J. Brooks Law, LLC

Your last will and testament provides the opportunity to distribute your property and finances, establish care for your children and otherwise express your wishes upon your death. A will is the primary means by which you can leave property to a person or entity other than a blood relative, such as a domestic partner, a friend or a charity. If you die without a will, the court determines how your estate is distributed, making decisions that might not reflect your desires. Our firm can draft clear, legally sound wills that include considerations for:

• Real estate 
• Financial assets 
• Child guardianship 
• Executor responsibilities 

As your life unfolds, your circumstances and concerns may shift. To remain current, you should review and update your will periodically. Our firm can advise you on your will in light of your current finances, marital status and family situation.

Powers of attorney are documents that convey legal authority for one person or organization (agent) to act in the name of another person when making decisions. These documents can be highly useful for individuals and business owners. If an illness, chaotic schedule, extensive travel or other circumstances make it difficult for you to make informed decisions about issues that affect your life, you can grant power of attorney to someone you trust so they can act on your behalf. We thoroughly guide clients in Arizona through the process of authorizing an agent and carefully draft powers of attorney that meet our clients' specific needs.

Trusts are legal entities created to hold and transfer property. These instruments provide benefits such as shielding your financial assets from losses due to liability and taxation, so your heirs can keep more of what you pass down to them. Distributing assets via a trust can also keep the details of your estate confidential, unlike the public probate process that is used for wills. At J. Brooks Law, our firm advises clients in the Waddell area and throughout Arizona on the best means to meet their financial and estate objectives, including the efficient distribution of assets and estate tax avoidance. 

Trust administration involves managing and distributing a trust's assets according to the terms set out in the trust document. This process includes a range of responsibilities such as inventorying assets, paying debts and taxes, and distributing assets to beneficiaries. The trustee, who is appointed to oversee the trust, must act in the best interests of the beneficiaries, ensuring that all actions comply with legal and fiduciary standards. Effective trust administration requires a thorough understanding of legal requirements, financial management, and the specific wishes of the trust's creator. J. Brooks Law can help successor trustees execute the trust requirements and wrap up an estate.

Probate can refer to the court process of validating a will so an executor can implement the decedent’s wishes or to the oversight the court provides for an estate administrator who settles an intestate estate — one in which the decedent left no will. To complete the process of settling an estate, our firm may help executors with the following tasks:

• Getting court approval as estate administrator and posting bond
• Filing the will with the appropriate probate court
• Locating beneficiaries
• Finding and assembling assets
• Transferring assets from the deceased to the estate
• Hiring valuation, genealogy or other experts, when appropriate
• Paying creditors and claimants
• Collecting amounts owed to the estate
• Paying current and delinquent taxes as well as estate taxes
• Distributing property to beneficiaries