You've spent years building this. A lawsuit, a death, or a disability could unwind it in months.

If you're in your 30s through 50s, accumulating assets, growing a business, or advancing in a high-income career, your estate plan needs to go beyond basic documents. This stage demands asset protection strategies (LLCs, irrevocable trusts), business succession planning, tax planning (gifting strategies, generation-skipping trusts), and a comprehensive review of your existing plan to make sure it still fits your current reality.

The paradox of this stage

The peak earning years are paradoxical: you're building wealth faster than at any other point in your life, but your legal exposure is also at its highest. A business lawsuit, a creditor claim, an unexpected disability, or a death without proper planning can destroy in months what took decades to build.

Most people at this stage have a basic estate plan from when they first bought a house or had their first child. That plan was designed for a different level of assets, a different family situation, and different priorities. It almost certainly doesn't address business interests, investment portfolios, rental properties, stock options, deferred compensation, or the tax implications of a growing estate.

This is the stage where estate planning becomes strategic, not just protective. The right structures reduce your tax burden, shield assets from creditors, prepare your business for continuity, and ensure your wealth transfers efficiently to the next generation.

Asset protection planning

Arizona's asset protection tools include LLCs for business and investment assets, domestic asset protection trusts, and strategic titling of property. The key: asset protection must be in place before a claim arises. Once a creditor threat exists, transferring assets can be considered a fraudulent transfer under Arizona's UVTA (A.R.S. § 44-1004).

The time to plan is when things are going well, not after a lawsuit is filed. If you're building wealth and don't have asset protection in place, now is the right time to address it.

Business succession planning

If you own a business, a succession plan addresses what happens if you die, become disabled, or want to exit. Buy-sell agreements, key-person life insurance, entity restructuring, and management transition plans are all part of this conversation.

Your personal estate plan and business succession plan should be coordinated, not separate. How your business interest is owned, what happens to it at death or disability, and how it's valued for estate tax purposes are all questions that sit at the intersection of both plans. We address them together.

Estate tax awareness and strategy

The federal estate tax exemption for 2026 is $13.99 million per person ($27.98 million for married couples). If your estate is approaching that threshold, or if you expect it to by the time you pass, tax planning strategies like annual gifting, irrevocable life insurance trusts (ILITs), grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs), and dynasty trusts can significantly reduce your tax exposure.

Arizona does not have a separate state estate tax. The exemption is subject to change by Congress, so planning now locks in strategies that protect you regardless of future legislative changes.

Updated trust structure

A basic revocable trust that was appropriate at 30 may need to be supplemented with irrevocable trusts, sub-trusts for specific assets, or specialized provisions for business interests. We review your existing plan and build on what is there.

As accounts multiply (401(k)s, IRAs, HSAs, life insurance policies, brokerage accounts) the risk of outdated or conflicting beneficiary designations grows. A comprehensive audit ensures everything is coordinated with your trust.

For business owners

If you own a business, your estate plan and your business plan are inseparable. A death or disability without a succession plan can force a fire sale, trigger partnership disputes, or leave your family unable to access business income they depend on.

We work with business owners on buy-sell agreements (funded with life insurance), entity structuring that maximizes asset protection, key-employee retention strategies, and exit planning that aligns personal and business goals. If you have partners, the conversation includes cross-purchase agreements and entity redemption structures.