Susan L. Sandys Estate Planning Attorney

I am an Arizona estate planning attorney in Phoenix, Arizona. What does that mean exactly? Basically it means that I can put together legal documents that will help you and your loved ones if you are incapacitated or have passed away. The whole process, start to finish, takes usually about 5-7 hours. Just 5-7 hours!

Estate planning is actually so much more than just putting together legal documents. Look at all the things estate planning can do for you. It can help you:

Make a list of particular personal items you want to go to particular people.

Decide who will raise your children and specify that your children maintain particular family relationships.

Lay out how your children will receive money so they don't become zillionaires at age 18.

Manage the painful issues that arise when a child is abusing drugs or has made other very difficult life choices.

Protect your special needs adult child from losing his/her governmental benefits.

Divvy up your assets between your children from a prior marriage and your new spouse.

State your thoughts on when to pull the plug.

Give authority to someone to access all of your assets to take care of you, including funds in retirement accounts.

Have the right papers in place if you should end up with dementia or Alzheimer's.

Give authority to someone to handle your digital assets and online accounts.

Make sure that the State of Arizona and our court system never make decisions for you.

Let your loved ones know your views on:

Organ donation

Cremation or burial

Being locked in that nice padded cell

Caring for your pets

Charities you would like to support

You might be wondering how does estate planning do everything in the list above? By putting together the following documents:

There are 2 "death" documents: a Last Will and Testament and a Revocable Living Trust. You choose one or the other.

A Last Will says who gets what when you die. It names someone to be in charge, called an executor, or in Arizona, a Personal Representative. Having a Last Will can mean having to do a probate.

A Revocable Living Trust says who gets what when you die. It names someone to be in charge, called a trustee. A Revocable Living Trust is a great way to:1) avoid probate; 2) protect young children and grandchildren; 3) protect assets for your special needs adult child; 4) handle assets in different states. Most of my clients choose to have a Revocable Living Trust.

If you do not have a Last Will and Testament or a Revocable Living Trust, then probate will most likely be needed when you pass away.

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