Key Takeaways You need to grasp Arizona’s community property rules for how assets are split between spouses, kids, and stepkids. Establishing a will and leveraging trusts are critical to making sure your intended recipients, such as your stepchildren, get their due and to prevent intestate succession from messing things up. By keeping estate planning [...]
Key Takeaways Don’t fall prey to the myth that estate plans only require an update every 3-5 years. Instead, check in on your plan whenever you experience major life, financial, or legal changes. By frequently updating your estate plan following key milestones like marriage, divorce, relocation, or shifts in financial status, you can guarantee [...]
Key Takeaways You can create an estate plan in Arizona without a lawyer if you carefully follow state legal requirements for wills and trusts, ensuring documents are valid and enforceable. You need to collect, consolidate, and refresh all the necessary paperwork, formally state your desires, and appoint individuals to handle your estate and care [...]
Key Takeaways Early estate planning is critical for young families – it protects your family and ensures peace of mind should the unthinkable occur, in the end saving you money and stress down the road. You’ll want to get the basics down with your will, powers of attorney, and living will, while maintaining up-to-date [...]
Key Takeaways By knowing Arizona probate laws and planning your estate accordingly, you can minimize delays, expenses, and familial conflicts. By being proactive with your estate planning — and considering options like revocable living trusts, beneficiary designation updates, and joint property ownership — you can avoid probate and maximize the efficiency of your asset [...]
Key Takeaways Which alone should you need to decide between a will or a trust to protect your family in Arizona? Wills are generally more affordable and work well for uncomplicated estates or those with simple distribution needs, but they must go through probate, which may add extra expense and sacrifice privacy. While a [...]
Key Takeaways Setting up a living trust lets you control and distribute your assets seamlessly, offering both flexibility and privacy and enabling your heirs to skip probate. You should consider, for example, if a revocable or irrevocable trust best fits your lifestyle, as they each have different benefits in terms of flexibility, taxation, and [...]
Key Takeaways If you die without a will in Arizona, your property is distributed according to a strict legal order, often prioritizing spouses, children, parents, and then siblings, which may not align with your wishes. Probate has to come in and settle your estate, and it can be long and expensive, eating into what [...]
Key Takeaways Here’s how you can build a comprehensive estate plan in Arizona — starting with a will, revocable trust, power of attorney, healthcare directives, and regular updates to reflect life changes. Be mindful of Arizona’s estate planning laws and probate system updates, since fresh legislation or rules could impact the distribution of your [...]