Arizona Estate Planning Laws

A basic estate plan is going to include a last will and testament, financial power of attorney, medical power of attorney with mental health powers and living will, and a personal property list if the individual chooses to create one. These are documents that every estate plan will have. From there, people have choices. For example, if you have minor children and want money paid to them over time, many couples will elect to create a revocable living trust. A trust will allow for the passing of someone’s estate without going through probate, keeping your financial information private, and allowing for money and assets to be given out over time, rather than one lump some, which is what happens in a probate situation. There are additional estate-planning documents that can be drafted if you want to avoid probate and you do not have a trust. For example, a beneficiary deed will allow you to select who will receive your house and other real estate immediately upon your death without ever having to go through the probate process. And, the Motor Vehicle Department now allows us to prepare a beneficiary designation, so that you can select who will receive your vehicle upon your death. There are many tools that an estate planner can provide to help you with setting things up to care for you and your loved ones. If you would like to create, revise, or update your estate plan, please call Owens & Perkins at (480) 994-8824.

If you would like to review estate planning documents with an attorney, visit this profile and submit a contact form.

By: Attorney Michelle Perkins

My name is Michelle Perkins and I am the managing partner of Owens & Perkins in Scottsdale, Arizona. Owens & Perkins is a general practice law firm providing legal representation for family law matters, criminal matters, estate planning, probate, trust administration, and trust litigation. The firm has been serving the valley of the sun since 1967 and that’s a pretty long time. I am partners with my grandfather, C.D. Owens. He is on my mothers’ side. People always ask if either of my parents are lawyers and the answer is no. For some reason, the lawyer gene skipped a generation. C.D. and I became partners in 1996 and as they say, the rest is history. One of the frequent compliments we get from clients of the firm is that they feel like they’re treated like family. We take pride in our work and we take our obligations to the community very seriously. When C.D. first started practicing in Scottsdale in 1967, he was one of a handful of lawyers. Now, we have thousands. C.D. represented people back in the day and they fell in love with him. From there, they had children and we represented them. Now, they have had children and we represent them too. We literally have generations representing generations. We know that legal battles can be frightening. We have been there for our clients since 1967 and we treat people fairly and honestly. If you want a law firm that you can count on, that treats you like part of the family, please call us at Owens & Perkins at (480) 994-8824.

By: Attorney Michelle Perkins

Typical estate planning documents include a living trust, a pour-over will, a living will, and powers of attorney for financial, health care, and mental health care decision-making. Tax planning, if needed, may include irrevocable trusts and asset protection may include LLCs, trusts, and careful planning. I’m Mark Bregman. Contact me at (480) 945-9131 to find out more about creating your own effective and affordable estate plan.

By: Attorney Mark Bregman