A good estate plan is the kind your family never has to think about. We build documents that hold up, coordinate with your accounts, and update them as your life changes.
Estate planning in Arizona is shaped by three features of state law that distinguish it from planning in most other jurisdictions: community-property treatment of marital assets, recognition of beneficiary deeds for real property under A.R.S. § 33-405, and a generally permissive trust code that allows substantial flexibility in drafting. Together these features mean that a well-designed Arizona plan can avoid probate entirely, achieve a stepped-up cost basis on the death of either spouse, and allocate authority among trustees and beneficiaries with precision. They also mean that a plan imported from another state — particularly a separate-property state — frequently misallocates assets and triggers unintended tax consequences. We see this constantly with new clients who moved to Arizona with a trust drafted in California, Texas, or the Midwest. The first step is almost always a full restatement, not a patch.
The single most common failure we encounter is a properly drafted trust that was never funded. Funding — transferring the deed to the residence into the name of the trust, retitling brokerage accounts, updating beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance, and confirming that closely held business interests have been formally assigned — is the step that converts the trust from paperwork into a working estate plan. An unfunded trust is no better than no trust at all; assets titled in the decedent's individual name pass through probate regardless of what the trust document says they should do. We handle funding as part of our flat-fee engagement. The deed is drafted, executed, and recorded by our office. Beneficiary-designation update forms for each account are prepared and delivered to the client with instructions for submission, and we follow up to confirm completion. This is the work most generic estate-planning services do not perform, and it is the work that makes the difference between a trust that works and a trust that does not.
Periodic review matters as much as the original drafting. A plan signed five years ago may no longer match the family it was designed for — a child has married, a grandchild has been born, a fiduciary has died or moved away, a business has been sold, a residence has been refinanced into a new title, an out-of-state property has been acquired. We offer flat-fee tune-ups for existing clients, and we recommend a review every three to five years or after any major life event. The cost of a periodic review is trivial compared with the cost of a probate or a will contest triggered by a plan that no longer reflects the client's intent.
At a glance
- Coordinated wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and healthcare directives.
- Trust funding handled — not left as homework.
- Flat-fee packages for individuals, couples, and blended families.
- Ongoing tune-ups as life changes.
What most Arizonans need
A pour-over will, a revocable living trust funded with your house and brokerage accounts, durable financial and medical powers of attorney, a HIPAA release, and a living will. We prepare a coordinated set, not a stack of forms.
Updates
A new child, a new marriage, a death, a move, or a sale of a business should all trigger a review. We offer flat-fee tune-ups for existing clients.
Trust funding
An unfunded trust is paperwork, not a plan. We prepare and record the deed, retitle accounts, and update beneficiary designations so the trust actually controls the assets at death.
Blended families and second marriages
QTIP and bypass structures protect both your spouse and the children of a prior relationship — without forcing them to litigate later.
Business owners
Buy-sell agreements, succession plans, and entity-level beneficiary coordination so the business continues without a probate fight.
Representative results
Past outcomes do not guarantee a future result. Details are generalized to preserve client confidentiality.
- Designed and funded a blended-family trust that avoided a contested probate when the surviving spouse later remarried.
- Restructured a closely held LLC into a trust-owned entity to preserve continuity at the founder's death.
- Probate avoided entirely for a Gilbert client's $1.4M estate through coordinated trust funding and beneficiary designations.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Signing the documents but never funding the trust — the most common, and costliest, planning failure we see.
- Naming a single beneficiary 'to keep it simple' and trusting them to share — it rarely happens that way.
- Letting an old will from another state stand after moving to Arizona; community-property rules change the outcome.
Fees
Flat-fee packages for single, joint, and blended-family plans, including funding. Quoted in writing at the design meeting.
How a case moves through our office
- 01
Design meeting
Goals, beneficiaries, fiduciaries, and asset summary.
- 02
Drafting
Coordinated documents prepared and delivered for review in 7–14 days.
- 03
Signing
Formal execution with witnesses and a notary at our office.
- 04
Funding
Deeds recorded, accounts retitled, beneficiaries updated — completed, not assigned to you.
Governing law
- A.R.S. Title 14
- Arizona Trust Code and probate code — controlling authority for wills and trusts.
Citations are general references, not legal advice. Statutes are amended; consult counsel for the current text as it applies to your matter.
Estate Planning by city
Each page below covers the local court, ZIP codes, neighborhoods, and the issues that come up most in that city.
Common questions
- Do I need a trust?
- If you own a home in Arizona, almost certainly yes — to avoid probate.
- How often should I update?
- Every 3–5 years, or sooner after a major life change.
- Can I write my own will?
- Yes — Arizona recognizes holographic wills — but the savings rarely justify the risk to your family.
- What does it cost?
- Our standard single and joint trust packages are flat-fee. We quote the full cost in writing at the design meeting.
- Who should be my trustee?
- Often a spouse, then an adult child or trusted sibling — sometimes a professional fiduciary. We will help you think it through.