Arizona Estate Planning
Don’t pay more in taxes than you have to. Don’t let your loved ones fight over your stuff. We’ll help you plan for life, retirement, and your legacy.
Why You May Want To Hire Us
A Lawyer Who ListensThere are no “Big Law” egos here. I will not pass you off to a junior associate. You are the star of your life’s story and I am your guide.
I am here to advise and guide you so that you can rest assured your legacy will endure, your finances are secure, and you can live life to the fullest.
Protect & Grow Your Legacy
You are successful and have big goals. We can help you protect your legacy and achieve those goals. Let’s plan against life’s uncertainties.
Comprehensive Advice
Receive comprehensive life advice. Whether it is financial, business, or legal, I have answers. Even if the question is personal.
Our Process
Crafting and Protecting Your Legacy with Our Process
1
Consultation
Get to know us.
Ask Questions.
Tell us your story.
We’ll discover your goals and discuss your options.
2
Design
Decide on the people and mechanisms you’d like to protect your legacy.
We’ll design and draft the best plan for you.
3
Review & Sign
Review your estate plan.
We’ll make any final changes and prepare your estate plan binder.
Sign and review the final plan.
4
Take Action
We will coordinate your assets with your estate plan and prepare any beneficiary designations.
Estate Planning
“You can’t plan for your death after you die”
Every day 10,000 baby boomers will reach the age of 65. Having worked hard their whole life, these Americans have accumulated quite a “nest egg” for their retirement. But what happens afterwards? Leighton is a Chandler estate planning attorney with years of experience who knows that no two estates are identical. He’ll provide you with solutions that work the way you want, preparing for any situation that may arise and helping you avoid unintended consequences.
Probate
We know how stressful and difficult it is winding down the affairs of a loved one. We’re here to provide information and answer questions about the legal process colloquially known as probate.
Technically probate is the proving of a will. It is the process whereby the will is presented to a court who determines that the will accurately represents the final wishes of the decedent and the process of estate administration may begin under the direction of the nominated personal representative.
Special Needs Planning
Leaving a bequest to someone with special needs isn’t as easy as including them in your traditional will or trust. A distribution of funds from an estate could inadvertently disqualify you or your loved one from government benefits.
At Copper State Planning, we have years of experience to help you establish a special needs estate plan that not only determines how your assets are passed on, but also includes safeguards for your heirs who may have special needs. We’ll go over the differences between a first party special needs trust and a third party special needs trust, which trust is needed in your situation, and offer guidance in naming the contingent beneficiaries.
Get In Touch
Don’t worry, we’ve got this. We’ll guide you through every step of the process and make sure everything will be okay.
Call us today to speak with your legacy guide.
Wills
The death of a family member is often an emotionally overwhelming occasion. Unfortunately, during this stressful time period many important legal and personal decisions must be made. In addition to deciding upon funeral arrangements, outstanding bills will need to be paid, creditors handled, personal property collected, and arrangements made for children or pets (if any).
When you create a will, you are leaving instructions behind so that your loved ones know how you want arrangements to proceed. A comprehensive estate plan also specifies who should make these decisions.
Trust
It’s a common misconception that people think trusts are only for the super wealthy or business owners. The reality is that trusts can benefit nearly everyone. Trusts are for people who care about their loved ones, about building intergenerational wealth, making sure their wishes are followed after their passing, and much, much more.
Our Pheonix trusts lawyer could examine your situation and explain how a trust could help to meet your goals and desires. Regardless of what you want, a knowledgeable trusts and estates lawyer can work with you to create a plan to make it happen.
Medicaid Trusts
The main benefit of a medicaid asset protection trust is that the assets you transfer into the trust sixty months from when you apply for benefits will not count towards the medicaid asset limit and will not be clawed back by ALTCS upon your passing.
In addition, a medicaid asset protection trust will confer asset protection from creditors and lawsuits (so long as it isn’t a fraudulent transfer).
Testamentary Trusts
First, we need to briefly define what a trust is. A trust is created when someone (often referred to as the grantor or trustor) transfers the legal title of property to a trustee to hold and administer for the benefit of the beneficiary. A trust can also be created after someone’s death via their will. This is called a testamentary trust.
A testamentary trust is an irrevocable trust created when a person dies and whose terms are spelled out in their will. While trusts are normally created when the grantor is still alive, a testamentary trust is drafted when alive, but it doesn’t come into existence until the grantor’s death.
Revocable Living Trusts
“Do I need a trust?” is the question I am asked all the time. The answer I always give is that you certainly want a trust unless you simply don’t care about what happens to your loved ones after you pass. For those people, no estate plan or a basic fill in the blank will will suffice. However, for those wishing to confer asset protection to their beneficiaries, avoid probate, provide for your own cognitive decline, or protect your privacy, a revocable living trust may be right for you.
Let’s Make a Plan
Don’t worry, we’ve got this. We’ll guide you through every step of the process and make sure everything will be okay.
Call us today to speak with your legacy guide.
Family LLCs & Family LPs
Which Entity is Right for My Family?
Every family is different. There is no right choice for everyone. In fact, the best choice might be neither option. In order to make sure these entities will work for your situation, it’s best to seek expert legal advice.
On this page, our estate planning and business attorney explains what FLLCs and FLPs are, what they’re used for, and the pros and cons of each entity type.
Prenup And Post Nuptial Agreements
A postnuptial agreement is a legally binding agreement between spouses entered into after marriage. It differs from a premarital agreement in that the agreement is made after marriage. And unlike a premarital agreement, a postnuptial agreement can bind the spouses regarding other issues that a prenuptial agreement cannot.
Tax Planning
Death and taxes are the only sure things in life. While tax planning is not beneficial to the vast majority of Americans, if you are a business owner, high earner, or super saver tax planning may save you thousands or even millions of dollars. The tax code is incredibly complex; including all the regulations, statutes, and case law the code runs over 70,000 pages. It’s so complex that no one person truly understands it all.
