How to Set Up a Living Trust in Arizona

Living trusts are powerful estate planning tools that can help you avoid probate, prevent delays in passing along your inheritance, and control what happens to your estate after you’re gone. Here’s what you need to know about setting up a living trust in Arizona and how an experienced estate planning lawyer can help you achieve your goals.

Why You Need a Living Trust in Arizona

A living trust can help you manage your assets more efficiently and/or provide anonymity and privacy regarding your high-value assets. Living trusts may allow you to enjoy the benefit or use of assets, such as a primary residence, during your lifetime and facilitate your heirs’ inheritance of those assets while bypassing the complex and costly probate process after your death.

Some of the benefits of living trusts include:

• Avoids probate
• Allows for the distribution of family wealth per set schedules
• Enables an easier transfer of assets to beneficiaries after death
• Allows the investment of family wealth to generate a steady income stream for family members
• Gives the creator (grantor) the option to set conditions for beneficiaries to receive their inheritances (e.g., upon completing their education, etc.).
• Can be revoked or amended at any time

Potential drawbacks to living trusts include:

• Time investment for setup
• Fewer tax advantages than other types of trusts
• Limited protection from creditor claims

An experienced estate planning attorney can discuss the pros and cons of living trusts to identify the right estate planning tools for your situation.

Types of Living Trusts

Living trusts include any trust created during the grantor’s life. Arizona recognizes two types of living trusts:

• Revocable living trust – A grantor transfers assets into the trust but can change or revoke the trust’s terms at any time.
• Irrevocable living trust – In this type of living trust, the asset transfer is permanent, allowing the grantor to take advantage of asset protection or tax exemptions.

How to Set Up a Living Trust in Arizona

The process of creating a living trust in Arizona involves several steps. You must:

• Determine which type of living trust you need based on your estate planning objectives.
• Inventory your assets and determine what property you want to place in the living trust.
• Select a trustee (which could be yourself). You should also name a successor trustee who can assume responsibility if you can no longer serve as the trustee. You could also select a trusted family member, friend, professional advisor, or trust company to serve as the trustee.
• Draft and execute the trust document outlining how the trustee must govern the trust. Signatures should be notarized.
• Fund the trust by transferring funds to the trust’s bank account or retitling assets in the trust’s or trustee’s name.

Setting up a trust according to Arizona law is a complex process that can best be accomplished by consulting an experienced trust and estates lawyer.

Talk to Our Arizona Living Trust Attorney

Pennington Law, PLLC is an award-winning Arizona estate planning law firm. If you need more information about living trusts and other estate planning tools to maximize your wealth and provide for your heirs, we can review your financial situation and make recommendations in a free consultation. Contact us today to speak with a knowledgeable living trust lawyer.