TRUSTS
We offer customized, effective Trust and Will packages, Probate services, Powers of Attorney, estate planning documents and much more. Keep your assets out of conflict and court with the proper documents.
Accurate & Affordable Trust Documents
If you’re thinking trusts are just for the wealthy, you’re mistaken. Trusts are a comprehensive estate planning tool just about anyone can utilize to ensure their property passes directly to intended heirs. Most importantly unlike last wills and testaments, trusts avoid the frustrations associated with the probate process when transferring assets to someone’s heirs. Probate is a more complicated, lengthier process. Trusts are a simpler way of handling property than administering probate. Funding a trust in Arizona is the smartest way to distribute your assets and wealth privately after your death. In financially challenging times, some trusts can act as a safety net by keeping your assets away from the hands of your creditors. Sometimes trusts can be beneficial in shaping your tax strategy. Creating an AB trust commonly referred to as a marital trust or QTIP trust that transfers property to the living spouse can avoid potential federal estate taxes on your wealth after you are gone. We have the documents needed for trust creation, trust funding, amendments, and more.
Living Trust
Trust Funding Assistance
Amendments and Restatements
Trust Packages
Creating the Trust documents you require with the highest quality and up-to-date technology. Making sure your documents are effective and based on current legal updates. Our Trust Packages include the Trust, Pour-Over-Will, Powers of Attorney, customized binder and USB with your estate & probate documents. We also offer various Trust types for pets, nursing homes, special needs, any more.
What is a trust anyway?
A trust can be an important part of your estate plan. It creates a separate legal entity that holds and manages the property and assets of an individual or an organization. Arizona trusts are legal documents transferring legal ownership of assets/property during the lifetime of the property owner who creates the trust. Trusts provide privacy as they allow trust assets to pass privately to beneficiaries rather than endure public probate. Trust is an umbrella term that encompasses a wide variety of trusts including:
- Revocable living trusts
- Irrevocable trusts
- Life insurance irrevocable trusts
- Special needs trusts
- Charitable trusts
- Minor trusts
- Domestic asset protection trust
- Domestic trusts
- Dynasty trusts
- Spendthrift trusts
There are three main parties involved in creating a trust: the grantor, the beneficiary, and the trustee. The grantor is the person who establishes a trust for the purpose of managing his assets for a variety of reasons such as when the grantor dies or becomes mentally incompetent or disabled. The grantor transfers all his property including real estate, stocks, bonds, movable property, bank savings, and life insurance……….to create the trust arrangement. Two ways of creating a trust are to have it take effect when the grantor is alive or when they die. Beneficiaries are the persons entitled to receive certain benefits and financial protections from the trust assets.
A neutral third party called a trustee manages the trust and acts for the benefit of the grantor and beneficiaries. The trustee is responsible for managing a grantor’s trust while he is alive and execution of property distribution after the grantor dies. When a grantor dies the trustee will make decisions to ensure trust properties are settled appropriately and distributed among the designated beneficiaries as the grantor intended.
Arizona trusts fall into two main categories. They can be either revocable or irrevocable depending on the grantor’s ability to amend the terms of the trust. Revocable trusts are just what their name speaks for. They allow the grantor to amend or revoke the trust any time before his death. Revocable trusts turn into irrevocable trusts upon the death of the grantor. Irrevocable trusts are permanent and cannot be modified. They can protect assets from litigation. But their biggest drawback is the fact that they are permanent.
How Trusts Are Established In Arizona
To create an Arizona trust, the grantor needs to create a legal document called a trust document. The trust document must include all the details about the trust property, its corresponding values, the trustee’s name, the trustee’s duties, and identifiable beneficiaries. Under Arizona law of trusts, the grantor can also be the trustee and beneficiary. But ARS §14-10402(a)1-5 provides that there cannot exist a valid trust if the sole trustee is named as the sole beneficiary. To become legally valid the trust document must be notarized before a notary. Under ARS §14-10813, there is a legal duty to serve notice to all beneficiaries of a trust. After a trust instrument is prepared, unless the instrument provides otherwise, within 60 days of accepting trusteeship, the trustee must keep all the beneficiaries reasonably informed about the administration of the trust. If the grantor also leaves a last will, the trustee needs to file the trust document in the court where the grantor resided at the time of his death.
Can you modify your revocable trust in Arizona without a lawyer?
To ensure your living trust includes new assets that you acquired and updated asset values you will need to modify your trust. You may also need to add someone who was not named as a beneficiary like a charity or remove someone already named as a beneficiary. Here are some circumstances that require you to amend a trust.
- Marriage or divorce
- Adopting a child
- Birth of a baby
- Death of a beneficiary
- Moving to a new state
- Death of trustee
- Need to appoint a new trustee
If you know what you want to do, we will prepare your documents. If you find it difficult and confusing to prepare the trust document and amendments by yourself, it’s a good idea to hire a certified legal document preparer in Arizona.
