Trusts · Arizona basics
A living trust is a box you keep the keys to.
You put the house and the accounts inside, and you go on using them exactly as before. The difference shows up the day you cannot, and the day after you pass away.
What the document actually does.
A living trust is an agreement you make with yourself. You move your property into it, you keep managing that property, and you write down who takes over and who receives what.
Because the trust owns those assets, they are not in your name when you pass away. There is nothing for a probate court to move, so there is no case to open.
See what we buildLiving
It starts working the day you sign and fund it, not after you pass away. That is the whole difference between it and a will.
Trust
A legal container. Under A.R.S. 14-10402 it needs your intent, a beneficiary who can be identified, and real duties for the trustee to carry out.
The cast
Four roles, and you hold two of them.
Most confusion about trusts clears up the moment these four names are separated.
The settlor, which is you
You create the trust and decide every term in it. A.R.S. 14-10402 asks for two things from you here: the capacity to make the decision, and the clear intent to create a trust.
The trustee, also usually you
The trustee manages what the trust holds. While you are well, that is you. You keep writing checks, selling a car, and refinancing the house exactly as before.
The successor trustee
The person who takes over if you cannot serve, or after you pass away. Pick someone organized before you pick someone flattered by the ask.
The beneficiaries
Who receives what, and when. Arizona needs a beneficiary it can actually identify. One person also cannot be the only trustee and the only beneficiary.
What happens, and when.
A trust is not one event. It works in stages, and the first one is the longest.
- 01
While you are well
Almost nothing changes. You are your own trustee, you use your money normally, and your taxes are filed on your own return with no extra return for the trust.
- 02
If you cannot sign anymore
Your successor trustee steps in and keeps paying the mortgage, the insurance, and the caregivers. There is no court case and no judge appointing a stranger.
- 03
After you pass away
Your successor trustee collects what the trust holds, pays the final bills, and hands out what is left the way your document says. Nothing gets filed with the court.
- 04
If you left a gift on a timeline
The trust can hold a young person's share and pay it out in stages. It can also support someone who should never get a lump sum.
What goes inside
Not everything belongs in the box.
Funding is the step that makes a trust real. It is also the step people skip, and skipping it undoes the entire plan.
The house
Moved by a new deed recorded with the county where the property sits. If you own property in another state, it can go in too, which is what spares your family a second court case.
Bank and brokerage accounts
Retitled into the trust's name. Your day to day checking account often stays out on purpose, so paying bills does not get complicated.
A business share
An interest in an LLC or a family company, when the operating agreement allows it. We read that agreement first.
What usually stays out
Retirement accounts. A 401(k) or IRA already passes by its own beneficiary form, and retitling one can trigger a tax bill. We check the forms instead.
The quiet part nobody sells you on.
Most families come in worried about what happens after a death. The stage that actually saves them the misery is the middle one.
If a stroke or dementia takes your ability to sign, your successor trustee just carries on. Without a trust, your family may have to ask a judge for the right to manage your own money.
See the steps to set one upKeep exploring
Where this fits in your plan.
Living trust questions, answered.
The ones we hear at the kitchen table. If yours is not here, just call.
Call (480) 863-6303No. You stay the trustee, so you can sell it, refinance it, or move. The deed lists the trust as owner, and you are the one running the trust.
For a revocable living trust, no. It uses your Social Security number and its income goes on your personal return. There is no separate trust tax return while you are alive.
It usually does not need to. A.R.S. 14-11013 lets you hand over a certification of trust, a short summary proving the trust exists and who the trustee is, so the private terms stay private.
It depends on what you own and how you own it. Arizona is a community property state under A.R.S. 25-211, and a joint trust is common for couples whose property is shared. Second marriages with children from the first often do better with two.
Someone reliable with paperwork who will still be reachable in twenty years. It does not have to be your oldest child, and it can be a professional if the family would rather not carry it.
No. What drives the decision is the shape of what you own, not the size. One Arizona house and a couple of accounts with clean beneficiary forms may need nothing more than a will.
As long as you keep it current. Review it after a marriage, a divorce, a birth, a death, or any big change in property, and update the names before anyone needs them.
This page is general information for educational purposes and is not legal advice about your property. Reading it does not make us your lawyers. Talk with us before you sign anything.
Turquoise Law Group, PLLC contracts with Roddy & Urness, PLLC or Nancy C. Pohl, PLLC in order to provide legal advice to your matter at an affordable cost.
Schedule your meeting
See whether a trust fits your family.
Book a free consultation. We will walk through what you own and give you a straight answer, in English or Spanish. Or call (480) 863-6303.
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