Paradise Valley estate planning attorneys

Yes. We hold in-home appointments in the Town of Paradise Valley by arrangement. Our office is at 15100 N. 78th Way, Suite 203, Scottsdale, Arizona 85260, about 8.9 miles and 17 minutes off-peak from the center of town, and secure video suits reviews. Every meeting is by appointment; call (480) 420-8268.

Not by itself. In 2026 the federal exemption is $15,000,000 per person and $30,000,000 for a married couple, and Arizona has no estate tax. But a $6 million home is 40 percent of one person's exemption: add $9 million of other assets and a widowed owner is at the line today. For couples, the exemption horizon above estimates when growth closes the gap.

Usually. A will directs probate rather than avoiding it, and Arizona's affidavit shortcut covers real estate only up to $300,000 after liens, so a Paradise Valley home left by will nearly always goes through the Maricopa County Superior Court, in a public file. Survivorship title helps at the first death, not the second. A funded trust avoids probate and covers incapacity.

Owned in your own names, it generally goes through a separate California probate. California fixes the attorney's and executor's fees by statute on gross value: $43,000 each on a $3,000,000 house, $86,000 in all. Deeding it to your revocable trust avoids that; we coordinate the deed with California counsel, at cost.

Yes. We restate a revocable trust: it keeps its name and date, so your Paradise Valley home and accounts stay titled as they are, while every term is replaced under current Arizona law. It is priced from the same published schedule as a new plan. An irrevocable trust may be decanted under A.R.S. § 14-10819 when the statute's conditions are met.

It can keep the home out of probate if it is recorded before death under A.R.S. § 33-405. It does not help with incapacity, covers no other assets, and on its own gives none of the instructions a trust can, such as holding a share for a young beneficiary. For most Paradise Valley households it supplements a trust rather than replacing one.

The Superior Court of Arizona in Maricopa County, since probate is opened where the person was domiciled. The county's probate cases are heard at the East Court Building, 101 W. Jefferson Street in downtown Phoenix, about 13 miles from Paradise Valley Town Hall. Property in another state goes to that state's courts. A funded trust avoids them all.

A trust validly signed elsewhere generally remains valid here and can own your Arizona home. Powers of attorney and health care directives are worth re-signing under Arizona law, so local banks and hospitals see familiar forms. Couples from common law states should review how they hold property, because the full step-up at the first death applies only to community property.

No. Arizona has no estate, inheritance or gift tax, so a Paradise Valley estate faces only the federal tax, which in 2026 applies above $15,000,000 per person. If you are still domiciled in a state with its own estate tax, such as Illinois, Washington or New York, that state can tax your estate, and several tax a nonresident's real estate there.

Core plans are flat fees set by gross estate. The 2026 minimums are $5,000 single and $5,500 to $6,500 married up to $5 million; $6,000 single and $6,500 to $12,750 married from $5 million to $15 million; and $12,750 married from $15 million to $30 million. Your home's deed into the trust is included, and each added Arizona deed is $350.