Living Trusts in Arizona

Arizona law allows you to manage property through a living trust.

A living trust is a device created while you are alive to govern the management of your property during your lifetime and to dispose of your assets after your death. Assets that have been transferred to a trust are not subject to probate when you die. Arizona sets the laws governing trusts, including living trusts, in Title 14 of its Revised Code.

Requirements

Arizona law requires the person creating the trust to have the capacity and intention to establish the trust. The trust must either have a definite beneficiary or be created to benefit charity, provide for the care of an animal or serve another specific purpose. The trust must specify the duties of the trustee, who is the person in charge of the trust, and may not make the sole beneficiary of the trust its sole trustee.

Form

In Arizona you may establish a trust through a written document or by an oral statement of your intentions. If your trust is in a written document, you must make changes to the trust in writing. Establishing the existence of an oral trust requires clear and convincing evidence. Each specific term of an oral trust must be proved by a preponderance of the evidence, which means that most of the evidence presented supports the specific term.

Types

Generally, the person creating a trust may designate it as either irrevocable or revocable. When you create an irrevocable trust, you give up all rights to the trust property and may not make changes to the trust. A revocable trust allows you to make changes or to end the trust at any time. You may use a revocable trust to supplement your will or to appoint someone to handle your affairs if you become incapacitated.

Revocation or Amendment

Arizona law specifies how to revoke or amend a trust. You must use the method described in the trust to make changes. If the trust provides no method for changes, you may change it with a signed written document, including a will, that specifically mentions the trust property and provides evidence of the intended change. When a trust is revoked, the trustee must deliver the trust property as directed by the person who created the trust.

Contesting a Trust

An individual may contest a revocable trust by filing suit within the earlier of two possible deadlines: either within one year of the death of the person who established the trust or within four months of receiving the trustee's notification of the trust's existence. The trustee may proceed with distribution of the trust property without liability unless the person contesting the trust provides notice of the suit or the trustee has other actual knowledge of the suit.

References

• FindLaw: Trusts, An Overview
• Arizona State Legislature: Arizona Revised Statutes, Title 14, Trusts Estates and Protective Proceedings
• Arizona State Legislature: Arizona Revised Statutes, Title 14, Chapter 11, Section 10402
• Arizona State Legislature: Arizona Revised Statutes, Title 14, Chapter 11, Section 10407
• Arizona State Legislature: Arizona Revised Statutes, Title 14, Chapter 11, Section 10602
• Arizona State Legislature: Arizona Revised Statutes, Title 14, Chapter 11, Section 10604.