Post-Death and Trust Administration

Recognizing that coping with the loss of a loved one can be overwhelming, we take special care in providing compassionate counsel, guidance and direction.

During this difficult time, we regularly communicate with you to keep you informed of the status of the probate or estate/trust administration process. Based on our extensive experience, we help you anticipate the length of time an administration process should take and how much it should cost. We give you the opportunity to choose whether to be very involved or less involved in the administration process.

experienced counsel

Frustration and concern often result from what is required to administer an estate and/or trust. We help you understand what to expect regarding post-death and trust administration to ease this process.

We offer representation to personal representatives by filing the necessary pleadings to become appointed as a fiduciary post death, including the admission of a decedent’s will to probate, and we offer assistance in preparing the necessary pleadings required under law to complete the probate process. The process can range from very simple to quite complex.

In trust administration matters, we provide the trustee with assistance in fulfilling their fiduciary duties under the terms of the trust and state law.

professional assistance

Our experienced probate and trust administration attorneys provide legal services in the following areas:

• Initiate formal or informal probate proceeding in court, if required by law

• Coordinate with title companies, real estate professionals and appraisers when necessary to liquidate estate and trust assets

• Assist the trustee or personal representative in:

  • collecting the decedent’s assets, notifying the decedent's creditors, and paying any debts of the decedent

  • preparing an inventory and appraisement of estate and trust assets and complying with the disclosure requirements under the trust and Arizona law

  • preparing federal and state tax returns, reviewing for accuracy and minimizing any estate or gift tax liability

  • transferring assets to beneficiaries designated by a decedent’s estate plan

  • fully funding and distributing estate and trust assets

  • preparing the final closing documents to be filed with the probate court

post mortem planning

We provide post mortem planning and professional legal advice to the surviving spouse in re-evaluating their own estate plan.

We also provide advice to beneficiaries to determine their own individual estate planning opportunities.