Trusts · Arizona
One you can undo. One you hand over.
Both keep your family out of probate. The difference is whether you keep the keys, and most Arizona families should keep them.
Arizona starts you at revocable.
Here is the part that surprises people. Under A.R.S. 14-10602, a trust you create in Arizona is revocable unless the document expressly says it is not. Silence means you can still change your mind.
That default is a good one. Control is worth a lot, and you give it up only to buy something specific in return.
See what we buildRevocable
You are usually your own trustee. You can add assets, take them out, change who receives what, or end the trust entirely, for as long as you are able to sign.
Irrevocable
Someone else serves as trustee and the terms are locked. You are trading control for protection from creditors, from taxes, or from the cost of long term care.
The two side by side.
Six of these rows say the same thing in different words: one keeps you in charge, and the other trades that away on purpose.
- Can you change it
Revocable
Yes, any time you are alive and able to sign.
Irrevocable
Not on your own. A.R.S. 14-10411 allows changes by consent of you and every beneficiary.
- Who controls the assets
Revocable
You do, usually as your own trustee.
Irrevocable
A separate trustee. Giving up control is the whole point.
- Your own creditors
Revocable
They can still reach it. A.R.S. 14-10505 says so plainly.
Irrevocable
Generally out of reach once the transfer is properly made and time has passed.
- Income taxes while you live
Revocable
Reported on your own return. No separate filing.
Irrevocable
Often its own taxpayer, with its own return and its own rates.
- Long term care planning
Revocable
Counts as yours. It does not help an ALTCS application.
Irrevocable
Can help, but transfers inside the five-year federal look-back can still disqualify you.
- Probate
Revocable
Avoided for anything funded into it.
Irrevocable
Also avoided. Both do this job equally well.
- Who it usually fits
Revocable
Most Arizona families, most of the time.
Irrevocable
Larger estates, care planning done early, or a beneficiary who needs protection.
When it earns the tradeoff
Four families who need the locked version.
Outside of these shapes, an irrevocable trust usually costs a client more freedom than it buys.
A beneficiary who needs protecting
A child with a disability, or one who cannot hold money safely. A properly drafted trust supports them without ending the benefits they depend on.
Care planning started early
Federal law looks back five years at transfers before a long term care application. Planning that starts in a crisis is usually too late for this tool.
A profession that draws lawsuits
Surgeons, contractors, landlords. A revocable trust does nothing here, because under A.R.S. 14-10505 your creditors can still reach it.
An estate large enough to be taxed
Federal estate tax reaches very few families, and Arizona has no estate tax of its own. If yours is close to the federal line, this is worth a conversation.
The mistake we correct most often.
Someone reads that a trust protects assets, signs a revocable one, and believes the house is now safe from a future lawsuit or a nursing home bill. It is not.
A revocable trust is excellent at two jobs: skipping probate and keeping someone in charge if you cannot sign. Asset protection is a third job, and it takes a different document.
How we pick between them with you.
- 01
We start with the revocable version
It is the right answer for most families, and it is where nearly every plan we build begins.
- 02
We test it against your worries
Nursing care, a lawsuit, a child who is not ready, a blended family. Only real risks justify giving up control.
- 03
We name the tradeoff out loud
An irrevocable trust means someone else is trustee, and undoing it takes everyone's agreement. You should hear that before you sign, not after.
- 04
We build the one that fits
Including funding it, because a trust of either kind protects nothing until the assets are actually moved in.
Keep exploring
Where this fits in your plan.
Revocable and irrevocable questions.
The ones clients ask before they decide. If yours is not here, just call.
Call (480) 863-6303Read the document. Under A.R.S. 14-10602 an Arizona trust is revocable unless its own terms expressly say it is irrevocable. That is the reverse of what many people assume, so check before you worry.
No. A.R.S. 14-10505 keeps the assets in a revocable trust reachable by your creditors while you are alive. It is a probate tool and an incapacity tool, not a shield.
Sometimes. A.R.S. 14-10411 allows modification or termination with the consent of the settlor and all the beneficiaries, and A.R.S. 14-10412 lets a court step in when circumstances arise that nobody anticipated. It is possible, just never simple.
Only if it is done early and correctly. Federal law reviews transfers made in the five years before an application, and a transfer inside that window can create a penalty period. This is planning to do years ahead, not during a hospital stay.
A revocable trust does not. Its income goes on your personal return. An irrevocable trust is often its own taxpayer, and whether that helps depends entirely on your situation. We bring in your accountant rather than guess.
Yes, for whatever is actually funded into them. On the probate question specifically there is no difference between the two.
Often, yes. Many families run a revocable trust for years and add an irrevocable piece when health or assets change. Review your plan when life changes, not on a set schedule.
This page is general information for educational purposes, and it is not legal advice or tax advice about your situation. 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
Talk it through before you decide.
Book a free consultation and we will tell you which one your situation calls for, in English or Spanish. Or call (480) 863-6303.
- Phone, video, or in our Scottsdale office
- Free and with no obligation
- Available in English and Spanish
Prefer to talk now?
(480) 863-6303