Wills, Trusts & Estate Planning in Arizona

Your estate plan is not a "set-and-forget" kind of strategy. There are certain life events and circumstances that warrant your updating this important set of documents.

Planning for our own death is not something that tends to thrill most of us. It is difficult to face our own mortality.

What comes to mind when you see the words estate planning?

In many cases, probate is a quick and efficient way to transfer the assets of a person who has died (the “decedent”) to his heirs. About 10,000 probate cases are filed each year in the state of Arizona.

A trust is a legal entity that is created and holds title to assets during the life of the person who places assets inside the trust

A conservatorship proceeding may be started by an elderly person who desires protection of his or her property.

A guardian is a person appointed by the court to guard the health, safety and welfare of another.

A gift to a minor may consist of stock, money, ownership of a life insurance policy or annuity contract, a right to future payments under a contract, an interest in real estate, or a certificate of title to a vehicle.

Gifts of property may be made by a person during his or her lifetime, or after their death.

Arizona is a community property state. Property acquired by a husband and wife is presumed to be community property, unless legally specified differently.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which took effect on January 1, 2018, increased the federal estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer (“GST”) tax exemption amounts to nearly $11.2 million for an individual, and $22.4 million for a married couple, from $5.49 million and $10.98 million, respectively, in 2017.

In Arizona, every person is eligible to be an organ donor; there are no age or physical limitations.

A living will is a written statement by a person intended to guide or control the health care treatment decisions that can be made on his behalf.

Health care directives constitute an important part of any comprehensive estate plan. Every person implementing an estate plan in Arizona should give serious consideration to executing one or more health care directives.

A parent cannot delegate his or her parental powers by a power of attorney for longer than six months, but there is no limitation on the number of powers of attorney that they may execute.

A durable power of attorney is an important component of any comprehensive estate plan.

A deed is a legal document that transfers an interest in real estate to another person. Anyone who owns a house acquired title to it by a deed.

On the death of the sole party or the last survivor of two or more parties in an account with a pay on death designation, the sums on deposit belong to the surviving beneficiary or beneficiaries.

It is possible to avoid probate entirely in small estates by the use of affidavits to collect the property and assets of the deceased person.

For a decedent who was not domiciled in Arizona at the time of death, the allowances are governed by the law of the decedent’s domicile at death.

The principal protection of a surviving spouse against disinheritance is his or her share in the community property.

These rules apply in cases where the deceased person fails to leave a will or where not all of the decedent’s assets are disposed of by the will.

The term “probate” refers to the legal procedure for the administration of a deceased person’s estate. In many cases, probate is a quick and efficient way to transfer the assets of a person who has died to his or her heirs. 

Settling a living trust means administering and managing the trust according to the terms of the document. The person responsible for settling a trust is either the surviving trustee or the successor trustee.

The general duty of a trustee is to administer the trust expeditiously for the benefit of the beneficiaries.

A trustee cannot transfer his office to another or delegate the entire administration of the trust to a co-trustee or another.

If more than one trustee is acting, the trustees own the trust assets with survivorship rights similar to those of joint tenants.

Once the trust agreement has been signed and assets have been transferred to the trust, the trust agreement is fully operative as to those assets.

In determining how to deal with an IRA during the estate-planning process, various tax considerations unique to each person must be taken into account.

In most circumstances, a revocable trust will be created primarily for tax and estate planning purposes.

The use of any trust for estate planning purposes ultimately will depend on a variety of factors, including the size and complexity of the estate.

A living trust is a legal entity that is created and holds title to assets during the life of the person who places assets inside the trust.

Most estates will not be subject to taxation with or without a living trust.