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Arizona Wills & Trusts

Proper Estate Planning can transfer more of your estate to your intended beneficiaries. In Arizona, you have a Will already whether you know or it not. There are default rules in place in the event that you die without properly executing any estate planning devices, such as a Will or Trust. These rules are commonly known as the “Laws of Intestate Succession” and generally do not meet your expectations in terms of distributing your estate, wealth, and assets to your intended beneficiaries.

At Thompson Dodge Law Group, PLC, we feel that you should decide who inherits your assets and not the state! Every estate is just as unique as a fingerprint and requires careful planning to fulfill your goals. Every estate plan is incomplete without fundamental estate planning tools and techniques such as Durable Power of Attorneys, Living Wills, HIPPA Release Authorization Forms, etc. Our Estate Planning services include these and other important documents in our affordable flat fees.

Your estate plan is important at the time of your death but is as equally important during your life. Your estate plan should include fundamental planning techniques which protect you now, management of your assets now, and provide detailed instructions for catastrophic accidents and critical medical procedures now! Furthermore, your estate plan should be easy to understand and administer with instructions for your friends and family which can minimize the frustration and heartache of your passing. Our estate plans come in a leather bound portfolio with tabbed sections and instructions for every section explaining the importance and purpose of each section so your friends and family know what to do with your Will or Trust when you die.

Not every estate plan requires the use of extensive trust planning which can be very expensive and labor intensive. However, there are some fundamental trusts which are affordable and can potentially save your estate from the expense of probate and death taxes. If you are married then it is extremely important to take advantage of your IRS deductions upon your death to avoid or minimize death taxes. This can be done via an A/B Trust. Below is a comparative chart which demonstrates various estate planning arrangements and their benefits:

Various Estate Planning Arrangements
A Summary of Benefits

Brief Description of Arrangement

• No will: Your estate passes to heirs picked by the legislature.
• Basic will: Generally passes everything to your spouse, if living, otherwise to your children when they reach age 18.
• Trust will: May contain credit shelter and QTIP trusts or may pass everything to your spouse, if living, otherwise for children.
• Basic living trust: Designed to avoid probate and provide asset management. Used for smaller estates and single persons.
• CST with living trust: Designed to use the applicable credit amounts of both spouses. Can often save a significant amount of money in death taxes and probate fees.
• CST and QTIP with living trust: Same as the CST with living trust, plus it gives the first spouse to die more control over who will eventually receive his or her assets after the surviving spouse dies. Also called a QTIP trust.

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1) CST stands for credit shelter trust. QTIP stands for qualified terminable interest property trust.

2) Each living trust is generally accompanied by a “pour over” type of will which picks up assets not put into the trust during lifetime and transfers them after death. Executors/guardians are named in a will.

3) If all of the assets are in the living trust, probate is not necessary. However, there will usually be some expense for legal advice or the transfer of assets not in the trust. Without a trust, probate costs may exceed 5% of the total estate.

4) Some trust wills contain credit shelter trusts designed to save death taxes, while others merely manage assets. 5 The applicable exclusion amount is the dollar value of assets protected from federal estate tax by an individual's applicable credit amount. It is scheduled to change as follows: $2,000,000 for 2006-2008; $3,500,000 for 2009, zero federal estate tax for the year 2010; and $1,000,000 for 2011 and thereafter (unless permanently repealed or otherwise modified).

Below is the chart in a .pdf file to download:

Various Estate Planning Arrangements Chart

Estate Settlement Costs Funnel
What Happens to Your Estate at Death?

At a person’s demise, his or her assets are subject to a number of expenses that can significantly reduce the size of the estate left for the heirs. Proper estate planning can minimize these expenses and determine in advance how the costs that remain will be paid.

Below is the chart in a .pdf file to download:

Probate Flow Chart

Cities, Counties, and Zip codes that we service:

Cities we service: AGUILA, AJO, ALPINE, AMADO, APACHE JUNCTION, ARIVACA, ARLINGTON, ASH FORK, AVONDALE-GOODYEAR, BAGDAD, BELLEMONT, BENSON, BISBEE, BLACK CANYON CITY, BLUE, BLUE GAP, BOUSE, BOWIE, BUCKEYE, BULLHEAD CITY, BYLAS, CAMERON, CAMP VERDE, CASA GRANDE, CASHION, CAVE CREEK, CENTRAL, CHAMBERS, CHANDLER, CHINLE, CHINO VALLEY, CHLORIDE, CIBECUE, CLARKDALE, CLAY SPRINGS, CLAYPOOL, CLIFTON, COCHISE, COLORADO CITY, CONCHO, CONGRESS, COOLIDGE, CORNVILLE, CORTARO, COTTONWOOD, CROWN KING, DENNEHOTSO, DEWEY, DOUGLAS, DRAGOON, DUNCAN, EAGAR, EHRENBERG, EL MIRAGE, ELFRIDA, ELGIN, ELOY, FLAGSTAFF, FLORENCE, FOREST LAKES, FORT APACHE, FORT DEFIANCE, FORT HUACHUCA, FORT MCDOWELL, FORT MOHAVE, FORT THOMAS, FREDONIA, GADSDEN, GANADO, GILA BEND, GILBERT, GLENDALE, GLOBE, GOLDEN VALLEY, GRAND CANYON, GRAY MOUNTAIN, GREEN VALLEY, GREER, HACKBERRY, HAPPY JACK, HAYDEN, HEBER, HEREFORD, HIGLEY, HOLBROOK, HOTEVILLA, HOUCK, HUACHUCA CITY, HUALAPAI, HUMBOLDT, INDIAN WELLS, IRON SPRINGS, JEROME, JOSEPH CITY, KAYENTA, KEAMS CANYON, KEARNY, KINGMAN, KIRKLAND, KYKOTSMOVI VILLAGE, LAKE HAVASU CITY, LAKE MONTEZUMA, LAKESIDE, LAVEEN, LEUPP, LITCHFIELD PARK, LITTLEFIELD, LUKACHUKAI, LUKE A F B, LUKEVILLE, LUPTON, MAMMOTH, MANY FARMS, MARANA, MARICOPA, MARINE CORPS AIR STA, MAYER, MC NARY, MC NEAL, MESA, MIAMI, MOHAVE VALLEY, MORENCI, MORMON LAKE, MORRISTOWN, MOUNT LEMMON, MUNDS PARK, NACO, NAVAJO, NAZLINI, NOGALES, NORTH RIM, NUTRIOSO, OATMAN, ORACLE, OVERGAARD, PAGE, PALO VERDE, PARKER, PARKS, PATAGONIA, PAULDEN, PAYSON, PEACH SPRINGS, PEARCE, PEORIA, PERIDOT, PETRIFIED FOREST NAT, PHOENIX, PICACHO, PIMA, PINE, PINEDALE, PINETOP, PINON, PIRTLEVILLE, POLACCA, POMERENE, PRESCOTT, PRESCOTT VALLEY, QUARTZSITE, QUEEN CREEK, RED ROCK, RED VALLEY, RILLITO, RIMROCK, RIO RICO, RIO VERDE, RIVIERA, ROCK POINT, ROOSEVELT, ROUND ROCK, SACATON, SAFFORD, SAHUARITA, SAINT DAVID, SAINT JOHNS, SAINT MICHAELS, SALOME, SAN CARLOS, SAN LUIS, SAN MANUEL, SAN SIMON, SANDERS, SASABE, SAWMILL, SCOTTSDALE, SECOND MESA, SEDONA, SELIGMAN, SELLS, SHOW LOW, SIERRA VISTA, SKULL VALLEY, SNOWFLAKE, SOLOMON, SOMERTON, SONOITA, SPRINGERVILLE, STANFIELD, SUN CITY, SUN CITY WEST, SUN VALLEY, SUPAI, SUPERIOR, SURPRISE, TACNA, TAYLOR, TEEC NOS POS, TEMPE, TEMPLE BAR MARINA, THATCHER, TOLLESON, TOMBSTONE, TONALEA, TONOPAH, TONTO BASIN, TOPAWA, TOPOCK, TSAILE, TUBA CITY, TUBAC, TUCSON, TUMACACORI, VAIL, VALENTINE, VALLEY FARMS, VERNON, WADDELL, WELLTON, WENDEN, WHIPPLE, WHITE MOUNTAIN LAKE, WHITERIVER, WICKENBURG, WIKIEUP, WILLCOX, WILLIAMS, WINDOW ROCK, WINKELMAN, WINSLOW, WITTMANN, WOODRUFF, YARNELL, YOUNG, YOUNGTOWN, YUCCA, YUMA

Counties we service: APACHE, COCHISE, COCONINO, GILA, GRAHAM, GREENLEE, LA PAZ, MARICOPA, MOHAVE, NAVAJO, PIMA, PINAL, SANTA CRUZ, YAVAPAI, YUMA

Zip Codes: 85001, 85002, 85003, 85004, 85005, 85006, 85007, 85008, 85009, 85010, 85011, 85012, 85013, 85014, 85015, 85016, 85017, 85018, 85019, 85020, 85021, 85022, 85023, 85024, 85025, 85026, 85027, 85028, 85029, 85030, 85031, 85032, 85033, 85034, 85035, 85036, 85037, 85038, 85039, 85040, 85041, 85043, 85044, 85045, 85046, 85048, 85050, 85051, 85053, 85054, 85055, 85060, 85061, 85062, 85063, 85064, 85065, 85066, 85067, 85068, 85069, 85070, 85071, 85072, 85073, 85074, 85075, 85076, 85077, 85078, 85079, 85080, 85082, 85086, 85098, 85099, 85201, 85202, 85203, 85204, 85205, 85206, 85207, 85208, 85210, 85211, 85212, 85213, 85214, 85215, 85216, 85217, 85219, 85220, 85221, 85222, 85223, 85224, 85225, 85226, 85227, 85228, 85230, 85231, 85232, 85233, 85234, 85235, 85236, 85237, 85239, 85240, 85241, 85242, 85244, 85245, 85246, 85247, 85248, 85249, 85250, 85251, 85252, 85253, 85254, 85255, 85256, 85257, 85258, 85259, 85260, 85261, 85262, 85263, 85264, 85266, 85267, 85268, 85269, 85271, 85272, 85273, 85274, 85275, 85277, 85278, 85279, 85280, 85281, 85282, 85283, 85284, 85285, 85287, 85289, 85290, 85291, 85292, 85296, 85299, 85301, 85302, 85303, 85304, 85305, 85306, 85307, 85308, 85309, 85310, 85311, 85312, 85313, 85318, 85320, 85321, 85322, 85323, 85324, 85325, 85326, 85327, 85328, 85329, 85331, 85332, 85333, 85334, 85335, 85336, 85337, 85338, 85339, 85340, 85341, 85342, 85343, 85344, 85345, 85346, 85347, 85348, 85349, 85350, 85351, 85352, 85353, 85354, 85355, 85356, 85357, 85358, 85359, 85360, 85361, 85362, 85363, 85364, 85365, 85366, 85367, 85369, 85371, 85372, 85373, 85374, 85375, 85376, 85377, 85378, 85379, 85380, 85381, 85382, 85387, 85390, 85501, 85502, 85530, 85531, 85532, 85533, 85534, 85535, 85536, 85539, 85540, 85541, 85542, 85543, 85544, 85545, 85546, 85547, 85548, 85550, 85551, 85552, 85553, 85554, 85601, 85602, 85603, 85605, 85606, 85607, 85608, 85609, 85610, 85611, 85613, 85614, 85615, 85616, 85617, 85618, 85619, 85620, 85621, 85622, 85623, 85624, 85625, 85626, 85627, 85628, 85629, 85630, 85631, 85632, 85633, 85634, 85635, 85636, 85637, 85638, 85639, 85640, 85641, 85643, 85644, 85645, 85646, 85648, 85650, 85652, 85653, 85654, 85655, 85662, 85670, 85671, 85701, 85702, 85703, 85704, 85705, 85706, 85707, 85708, 85709, 85710, 85711, 85712, 85713, 85714, 85715, 85716, 85717, 85718, 85719, 85720, 85721, 85722, 85723, 85724, 85725, 85726, 85728, 85730, 85731, 85732, 85733, 85734, 85735, 85736, 85737, 85738, 85739, 85740, 85741, 85742, 85743, 85744, 85745, 85746, 85747, 85748, 85749, 85750, 85751, 85752, 85754, 85775, 85777, 85901, 85902, 85911, 85912, 85920, 85922, 85923, 85924, 85925, 85926, 85927, 85928, 85929, 85930, 85931, 85932, 85933, 85934, 85935, 85936, 85937, 85938, 85939, 85940, 85941, 85942, 86001, 86002, 86003, 86004, 86011, 86015, 86016, 86017, 86018, 86020, 86021, 86022, 86023, 86024, 86025, 86028, 86029, 86030, 86031, 86032, 86033, 86034, 86035, 86036, 86038, 86039, 86040, 86042, 86043, 86044, 86045, 86046, 86047, 86052, 86053, 86054, 86301, 86302, 86303, 86304, 86305, 86312, 86313, 86314, 86320, 86321, 86322, 86323, 86324, 86325, 86326, 86327, 86329, 86330, 86331, 86332, 86333, 86334, 86335, 86336, 86337, 86338, 86339, 86340, 86341, 86342, 86343, 86351, 86401, 86402, 86403, 86404, 86405, 86406, 86411, 86412, 86413, 86426, 86427, 86429, 86430, 86431, 86432, 86433, 86434, 86435, 86436, 86437, 86438, 86439, 86440, 86441, 86442, 86443, 86444, 86445, 86446, 86502, 86503, 86504, 86505, 86506, 86507, 86508, 86509, 86510, 86511, 86512, 86514, 86515, 86520, 86535, 86538, 86540, 86544, 86545, 86547, 86549, 86556