to align with how Arizona treats your property.

As of September 2025, Arizona's small estate affidavit limits are $200,000 for personal property and $300,000 for real property (raised significantly under HB 2116). Estates under those limits can use a simplified affidavit process instead of full probate. Estates over those limits go through formal probate, which typically takes 6 to 12 months and costs your family thousands. A funded revocable living trust avoids probate entirely regardless of estate size.

A beneficiary deed (Arizona Revised Statutes § 33-405) is a recorded document that transfers your real property to a named beneficiary automatically at your death, without probate. It is a useful tool, but it is not a substitute for full estate planning. It does not handle minor-child guardianship, multi-beneficiary distributions, asset protection, incapacity planning, or properties in other states. We use beneficiary deeds in specific situations — usually as a backstop or for clients with very simple estates.

Your estate is distributed under Arizona's intestacy statutes — a default ordering that may or may not match what you would have chosen. For a married parent of minor children, the surviving spouse and children typically share. If you are unmarried, your parents, then siblings, then more distant relatives inherit in a fixed sequence. The court also decides who raises your children, since you did not name a guardian. Intestacy is rarely what people would have chosen if they had been asked.

Generally yes — most well-drafted trusts function across state lines. But they often reference the original state's probate code, contain community-property language calibrated to that state's rules (which differ from Arizona's), and may have provisions that no longer fit your current situation. We do a structured review and update what needs updating, usually as a partial restatement rather than a full new trust.

No. Arizona has neither a state estate tax nor an inheritance tax. The federal estate tax still applies, but only at very high exemption levels — most Arizona families do not owe federal estate tax. For high-net-worth Scottsdale and Paradise Valley clients with estates approaching the federal threshold, we do estate tax planning. For most other clients, the question is mostly academic.

The will, specifically the guardianship clause that names who will raise your children if both parents are gone. That single provision is more important than the trust, the powers of attorney, or anything else. Without it, an Arizona court chooses the guardian — which may not be the person you would have chosen, and the decision can fracture extended families.

After any significant life change: marriage, divorce, birth or adoption of a child, death of a named beneficiary or trustee, a substantial inheritance, a move to or from another state, or sale of a business. Otherwise, every five years is a reasonable cadence to review — the law evolves, your assets change, and your priorities shift.

Retirement accounts pass by beneficiary designation, not by will or trust. Whoever is named on the account form receives it directly, regardless of what your other documents say. This makes it critical to coordinate beneficiary designations with the rest of your plan. Naming a trust as beneficiary is sometimes the right move, sometimes not — it depends on your beneficiaries' situations and the SECURE Act rules around stretch payouts.

For most Arizona married couples with combined finances, a joint trust is simpler and works well. For couples with significant separate property, prior marriages with children from those marriages, asset protection concerns, or substantial estate tax exposure, separate trusts are usually the better answer. We walk through the tradeoffs in the consultation rather than defaulting to one approach.

Arizona has adopted a version of the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, which gives your trustee or executor authority to access digital accounts when properly authorized. We include digital asset language in our documents. For cryptocurrency specifically, the bigger issue is access — your beneficiaries cannot inherit what they cannot access. Document seed phrases or wallet keys somewhere your trusted person can find them, separately from the trust itself.

Immediately, in two phases. First, the items you can change unilaterally — your healthcare directive, your financial POA, your will, beneficiary designations on retirement and life insurance accounts (where the divorce decree allows). Second, after the divorce is final, the trust restatement that removes your former spouse and reassigns the trustee, executor, and beneficiary roles. Do not wait until the divorce is final to update what you can update now.

That is trust administration, and it is what trusts are designed for. The successor trustee notifies beneficiaries, inventories the assets, pays final debts and taxes, and distributes according to the trust terms — typically without court involvement. We can guide a successor trustee through the steps, whether or not we drafted the original trust. Most administrations wrap up in three to nine months.

You can. Many people do. The two recurring problems we see: First, the documents come without trust funding — the trust is signed but the home is never retitled, the beneficiary designations are never updated, and the trust does nothing when the time comes. Second, the documents are templates, which means edge cases that matter to your family (blended children, special-needs beneficiaries, business interests, multi-state property) get glossed over. For straightforward situations, online tools can be adequate. For most homeowners and parents, the cost difference is smaller than people assume and the gaps are real.

Common, well-meaning, and almost always a mistake in Arizona. Adding a child to your deed gives them a present ownership interest, which exposes the house to their creditors, their divorce, and their decisions. It also typically eliminates the step-up in basis your child would otherwise get at your death, potentially creating a six-figure capital gains tax bill. A beneficiary deed or a trust accomplishes what you actually want without the side effects.

Only for what is actually titled in the trust's name. An unfunded trust is one of the most common reasons families end up in probate despite having paid for a 'plan.' If you are not sure whether your trust is funded, we can review it — usually as part of the consultation, no charge — and tell you what is in and what is missing.

For very simple situations — single, no kids, modest assets, no real estate — a will from a reputable online service may genuinely be enough. For most Arizona homeowners, parents, business owners, or anyone with combined assets above the small estate threshold, the cost of getting it wrong is far higher than the cost of getting it right. We will tell you honestly if your situation does not need attorney drafting; we have turned away clients before.

Most clients finish in three to five weeks from the consultation to signing. The bulk of that is a drafting and review cycle. We pace it so you have time to read everything without it dragging on.

Yes. A revocable living trust is fully amendable. You are the trustee while you are alive and able, you can change beneficiaries at any time, and you use your accounts exactly as you do today. The trust is just the legal owner on paper.

A standard revocable trust is tax-neutral during your lifetime. The tax benefits come from specific structures (QTIP, bypass, dynasty, irrevocable trusts) that we add when the situation warrants. Most Arizona families do not owe federal estate tax at current exemption levels.

Most well-drafted trusts travel well. We will review a few provisions that sometimes change with a move, but a full rewrite is usually not needed.

A financial power of attorney is a legal document that authorizes another person (your agent) to manage your financial affairs on your behalf. In Arizona, a "durable" power of attorney remains effective even if you become incapacitated, which is the primary reason most people need one. Without it, a court must appoint someone to manage your finances, a process that is slow, expensive, and public.

A durable power of attorney takes effect immediately upon signing and remains effective through incapacity. A springing power of attorney only takes effect when you become incapacitated, which typically requires a physician's written certification. Springing powers can create delays in an emergency because the agent must first prove incapacity before acting. We discuss the practical tradeoffs of each approach during your consultation.

Your agent should be someone you trust with significant financial authority. Someone with good judgment, availability, and the ability to act under pressure without taking advantage of the position. Most people name a spouse or adult child. Some name a trusted friend or professional fiduciary. We walk through this decision with every client as part of the planning process.

Yes. Arizona law allows you to grant broad or narrow authority. You can authorize your agent to handle all financial matters, or you can limit the authority to specific tasks (managing a particular account, paying certain bills, or handling a single real estate transaction). We draft the document to match your situation and your comfort level.

Your family must petition an Arizona court to appoint a guardian or conservator to manage your finances. The process typically takes several months, requires legal fees, and results in ongoing court supervision. The person the court appoints may not be the person you would have chosen. A financial power of attorney avoids this process entirely.

Yes. You can revoke a financial power of attorney at any time, as long as you have the mental capacity to do so. Revocation should be in writing and communicated to your agent and to any institutions that have a copy of the original document.

An Arizona healthcare directive is a legal document that names a healthcare agent to make medical decisions on your behalf if you are incapacitated, and records your own wishes about specific treatments. It typically combines a healthcare power of attorney and a living will into a single document. Arizona healthcare directives are governed by A.R.S. Title 36, Chapter 32.

A healthcare power of attorney names a person to make medical decisions for you. A living will records your specific wishes about treatment in defined circumstances, such as whether you want life-sustaining measures if you are in a persistent vegetative state. Most Arizona estate plans include both, often combined into a single healthcare directive.

Your healthcare agent should be someone who knows your values, can handle pressure, and will follow your wishes even when those wishes are difficult to carry out. Most people name a spouse, adult child, or close friend. The most important qualities are availability, emotional stability under stress, and willingness to act on your stated wishes rather than their own preferences.

No. An Arizona healthcare directive remains valid until you revoke it. You can revoke it at any time as long as you have the mental capacity to do so. We recommend reviewing your directive periodically, especially after major life events or changes in your health or family situation.

Medical providers will look to your immediate family for guidance, but family members have no legal authority to make binding decisions. If family members disagree or no family is available, providers must follow their own clinical judgment and hospital protocols. In some cases a court-appointed guardian may be sought, which is a lengthy and costly process.

No. Your agent's authority is defined by your directive and limited to acting in accordance with your known wishes. A well-drafted healthcare directive includes enough specificity about your values and preferences that your agent has clear guidance in situations the document does not address directly.

Asset protection planning is the process of legally structuring your assets to reduce exposure to future creditors, lawsuits, and other claims. Common Arizona tools include revocable and irrevocable trusts with spendthrift provisions, LLC structures, the homestead exemption under A.R.S. § 33-1101, and retirement account protections. Planning must be done before any threat exists to be effective.

A revocable living trust does not protect your own assets from your own creditors because you retain control over them. It can, however, protect assets you leave to your beneficiaries through spendthrift provisions that shield inherited wealth from their creditors. Irrevocable trusts offer stronger protection for your own assets, subject to fraudulent transfer rules and applicable waiting periods.

Under A.R.S. § 33-1101, Arizona residents can exempt up to $400,000 of equity in their primary residence from most creditor claims. The exemption is automatic and requires no filing. It does not protect against mortgage lenders, property tax liens, or mechanic's liens.

Yes, when the LLC is properly maintained. An Arizona LLC generally prevents business creditors from reaching your personal assets. That protection can be lost if you commingle personal and business funds, ignore operating agreement formalities, or use the LLC improperly. Arizona's charging order protection also limits a personal creditor's ability to seize your LLC interest or force a distribution.

A Qualified Personal Residence Trust transfers your home out of your taxable estate at a reduced gift tax cost while allowing you to continue living in it for a specified term. At the end of the term, ownership passes to your beneficiaries along with any post-transfer appreciation. QPRTs perform best in higher interest rate environments and require careful planning around living arrangements after the term ends.

You cannot transfer assets into protective structures after a creditor has an existing claim or when a lawsuit is reasonably foreseeable. Arizona's fraudulent transfer statutes under A.R.S. § 44-1004 allow courts to unwind transfers made to defraud creditors. Asset protection works when done proactively, not in response to an existing threat.

The federal estate tax exemption is $15 million per individual, or $30 million for married couples using portability. The exemption is permanent under current law and indexed for inflation going forward. Future congressional action could change it, and gifts made using today's exemption are protected even if the threshold is later reduced.

No. Arizona repealed its state estate tax in 2005. Arizona residents are subject only to the federal estate tax. Some other states impose their own estate taxes at lower thresholds, which affects clients who own real property or significant assets in those states.

Your taxable estate includes real estate, bank and investment accounts, retirement accounts, business interests at fair market value, and life insurance death benefits on policies you own personally. Many people underestimate their total by forgetting to include life insurance or by using an informal estimate of their business value rather than a proper fair market valuation.

An ILIT is a trust that owns a life insurance policy rather than the insured owning it personally. Because the insured does not own the policy, the death benefit is excluded from the taxable estate. The trust receives the proceeds and distributes them to beneficiaries. For clients with large policies, this is often the most efficient available estate tax reduction.

Portability allows the surviving spouse to claim any unused federal estate tax exemption from the deceased spouse. The election must be made on a timely filed federal estate tax return after the first death, even when no tax is owed. Missing this deadline permanently forfeits the unused exemption.

A GRAT is an irrevocable trust funded with assets expected to appreciate. You receive an annuity payment for a fixed term, and any growth above the IRS hurdle rate passes to beneficiaries with little or no gift tax. Business interests and concentrated stock positions are common candidates.

A donor advised fund is a charitable giving account held by a sponsoring organization. You contribute assets, receive an immediate income tax deduction, and recommend grants to qualified charities over time. Contributions are irrevocable. Assets inside the fund grow tax-free until distributed. DAFs are available through community foundations and financial institutions and are not state-specific, though Arizona residents can also use them to support Arizona-based organizations and receive the Arizona Charitable Tax Credit.

In a charitable remainder trust, you or your beneficiaries receive the income stream first, and the charity receives the remaining assets at the end of the trust term. In a charitable lead trust, the charity receives the income stream first, and your family receives the remainder. CRTs are generally used for income generation and capital gains deferral. CLTs are generally used for wealth transfer and estate tax reduction.

Yes. Contributing appreciated securities directly to a DAF eliminates capital gains tax on the appreciation entirely. You receive a deduction for the full fair market value of the securities on the date of contribution, subject to AGI limitations. This makes DAFs particularly valuable for clients with appreciated stock positions they want to diversify or distribute to charity.

A QCD is a direct transfer from an IRA to a qualified charity for individuals age 70½ or older, up to $105,000 per year. The distribution satisfies your required minimum distribution but is excluded from taxable income entirely, which produces better tax results than taking the distribution and donating separately for most clients in this situation.

No. A donor advised fund is accessible at relatively modest levels of giving and provides real tax benefits for anyone with appreciated assets or a high-income year. QCDs benefit any IRA owner over 70½ who is charitably inclined. More complex structures like CRTs and CLTs make the most sense at higher asset levels, but the entry point for meaningful charitable planning is lower than most people assume.

Yes. Arizona offers several charitable tax credits that are separate from the federal charitable deduction, including credits for contributions to qualifying charitable organizations, foster care organizations, and school tuition organizations. These credits reduce Arizona income tax liability dollar for dollar up to statutory limits, which is more valuable than a deduction.

A business succession plan is a documented legal strategy for transferring ownership and control of a business when an owner retires, dies, or becomes incapacitated. It addresses who takes over, how ownership transfers, how the business is valued, and how remaining owners or family members are treated. Without one, those decisions get made under pressure by people who may not agree on the answers.

A buy-sell agreement is a contract among business co-owners that controls what happens to an ownership interest when a triggering event occurs (death, incapacity, divorce, bankruptcy, or voluntary departure). It establishes in advance who can purchase the interest, at what price, and on what terms. Without one, a departing owner's interest can pass to their heirs or estate, leaving surviving owners in business with people they did not choose.

An IDGT is an irrevocable trust used to transfer business interests to the next generation through a sale rather than a gift. The seller receives a promissory note in exchange for the transferred interest, freezing the value for estate tax purposes. Future appreciation passes to trust beneficiaries outside the taxable estate. The grantor continues paying income tax on trust earnings, which functions as an additional tax-free transfer to beneficiaries.

A family limited partnership consolidates business or investment assets under a single entity, with the senior generation retaining control as general partners while transferring limited partnership interests to family members over time. The structure facilitates systematic gifting, provides asset protection, and takes advantage of valuation discounts on transferred interests. It requires genuine non-tax business purposes and careful maintenance to withstand IRS scrutiny.

Qualified Small Business Stock under IRC Section 1202 allows shareholders who acquired stock in a qualifying C corporation to exclude up to $15 million in capital gains from federal tax on a sale, provided the holding period and other requirements are met. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act increased the exclusion to $15 million and shortened the required holding period to three years, effective 2026. Qualification depends on how the business is structured, when shares were issued, and other factors that are easier to address in advance than after the fact.

The honest answer is earlier than feels necessary. The tax planning strategies available during a planned transition (systematic gifting, IDGT sales, FLP structures) require time to implement correctly and time to work. A business transferred under pressure after an owner's death or health crisis is worth less and costs more to transfer than one that was planned for. Most business owners who go through the process wish they had started sooner.

It depends on your situation. An LLC is the most flexible starting point and works well for most small businesses. Whether to elect S-Corp tax treatment depends on your income level and whether the self-employment tax savings justify the added administrative requirements. A C-Corp makes sense if you are building a business you plan to sell to outside buyers or raise capital from investors, particularly if QSBS planning is on the table. Entity selection is one of the first conversations we have with every new business client.

An S-Corp election changes how your LLC or corporation is taxed. Instead of paying self-employment tax on all net business income, you pay yourself a reasonable salary subject to payroll taxes and take additional profits as distributions, which are not subject to self-employment tax. The savings can be several thousand dollars per year at higher income levels. The election has eligibility requirements and adds payroll administration. Whether it makes sense depends on your net income and overall tax picture.

Qualified Small Business Stock under IRC Section 1202 allows shareholders to exclude up to $15 million in capital gains from federal tax on a qualifying sale. The stock must be issued by a C-Corp with gross assets under $75 million at the time of issuance, held for at least three years, and acquired at original issuance. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act updated these thresholds effective 2026. QSBS eligibility depends on decisions made at formation and at the time shares are issued. It cannot be recreated retroactively.

A complete operating agreement addresses management structure and decision-making authority, profit and loss allocation, distribution timing and amounts, restrictions on transferring membership interests, buyout rights and procedures when a member wants to leave, what happens at a member's death or incapacity, admission of new members, and dissolution procedures. Generic operating agreements from online formation services typically address only a fraction of these issues.

Yes, with varying degrees of complexity depending on your current structure and what you are converting to. An S-Corp election can typically be made on an existing LLC without restructuring the entity itself. Converting to a C-Corp involves a more significant structural change with tax consequences that need to be analyzed carefully. We assess the current structure, model the tax implications, and recommend the most efficient path.

Arizona's LLC statutes provide default rules that govern in the absence of an operating agreement, but those defaults may not reflect what you would have chosen. In a multi-member LLC, a deceased member's interest typically passes to their estate or heirs, who may have the right to receive economic distributions but not to participate in management. Whether surviving members can buy out the interest, and at what price, depends on documents that may not exist. An operating agreement answers these questions in advance.

A commercial lease review covers the full lease document including all exhibits and addenda. We identify the rent structure and escalation provisions, operating expense obligations, personal guarantee terms, permitted use restrictions, exclusivity provisions, relocation and termination rights, renewal options, and any other provisions that create material risk or cost for the tenant. You receive a plain-English summary of what the lease says and what to pay attention to before signing.

Yes. Unlike residential leases, commercial leases are not subject to most consumer protection statutes and are almost entirely governed by the contract terms the parties agree to. Standard lease forms are drafted by the landlord's attorney and favor the landlord. Most provisions (personal guarantees, operating expense definitions, exclusivity scope, and renewal terms) are negotiable before execution. They are rarely negotiable after.

A triple net lease requires the tenant to pay base rent plus a proportionate share of the building's property taxes, insurance, and maintenance costs. In practice, what counts as an operating expense and how costs are allocated varies significantly. Some NNN leases also pass through management fees, capital improvements, and administrative costs. The total occupancy cost under a NNN lease can be meaningfully higher than the base rent suggests, and the variation year to year depends on factors outside the tenant's control.

Most commercial landlords require a personal guarantee from the business owner, particularly for new businesses or entities without significant operating history. The scope of the guarantee is almost always negotiable. Full-term guarantees, limited guarantees that burn off after a period of on-time payments, and guarantees capped at a fixed dollar amount are all common structures. We review the guarantee terms and identify where there is room to push back.

A renewal proposal should be reviewed against the original lease to identify what has changed, including base rent, escalation structure, operating expense definitions, and any new provisions the landlord has introduced. Renewal options from the original lease (including how and when they must be exercised and how renewal rent is determined) should be reviewed carefully. Tenants approaching renewal often have more negotiating leverage than they realize.

Before you sign, before you exercise a renewal option, and before you sign any amendment to an existing lease. The earlier in the process the better. Provisions that are negotiable before execution become binding commitments afterward. If a landlord is pressuring you to sign quickly, that is a reason to slow down, not to skip the review.