Boland Law Group, PLLCPassionately Preserving Wealth™
Revocable trusts in Arizona
Revocable living trust attorneys in Scottsdale
Boland Law Group drafts and funds revocable living trusts for Arizona families: the trust, the pour-over will, the powers of attorney and the deed that moves your home into it, designed by LL.M. partners admitted to the United States Tax Court, and priced from a fee schedule you can read before you call.
What a revocable living trust is
A revocable living trust is a written agreement under which you hold your property as trustee, for your own benefit while you live, and name the people who will manage and receive it after you. You keep full control. Under Arizona law you can amend or revoke it at any time unless the document says otherwise (A.R.S. § 14-10602).
Its work is practical rather than tax-driven. Property titled to the trust passes at death without probate and without a public court file, and if you become unable to manage your affairs, the successor trustee you chose steps in without a conservatorship. A pour-over will catches anything left outside the trust and sends it in (A.R.S. § 14-2511), but what it catches usually passes through probate first.
Because you can take the assets back at any time, a revocable trust does no estate tax work and gives no creditor protection on its own. Those jobs belong to the tax provisions drafted into it and to an irrevocable trust, which that page compares with this one. Every plan we draft starts with a revocable trust; fewer plans also need an irrevocable one.
Read the full analysis: revocable trusts and estate planning after the 2025 law, covering estate tax, basis step-up and wealth transfer strategy.
| Question | Will alone | Funded revocable trust |
|---|---|---|
| Does it avoid probate? | No. It directs the probate court | Yes, for everything titled to the trust |
| Is it public? | Yes, once filed with the court | No. Banks and title companies see a certificate of trust |
| Who acts if you are incapacitated? | An agent under a power of attorney, or a court-appointed conservator | Your successor trustee, under the terms you wrote |
| Real estate in another state? | A second probate in that state | None, once the property is deeded to the trust |
| How soon can heirs receive assets? | After the court process, commonly 6 to 12 months | On the trustee's timetable, with no court calendar |
| Does it protect assets from your creditors? | No | No. Your creditors can reach it in life, and after death if the probate estate falls short (A.R.S. § 14-10505) |
Who needs a revocable trust in Arizona, and at what net worth
Net worth matters less than what you own, where it sits and who depends on you. A trust earns its fee wherever probate, incapacity or a complicated family would otherwise put your affairs in front of a judge.
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Anyone who owns an Arizona home
Arizona real estate worth more than $300,000 after liens is above the small estate limit, so a home titled in your name alone, with no recorded beneficiary deed, will usually need a probate before it passes to your heirs.
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Married couples
A joint trust keeps community property community, so both halves take a new basis at the first death, and the survivor carries on without a court.
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Blended families
Without the right architecture, a surviving spouse can amend the plan and redirect everything away from the first spouse's children. A share that locks at the first death prevents it.
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Winter residents and owners of property in other states
Each state where you own real estate in your own name can require its own probate. Deeding each property to one trust avoids the second proceeding.
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Parents and grandparents of young beneficiaries
The trust holds each child's or grandchild's share to the ages you choose, instead of leaving a minor's inheritance to a conservator or custodian.
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Business owners and retirees
Company interests held in the trust can be voted by your successor trustee after an incapacity or death, without waiting for a court appointment. See planning for business owners and for retirement.
Our fee schedule sorts revocable trust plans by gross estate, because the design problem changes at each line.
- Up to $5 million
- The work is probate avoidance, incapacity and how children inherit. For a married couple, a portability-only Form 706 filed after the first death preserves the unused exemption for the survivor.
- Over $5 million to $15 million
- Few of these estates will owe estate tax under a $15 million exemption. The real question is who should hold the decision after the first death: the survivor, the fiduciary or the document.
- Over $15 million
- The trust carries exemption and generation-skipping architecture and usually works alongside lifetime strategies such as a spousal lifetime access trust, a dynasty trust or an irrevocable life insurance trust. See high net worth estate planning.
We advise families across the Valley, including Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, North Scottsdale and Carefree. Financial advisors and CPAs can bring us a matter directly.
How a revocable trust works, from signing to final distribution
Six stages, in the order your family meets them. Each is settled in the documents at signing, so nothing waits on a court.
- Before and at signing
Design and signing
You decide who inherits, when and how, who serves as trustee after you, and, for a married couple, what happens at the first death. That choice of architecture is the real design work. Signing takes one meeting, at our Airpark office or, across the East Valley, at your home.
- At and after signing
Funding
Your Arizona home is deeded to the trust at signing; one deed is included. Bank and brokerage accounts are retitled on our written instructions, and retirement accounts and insurance are coordinated by beneficiary designation. Federal law bars a lender from calling a home loan because of the transfer (12 U.S.C. § 1701j-3(d)(8)).
- While you live
Business as usual
You serve as your own trustee, buy and sell as before, and report the income on your own return under your Social Security number. While the trust is revocable, the trustee's duties run to you alone (A.R.S. § 14-10603). Banks and title companies rely on a certificate of trust, so the terms stay private (A.R.S. § 14-11013).
- If you cannot act
Incapacity
Your successor trustee steps in under the standard written into the trust, typically certification by physicians, without a court-supervised conservatorship. Your durable power of attorney and health care directives cover what the trust cannot.
- At the first death, for a couple
The first death
The trust divides as its architecture directs: all to the survivor's share, a nine-month disclaimer window, or a credit shelter share and a marital share, with the QTIP election made on the Form 706. Community property takes a new basis on both halves, and a Form 706 filed for the first spouse preserves the unused exemption for the survivor.
- At the last death
Administration and distribution
The trust is now irrevocable. The trustee obtains a tax identification number, notifies the qualified beneficiaries within 60 days (A.R.S. § 14-10813), pays final expenses and taxes, and distributes outright or into continuing trusts. Our trust administration practice supports trustees through each step.
How Arizona law shapes a revocable trust
Arizona levies no estate or inheritance tax, so federal law alone decides the transfer tax result. Arizona property and trust law decide what the trust must hold, how heirs collect and how long anyone has to object.
Community property keeps its step-up
Arizona is a community property state. Community property placed in a revocable trust keeps that character for federal tax purposes, so both halves take a new basis at the first death, not just the deceased spouse's half.
A.R.S. § 25-211; IRC § 1014(b)(6); Rev. Rul. 66-283
Probate starts at modest values
Since September 26, 2025, heirs can collect by affidavit up to $200,000 of personal property after 30 days, and $300,000 of Arizona real property after six months, each net of liens. Above those limits, property in your own name goes through the court.
A.R.S. § 14-3971, as amended by HB 2116
A beneficiary deed is a backstop
Arizona recognizes deeds that pass real estate at death without probate. We use them as a fallback for property that belongs in the trust, not as a substitute: a beneficiary deed does nothing at incapacity, and it fails if no one it names survives you.
A.R.S. § 33-405
The Trust Code sets the clock
After a death, the trustee must notify the qualified beneficiaries within 60 days. A challenge to the trust must be brought within one year of death, or within four months after the trustee sends a copy of the trust with notice of that deadline, if sooner.
A.R.S. §§ 14-10813, 14-10604
Where revocable trusts fail, and the filings that follow
Revocable trusts fail more often in the funding than in the drafting, and each failure below is preventable. Both partners are admitted to the United States Tax Court, and the firm has a tax controversy practice.
- Assets never retitled
An account or a house left in your own name, with no beneficiary designation, usually passes under the pour-over will, through probate and on the public record. The trust controls only what it owns.
- Community property split into separate shares
A trust drafted from a common law template can divide community property into separate shares and give up the full step-up at the first death.
- Beneficiary designations that bypass the plan
Retirement accounts and life insurance pass by designation, not by the trust. An outdated form can send an account to someone you no longer intend, or outright to a minor.
- Out-of-state property left out
A cabin or a condominium in another state, held in your own name, can require a second probate there.
- Assuming it protects or qualifies you
A revocable trust does not shield assets from your creditors (A.R.S. § 14-10505), and its assets count in full for ALTCS long-term care eligibility (42 U.S.C. § 1396p(d)(3)(A)).
- Amendments layered on amendments
A trust changed several times, by different drafters, is harder to administer and easier to contest. We restate rather than amend another firm's document; see trust planning and modification.
| Filing | When | Who |
|---|---|---|
| Your own Form 1040 | Each year while you live, under your Social Security number | You and your CPA |
| Deed into the trust | At signing, for each Arizona property | Our office; one deed is included |
| Beneficiary notice | Within 60 days after the trust becomes irrevocable | The successor trustee |
| Tax identification number | After death, before the trust opens accounts or files | The successor trustee |
| Form 1041 and Arizona Form 141AZ | Each year after death, once the trust has income to report | The trust's CPA |
| Section 645 election, Form 8855 | By the due date, with extensions, of the estate's first income tax return | The trustee, and the executor if one is appointed, with the CPA |
| Form 706 | Nine months after death, with a six-month extension. A late portability-only return is allowed for up to five years (Rev. Proc. 2022-32) | Our office, with your CPA |
The Section 645 election lets the trust report its income with the estate. A portability-only Form 706 is priced on our advanced planning schedule from $5,000, plus $500 per $1 million or part of gross estate above $7.5 million.
What the community property step-up saves a Scottsdale couple
Consider a Scottsdale couple, married and living in Arizona for thirty years, with a $4.2 million estate: a $1.2 million home and a $3 million brokerage account of stock bought during the marriage for a total of $600,000. They are far below the $30 million combined exemption, so estate tax is not the issue. Income tax on the gain is.
When the first spouse dies, the survivor wants to sell and diversify. If the account is community property held in their joint revocable trust, both halves take a new basis equal to the value at death, and the sale produces no gain. If the account is treated as separate property, half each, only the deceased spouse's half steps up.
The second result is more common than it should be: property brought from a common law state, accounts titled in a way that makes them separate, or a trust drafted from an out-of-state template. A written agreement can sometimes convert separate property to community property, with a one-year caution under IRC § 1014(e) and consequences in a divorce.
The home steps up the same way. It is left out of the ledger to keep the arithmetic to one asset.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| At the first death | |
| Account value | $3,000,000 |
| Original cost, both halves | $600,000 |
| As community property in the joint trust | |
| New basis, both halves | $3,000,000 |
| Gain when the survivor sells | $0 |
| Federal tax on the sale | $0 |
| As separate property, half each | |
| New basis, deceased spouse's half | $1,500,000 |
| Survivor's half, original cost | $300,000 |
| Gain when the survivor sells | $1,200,000 |
| Federal tax at 23.8 per cent | $285,600 |
Federal tax the survivor does not owe in this example, because the account kept its community character inside the trust. On our published schedule, a married couple's plan for an estate up to $5 million starts at $5,500.
What a revocable living trust costs in Scottsdale
We publish our fees. Every revocable trust plan is priced on the firm's core estate planning fee schedule, by gross estate and, for a married couple, by the architecture of the plan. You can read it before you call.
Each figure is a minimum flat fee, fixed in a written engagement letter before work begins. The gross estate is everything you own or control at death, including your home, accounts, business interests and life insurance you own, before debts. Appraisals, recording fees and other third-party costs pass through at cost.
Restating a trust you already have is priced as the core plan for your estate, delivered on the trust you have already funded, so nothing needs retitling. For context on the wider market, see our 2026 Arizona estate planning cost guide.
Every plan includes
- Revocable living trust
- Pour-over will
- General durable power of attorney
- Health care power of attorney
- Mental health care power of attorney
- Living will
- HIPAA authorization (federal law)
- Certificate of trust
- Age-gated shares for children and grandchildren, held in trust to the ages you choose
- Assignment of personal property
- Special warranty deed into the trust
- Written funding instructions
| Plan | Up to $5 million | Over $5 million to $15 million |
|---|---|---|
| One person | ||
| Single | $5,000 | $6,000 |
| Married couples, by architecture | ||
| A trust only, survivor's trust | $5,500 | $6,500 |
| A trust only, blended family | $5,850 | $6,850 |
| A/C, disclaimer | $5,750 | $6,750 |
| A/B, non-tax or blended family | $6,000 | $7,000 |
| A/B, QTIP or credit shelter | $6,500 | $7,500 |
| A/B/C, non-Clayton | Not offered | $8,750 |
| A/B/C, Clayton, with or without GST sub-trusts | Not offered | $9,750 to $12,750 |
| Gross estate | Single | Married, Clayton with GST sub-trusts | Married, Reverse Clayton with GST sub-trusts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Over $15 million to $30 million | $6,000 | $12,750+ | $15,000+ |
| Over $30 million to $45 million | $10,000+ | $18,750+ | $22,500+ |
| Above $45 million | $15,000+ | $25,000+ | $30,000+ |
| Item | 2026 fee |
|---|---|
| Additional Arizona deed into the trust, per property | $350 |
| Lifetime trust for a descendant, each (age-gated shares are included) | $600 |
| Disinheriting or reduction provision, each | $600 |
| Separate Property Spousal Trust, each | $2,900 |
| Community Property Pour-Over Trust, each | $1,500 |
| Full funding service beyond the included deed | Quoted |
| Trust amendment: one minor change, our documents only | $1,500+ |
| Trust restatement, delivered on your funded trust | Core plan fee |
| Form 706 portability return, plus $500 per $1 million or part of gross estate above $7.5 million | $5,000+ |
Minimums from the published 2026 schedules. Where this page and a schedule differ, the schedule controls.
Revocable trust questions Scottsdale families ask
How much does a revocable living trust cost in Scottsdale?
On our published 2026 schedule, a complete revocable trust plan starts at $5,000 for one person and $5,500 for a married couple with an estate up to $5 million, and at $6,000 and $6,500 for estates over $5 million to $15 million. Each plan includes the pour-over will, powers of attorney, health care directives and a deed moving one Arizona property into the trust. The fee is fixed in a written engagement letter before work begins.
Does a revocable trust avoid probate in Arizona?
Yes, for everything the trust owns at your death. Property left in your own name without a beneficiary designation passes under your pour-over will through probate, unless it fits within Arizona's small estate limits of $200,000 of personal property and $300,000 of real property, net of liens. That is why funding the trust matters as much as signing it.
What does funding a trust mean, and what happens to assets left out?
Funding means putting assets in the trust's name: recording a deed for your home, retitling bank and brokerage accounts, assigning business interests, and coordinating beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance. Every plan includes one deed and written funding instructions, and we quote full funding service separately. Anything left out is caught by the pour-over will, but unless it fits within the small estate limits, only after it passes through probate.
Does a revocable trust protect my assets from creditors?
No. Under A.R.S. § 14-10505, property in a revocable trust is subject to your creditors while you live, and after your death it remains available to them to the extent your probate estate cannot pay. The protection a trust can offer is for your heirs: shares that continue in trust with a spendthrift clause are generally shielded from the beneficiaries' own creditors.
Does a revocable trust save estate tax or income tax?
Not by itself. Because you can revoke it, everything in it is part of your taxable estate, and its income is reported on your own return. The tax work comes from what is drafted inside it: a credit shelter share, a marital share that can take the QTIP election, or a disclaimer path that preserves both spouses' exemptions, and, in Arizona, keeping community property community so both halves step up in basis at the first death.
Should a married couple in Arizona have one joint trust or two?
Most Arizona couples use one joint trust, because it holds community property as community property and preserves the full basis step-up at the first death. Where either spouse owns significant separate property, a Separate Property Spousal Trust keeps that property under that spouse's control, with a Community Property Pour-Over Trust for what the couple owns together. Our schedule prices them at $2,900 and $1,500 each.
Can I be my own trustee, and who takes over if I cannot act?
Yes. Most people serve as their own trustees, and while the trust is revocable the trustee's duties run to you alone. You name successor trustees, often a spouse and then an adult child, a trusted advisor or a corporate trustee, and the trust states how incapacity is determined, typically by physician certification, so a successor can act without a court-supervised conservatorship.
Can we change or revoke our revocable trust later?
Yes. Under A.R.S. § 14-10602, an Arizona trust can be revoked or amended unless its terms say it is irrevocable. For community property, either spouse can revoke the trust as to that spouse's share, but an amendment requires both. We make one minor amendment to a trust we drafted, from $1,500. Anything structural, and any trust drafted by another firm, is restated: the trust keeps its name and date, so nothing needs retitling.
What happens to a revocable trust when the person who created it dies?
For a married couple, the first death divides the trust as the plan directs: the survivor's share stays revocable, and any credit shelter or QTIP share becomes irrevocable. At the last death the whole trust becomes irrevocable. The successor trustee takes control without a court appointment, notifies the qualified beneficiaries within 60 days, pays final expenses and taxes, and distributes outright or into continuing trusts. A challenge to the trust must be brought within one year of death, or sooner if the trustee sends the notice that starts a four-month period under A.R.S. § 14-10604.
How long does it take to put a revocable trust in place?
Our standard runway is 90 days from the engagement letter to signing, which leaves time for design, drafting and your review. The deed to your home is signed at that meeting, and account retitling follows on the written funding instructions. If a health concern or a deadline calls for a faster timetable, say so on the first call.
We moved to Scottsdale from another state. Is our old trust still valid?
Generally yes: Arizona recognizes a trust validly created under the law of the place where it was signed or where you lived at the time (A.R.S. § 14-10403). But property acquired while you lived in a common law state is generally not community property and may not receive the full step-up, and an out-of-state template will not reflect Arizona's small estate limits or beneficiary deed rules. We review the trust against Arizona law and, where it falls short, restate it so your funding stays in place.
Start with a conversation.
Bring your current documents, a list of what you own and how it is titled, and the names of your advisors. We will tell you which architecture fits, what funding will take and what the plan costs, before you decide anything. The revocable trust is the foundation of every plan our Scottsdale estate planning practice draws, and a partner designs yours.
15100 N. 78th Way, Suite 203
Scottsdale, Arizona 85260
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Paradise Valley, North Scottsdale, Carefree
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General information about federal and Arizona law as of September 2026, not legal or tax advice for any particular person, and reading it forms no attorney-client relationship. Exemption figures are the 2026 amounts under the Internal Revenue Code as amended in 2025. Fee figures are minimums from the firm's published 2026 schedules; no fee is binding until it is set in a signed engagement letter. Passionately Preserving Wealth is a trademark of Boland Law Group, PLLC.