Arizona Estate Planning

The Maricopa County estate planning attorneys at Carmichael & Powell, P.C., work with individual and family clients to develop estate plans, wills, and trusts that accomplish current and end-of-life goals.

Estate planning tools can serve a variety of functions. The proper tool can distribute property, pass along a business with minimal tax impact, or provide for the needs of a spouse or disabled relative in a nursing home. Our estate planning lawyers will help you define your goals and prepare legally binding documents to ensure your instructions can be followed.

The Importance of Staying Up to Date

We have discovered that many people with an estate plan, will, or trust, do not take the time to keep their plan current. They think that once a plan is in place, their task is complete. That's not always the case.

It is very important to review and update your estate plan, will, or trust on a regular basis:

• New members may have been added to your family; new assets may have been added to your estate. It's often a simple matter to change your plan to reflect this new situation.
• Tax law changes may mean your plan no longer provides adequate tax protection for your assets. Estate tax planning looks at ways to minimize your tax loss.
• New estate planning tools may have become available, some of which may be a better choice than your current estate plan or trust.
• New legal requirements have been implemented—such as HIPAA requirements—that could interfere with a doctor or family member's ability to carrying out your wishes about end-of-life medical care as specified in your living will.

If you would like to know more about estate planning tools and the most appropriate tools for your situation, call our office to speak to a Phoenix estate planning attorney Leo Pruett about:

If you'd like to get started creating an estate plan, or drafting a will, contact our law office to ask for an estate planning questionnaire to begin the process.

If you would like us to review an existing plan to ensure it is up to date, contact our Phoenix estate planning attorneys for an appointment.

We charge an hourly fee, but once we have reviewed your Questionnaire or documents, we can usually quote a fixed fee. We will provide you with the original documents so that you and your family will be in control of your important estate planning documents.