Arizona Estate Planning
Estate Planning
If you’ve been wondering when the best time to create your estate plan, the answer is now. Estate planning allows you to create a comprehensive plan to accomplish your goals and give you peace of mind.
The Estate Planning attorneys at Tyler Allen Law Firm work extensively with all matters of estate planning and can answer questions you have regarding this complex area of law. With your desires in mind, you and your attorney will carefully consider and review your estate and come up with a plan that gives you control over your legacy.
Tyler Allen Law Firm provides estate planning in the following areas:
Last Will and Testament: A Will and Testament is a legally binding document that allows you to control how your estate or assets will be distributed after your death. A Will also allows you to appoint a legal guardian to any minor children you may have as well care of your pets. You should have a Will and Testament if you are over the age of 18 in order to help avoid potential disputes or confusion regarding your wishes for your assets. When writing a Will and Testament, you should clearly designate a beneficiary or beneficiaries to your estate or assets to avoid disputes & confusion. A Will and Testament is important because it gives instruction on who will receive your property after you pass away and if you do not have a will, your property will be distributed as decided by the state.
Revocable and Irrevocable Trusts: A trust is a legal entity that a person sets up to manage their assets. They are set up throughout a person’s life in order to assure certain assets are used in a way that the person sees appropriate.
A revocable trust is a trust where terms can be changed at any time. A person can remove beneficiaries, designate new beneficiaries as well as modify stipulations on how assets in the trust are managed. A disadvantage of revocable trusts are whatever assets the person put into the trust, they are not protected from creditors and thus if the person is sued, the assets in the trust can be liquidated to satisfy a judgement put forth. Also, when the owner of the trust dies, the assets in the trust are subject to state and federal estate taxes.
Irrevocable trusts are trusts that cannot be modified after being created without the consent of the beneficiaries. Once the agreement is signed, an irrevocable trust is set in stone and only in rare circumstances can they be changed. A main reason for having an irrevocable trust structure is for taxes. These trusts remove assets from a benefactor’s taxable estate and also relieve the benefactor of tax responsibility for income generated by assets.
Healthcare Power of Attorney and Living Will:
A Living Will is a written statement that details the type of care you do or do not want if you become incapacitated. This document bears no relation to a conventional will or living trust. It is strictly for spelling out your preferences of health care and what medical procedures you approve of to attempt to preserve your life and end of life care.
A Healthcare Power of Attorney is a document that allows the appointment of a person you trust to be your healthcare agent. They take the necessary steps to make healthcare decisions for you and see what doctors and other providers can give you for the type of care that you seek.
What to do next:
If you’re in need of estate planning services, contact the Tyler Allen Law Firm for a free consultation. Simply fill out the form on this page or call us at (602) 456-0545 to speak with an attorney. As always, we’re here to help.