ESTATE PLANNING

No firm is complete without attorneys to handle those personal matters of utmost importance to its clients. The Estate Planning Group strives to reduce conflict, to offer cost effective legal services, to educate and to provide quality, responsive and extraordinary representation in a comfortable environment. Members in the Estate Planning Group handle issues that families encounter from birth to death including estate planning, probate, pre- and post-nuptial negotiation and preparation of agreements, domestic partnership agreements, guardianship and conservatorships. We represent all types of families, and recognize that the term "family" does not have one definition. As a result, this Group must keep abreast of evolving legal issues in a changing family environment. The services offered by this group often involve a multi-disciplinary approach, drawing on the expertise of attorneys in other practice areas when necessary. For example, the real estate and business services groups offer guidance on sophisticated estate planning that involves family partnerships or real estate ventures, and the tax group offers expertise in estate planning and probate issues.

• Estate Planning - everyone needs an estate plan - regardless of the size of the estate. The Group prepares estate plans and related documents for all sizes of estate and types of families. Whenever possible, we utilize plain English documents and simplified plans to ensure the client fully understands his or her estate plan.


• Probate - the death of a family member is difficult, at best. Probate, although generally a simple process in Arizona, nevertheless can increase the stress on the survivors. Our probate attorneys walk the family through the process, and handle only that part of the probate that the client cannot or elects not to handle. We try to keep costs down by providing forms to clients, and keeping the process as simple as possible. When disputes do arise among beneficiaries, we provide recommendations on alternative dispute resolution and, when that fails, handle probate litigation.


• Alternative Dispute Resolution - given the nature of the disputes involved in the Estate Planning Group, we educate our clients about alternative dispute resolution. Many family-related disputes can be resolved without resorting to expensive litigation.


• Prenuptial and Domestic Partnership Agreements - often the best approach to resolving a dispute is to agree in advance on the resolution should a problem ever occur. Our prenuptial and domestic partnership agreements are designed to address what happens if the worst occurs, with the hope that future disputes will be minimized with appropriate documentation. Given the changing nature of the parenting environment, we prepare parenting agreements for unmarried couples rights. This is a constantly evolving area of the law, and our firm library subscribes to all the latest and most comprehensive legal periodicals to keep us abreast of these changes.


• Elder Law - another area of the law that is evolving rapidly involves the representation of families in the care and support of their elderly members. The Estate Planning Group takes a special interest in providing advice and assistance in the protection of both the person and the assets of the elderly. This can involve establishment of conservatorships or guardianships as well as estate planning.

Firm Professionals in this Practice Area

     James R. Hienton

     Tiffany F. Broberg     

     Brent J. Oenning

     Maggi Lougee