Estate Planning

Phoenix Metro Lawyers Provide Simple Estate Planning Solutions

"Our Attorneys provide simple solutions to our clients' estate planning needs."

Proper and effective Estate Planning involves more than fill-in forms from a document preparation service. The reputable Scottsdale law office of BREDEMANN & McFARLANE assists its clients, their extended and often times blended families with quality estate planning services. An estate plan, whether simple or complex, allows you to plan for the future of your family, indicate how your assets will be distributed, and make your wishes clear about care at the end of your life. It avoids the difficult family controversies that may arise without such directives. Our lawyers do trusts, estate planning, asset protection, probate, and estate administration, and tax reporting and return preparation.

Our attorneys work with estates of all sizes, from simple estates having bank accounts, real estate and pension plans, to complex and high value estates containing family businesses, life insurance policies, considerable financial resources in the millions of dollars, and other significant personal assets. Any estate, regardless of size, can benefit greatly from well-crafted documents provided by an experienced estate planning lawyer. Our estate planning attorneys will meet with you, listen to you carefully, and create a personalized estate plan to meet your future needs and those of your heirs.

Wills

Every client for whom estate planning is done should have a Last Will and Testament. Wills are important to ensure that your wishes, not only for property, but for funeral arrangements and guardians for minor aged children, are properly named. A well conceived Last Will and Testament is critical in making the probate administration of the estate a relatively simple process and to minimize the possibility of probate litigation.

Trusts (Revocable and Irrevocable)

Our estate planning lawyers ensure that trusts established by a client will accomplish their intended goals of simplifying their estate, avoid probate, and minimize estate and gift taxes. Our partner attorneys counsel clients in creating and administering revocable and irrevocable trusts, special needs trusts, charitable trusts, qualified personal residential trusts, dynasty trusts, life insurance trusts, spendthrift trusts, education trusts, and other asset-protection devices. We also form family limited partnerships and other tax planning vehicles.

Powers of Attorney

Our attorneys strongly recommend the establishment of durable powers of attorney. Durable powers of attorney are important, but often overlooked, tools that allow you to make critical personal, financial, health care, and end of life decisions through an agent in the event that you become unable to make those necessary decisions or directives. We advise such powers be interconnected with the client's Will and/or Trust.

Living Will

Living Wills provide for your end of life directives to your attending physicians so you may pass on in the manner you select. These simple arrangements are made part of your over-all estate planning documents.

Guardianships and Conservatorships for Minors and Adults

Our estate planning lawyers provide clients with family services in obtaining Court appointment of a guardian and or conservator for minor children or disabled or incapacitated persons. Often, state laws require the appointment of a conservator or guardian or such appointment is necessary for a protected person's day-to-day health care and management of their affairs. Our attorneys present our client's case before the Probate Court to request appointment of a guardian or conservator.

Probate and Probate Contests

Our probate attorneys ensure a simplified probate process by taking advantage of the informal probate process available under Arizona law. Our experienced attorneys and staff (who include a licensed Certified Public Accountant and a former IRS Tax Attorney), ensure an efficient probate and administration of your loved one's estate for both tax and court purposes. We will expedite the settling of debts, transfer ownership of assets, and work quickly to settle the estate for the heirs and devisees. [Probate & Trust Administration] Our attorneys have extensive courtroom experience and handle probate and Will contests.

Estate and Gift Taxes

Our tax lawyers with their specialized training and education (CPA, Masters Degrees in Taxation (LLM-Tax) and in Business Administration(MBA)), are able to minimize or eliminate estate and gift taxes for clients with substantial estates. With the use of trusts, gifting, family limited partnerships, and where appropriate, post-mortem tax planning, a client's estate can often be transferred to their heirs and beneficiaries with little or no taxation.

Estate and Gift Tax Return Preparation

Our attorneys and paralegals prepare estate and gift tax returns, fiduciary trust returns, and individual income tax returns as an added total service to our clients. We also associate with tax preparers for corporate tax return preparation.

Tax Representation Before Governmental Agencies and Courts

As part of our comprehensive estate planning, probate, and tax practice, our lawyers regularly represent our clients, their personal representatives, agents, trustees, and other related or interested parties before administrative and governmental authorities, including the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) field agents, auditors and collection officers, Appeals, and the Arizona Department of Revenue (ADOR), among other agencies, with their estate and gift tax issues.

Our law firm keeps in contact with all clients and their families through our Newsletter, and we continue our community outreach through public seminars, public speeches, and teaching community education classes on estate planning through the City of Scottsdale Parks.

Contact us for a free initial consultation.

BREDEMANN & McFARLANE PLC

From its law office in Scottsdale, Arizona, the law firm of Bredemann & McFarlane serves clients in Paradise Valley, North East Phoenix, Cave Creek, Carefree, Tempe, Chandler, Mesa, Gilbert, Fountain Hills, and Maricopa County, AZ.