Trust Administration · Scottsdale, AZ
Trust administration attorney in Scottsdale, AZ.
Being named trustee is a big job, and it often lands during a hard time. We guide you through every duty. The trust gets settled right, and your loved one's wishes are honored.
Free consultation
Guidance for trustees and beneficiaries
New to the trustee role
New to being a trustee? We can help.
Becoming a trustee often follows the loss or illness of someone close to you. Now you are in charge of the assets and the legal duties. You also have to make sure each person named in the trust gets what they were promised.
We handle trust administration for families across Scottsdale and Maricopa County. We turn the legal steps into plain English. That way you can act with confidence and sidestep the mistakes that trip up good people.
See all estate planning servicesYour duties
What a trustee has to do.
As trustee, the law asks you to manage the trust with the same care you would give your own money. These are the core duties we help you carry out.
Find and value assets
Track down bank accounts, investments, real estate, and personal property, and get date-of-death values where they are needed.
Handle debts and bills
Pay valid debts, final medical bills, and the trust's ongoing expenses from trust funds.
Keep beneficiaries informed
Update the people named in the trust on your progress and answer their fair questions along the way.
File the taxes
Take care of the trust's income tax returns and any estate tax filings that apply.
Make distributions
Pass assets to each beneficiary the way the trust directs, whether all at once or over time.
Keep clear records
Log every transaction and decision in case a court or a beneficiary asks for an accounting later.
When your trustee duties begin.
A trust does not switch on by itself. The document names the event that puts a successor trustee in charge. These are the common ones.
Not sure where you stand? Talk to usThe grantor passes away
When the person who made the trust dies, the successor trustee takes over. Your work often begins right away, even before any probate for assets outside the trust.
The grantor loses capacity
If illness or injury leaves the grantor unable to manage things, the successor trustee steps in. This happens while the grantor is still living. That can mean paying bills, managing money, and arranging care.
Long-term administration
Some trusts run for years, such as those for young children or a family member with special needs. These need steady management over a long stretch of time.
The Turquoise difference
Steady guidance that lowers your personal risk.
Quality legal work should not be out of reach. Our model keeps wills, trusts, and probate affordable, without ever cutting the corners that matter.
1,000+
Arizona families helped
458
Trusts navigated
5
Awards won
A modern, honest structure
Arizona lets us run a licensed Alternative Business Structure. That means skilled paralegals do more of the work. Attorneys still oversee all of it, so you get real legal help at a fair price.
Bilingual, English and Spanish
Our owner and founder, Irma C. Davenport, is fluent in Spanish. Every family is served, and every document explained, in the language they know best.
Personal, one-on-one attention
You work with people who know your name and your story, not a case number. Plain answers, and real time for your questions.
Decades of Arizona experience
Our attorneys have guided families through wills, trusts, guardianships, and probate for years, with the judgment that only comes from the work itself.
The roadmap
Trust administration, step by step.
Most trustees feel lost simply because no one hands them a map. Here is the path we walk with you, from the first day to the final handoff.
- 01
Confirm your role
We review the trust, confirm you are the right trustee, and lay out the duties ahead in plain words.
- 02
Inventory the assets
We help you find every asset the trust holds and set a fair value for each one.
- 03
Notify the right people
Arizona law asks you to tell beneficiaries and creditors. We prepare the notices and handle the timing.
- 04
Pay debts and taxes
Valid debts, expenses, and any trust or estate taxes get paid before anything is handed out.
- 05
Keep records and account
We help you log every step and prepare the accountings beneficiaries or a court may ask to see.
- 06
Distribute and close
Once your duties are met, the assets go to the beneficiaries and the trust is closed the right way.
Keep exploring
How else we help Arizona families.
Trust administration questions, answered.
Here is what trustees and beneficiaries ask us most. Have another question? Just call.
Call (480) 863-6303It depends on the trust, the assets, and whether anyone disputes it. A simple trust with cash assets may settle in three to six months. One with real estate, a business, or family disagreements can take a year or more.
A properly funded trust usually avoids probate court. Most of the work happens privately. Court may come up only if a beneficiary contests the trust, or a term needs a judge to read it.
Yes. Arizona holds trustees to a high standard of care. If you break that duty, you can be on the hook for the losses, which is why working with our attorneys matters.
Arizona lets a trustee take reasonable pay for the work. What counts as reasonable depends on the trust, your effort, and local norms. Some trusts spell out a fee, and we can help you set a fair amount.
Arizona law says trustees must keep you reasonably informed. You are generally entitled to know the trust exists, how to reach the trustee, and, if you ask, an accounting of what has happened. If you are kept in the dark, we can explain your options.
You can go it alone, but one missed tax deadline or a shaky accounting can cost you money and trust. A guide early on keeps you compliant and protects your own assets. Most trustees find the help well worth it.
Yes. Our owner and founder, Irma C. Davenport, is fluent in Spanish. We guide Spanish-speaking families through trust administration in the language they prefer.
Schedule your meeting
Settle the trust with confidence.
Book a free consultation and we will map out your duties as trustee and what comes next. No pressure, no legal jargon, no obligation.
- Phone, video, or in our Scottsdale office
- Free and with no obligation
- Available in English and Spanish
Prefer to talk now?
(480) 863-6303