Although planning for the future is one of the most important things you can do, knowing which direction to take is not always easy. Count on the Arizona estate planning lawyers at JacksonWhite to provide you with the individualized attention and in-depth instruction you need.

Our estate planning team can help you design an estate plan to preserve and protect your assets as well as your personal wishes, before a crisis occurs.

Call us today at (480) 660-3938 to see how we can help with your legal needs.

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Common Estate Planning Topics

Our estate attorneys will help you with topics and frequently asked questions about estate planning, wills and trusts, such as:

At JacksonWhite, we treat each and every client’s estate plan with the same amount of urgency and care, regardless of their estate size. If you are new to estate planning in Phoenix or throughout Arizona, let our compassionate, dedicated estate team walk you through the entire process and provide you with the guidance you need.

Our legal team can assist clients with all types of essential estate planning documents, such as: basic wills, testamentary trusts, Arizona beneficiary deeds, health care powers of attorney, durable financial power of attorney, living wills and special needs trusts. We also help families and individuals learn more about estate taxes in Arizona and other pressing legal and financial issues.

Frequently Asked Estate Planning Questions

If you have a will, bring a copy to show the attorney. They’ll review it to see if everything is in order, or if there are some holes that need to be fixed. If you don’t have a will, that will be the first item of business. The attorney will help you draft a will that fulfills your unique needs, and nominates a trusted individual to serve as your estate’s personal representative after you die. This person will be in charge of directing your estate and following your final wishes; selecting the right person for the job is an important step in the estate planning process.

In 2017, the IRS has set the individual estate and gift tax exemption at $5.49 million. If you’re married, you and your spouse can leave up to $11 million to your heirs without qualifying for the estate tax. If your net worth is greater than $11 million, or if your net worth is on the rise and may cross the threshold before you pass away, you’ll need to work with the attorney to shield your assets from the estate tax. The most common way to do that is with a revocable trust, but the attorney will help you assess what strategy is best for you.

While the length and detail of a will hinges largely on the size and complexity of your estate, there are five essential elements that all wills should include:

  • Basic Identifying Information and Proper Signatures
  • Nominating an Executor
  • Identifying the Beneficiaries
  • Instructions for the Executor
  • Instructions for Distributing Assets and Property

The IRS has an interest in the estate, and you should check the tax status of your deceased loved one as soon as possible. It is easy to forget about taxes when handling an estate, but the IRS will be there to remind you.

If you are unsure about the tax situation, you should contact the person who handled returns for the deceased. They should have copies of past tax returns, and they should be up to speed on any outstanding audits, tax debts or other issues.

Probate court can be an expensive, time-consuming process; often, the best strategy is to position as many assets as possible in a manner that will bypass the probate process. There are many ways to do this, and no single solution is right for everyone, but common solutions include joint accounts with rights of survivorship, payable-on-death (POD) or transfer-on-death (TOD) designations, primary and contingent beneficiaries on life insurance and retirement accounts, trusts, and real property held in joint tenancy or as tenants by the entirety.

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