Probate & Estate Planning

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Good communication while both spouses are alive and well can spare the non-financial spouse a great deal of heartache when the financial spouse can no longer do the job.

Among married couples, it’s not uncommon for one spouse to manage all aspects of the family’s finances. While in the short term that makes life simple for the non-financial spouse – often the wife – her lack of familiarity with the couple’s money, investments, taxes, and perhaps business ownership only worsens the fear and sorrow that strike if her husband pre-deceases her.

That is one of the scenarios highlighted in a

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Continue Reading Money Management for the Non-Financial Spouse

Love was in the air this holiday season as we drafted, negotiated and signed three marital agreements, two for newlyweds and one for a couple in a long-term marriage. In each case DeAngelis Legal worked with the parties and their family law attorneys to resolve issues regarding jointly held property, spousal maintenance and death.  Hopefully the discussion about finances and the resulting agreements give each couple comfort moving forward.
The post December 2025 Marital Agreements appeared first on DeAngelis Legal.
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Ultra-high net worth client entered into negotiations to sell his business.  The business’s attorneys handled the transaction documents, but DeAngelis Legal assisted the client to evaluate various transaction structures to reduce or defer income taxes on the transaction.  After reviewing the alternatives, DeAngelis Legal created a new entity and other documents implementing the structure.
The post December 2025 Mergers and Acquisitions appeared first on DeAngelis Legal.
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For the fourth consecutive year, Frazer Ryan has been selected as a Phoenix Business Journal 2025 “Best Places to Work” finalist, ranking #9 in the “small company” category (50-99 employees). Frazer Ryan is one of only 100 companies recognized. Rankings were announced at a holiday movie-themed awards ceremony and luncheon on […]
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Frazer Ryan Goldberg & Arnold, LLP, a leading Arizona based law firm, is pleased to announce that Brandon Keim, Lisa Reilly Payton, and Afsanieh Rassti have been featured in AZ Big Media’s Az Business Leaders 2026. Az Business Leaders is an annual publication that profiles the business leaders and innovators that are changing […]
The post Az Business Leaders 2026 recognizes Brandon Keim, Lisa Reilly Payton, and Afsanieh Rassti appeared first on Frazer Ryan Goldberg & Arnold, LLP.
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High net worth widow knew how she wanted her estate plan handled at death, but was not confident her estate planning attorney understood her desires and therefore had not updated her estate plan in years.  After an in-depth review of her finances and objectives, DeAngelis Legal proposed a comprehensive estate plan which achieved her goals of protecting her family’s investments while providing for her family’s various needs.  It also solved some complex estate planning administration issues as well.  DeAngelis Legal also worked with the client and her family to design a plan that all parties understood.  DeAngelis Legal drafted the…
Continue Reading November 2025 Comprehensive Estate Plan

Recent empty nesters from Scottsdale desired to update their estate plan.  DeAngelis Legal met with the couple and answered questions regarding their objectives and preferences.  The couple preferred a simple plan designed to avoid probate upon incapacity or death and provide the structure for the outright distribution to their children.  DeAngelis Legal drafted a basic set of estate planning documents, including a simple revocable trust, wills, financial powers of attorney, healthcare powers of attorney, living wills and several implementation documents.
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Whether a non-spouse beneficiary has to take annual distributions, in addition to withdrawing all the funds within 10 years, is very fact-specific with regard to the decedent’s death and the beneficiary’s situation.

When the owner of a retirement account – a 401(k) or a traditional or Roth IRA – passes away, the account’s transfer to the designated beneficiary raises tax issues for the beneficiary. The nature and extent of those tax issues depends largely on the beneficiary’s relationship to the deceased, i.e., whether they are:

  • a surviving spouse (and a few others, described below); or

  • a non-spouse beneficiary (including an

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Continue Reading Inherited Retirement Accounts and the Beneficiary’s Tax Consequences

Associate Litigation Attorney
If you’re an Arizona attorney looking for meaningful litigation experience and a great place to grow, Berk Law Group might be exactly what you’re looking for. We’re a respected Scottsdale law firm focused exclusively on probate, trust, estate, and inheritance litigation—and we’re hiring a full-time Associate Attorney.
At BLG, culture matters. Our team is close-knit, supportive, and genuinely collaborative. We pride ourselves on integrity, professionalism, and treating clients—and each other—the way we’d want to be treated. If you want to work in an environment where you feel valued and make a real impact, you’ll feel right at…
Continue Reading Join our Team: Hiring Associate Litigation Attorneys and Paralegals/Legal Assistants

A recent Arizona Court of Appeals memorandum decision provides useful insight into the application of no-contest clauses in trusts—especially where co-trustees and beneficiary-trustees are involved. In Champagne v. Bozer, the appellate court affirmed the superior court’s dismissal of a counter-petition and denial of leave to amend to assert a claim to invoke a no contest clause and disinherit a beneficiary.
Facts & Procedural Posture
• Trustor Rick Champagne created the “Rick Champagne Revocable Trust U/A/D February 21, 2005, as Restated and Amended” (the “Trust”).
• The Trust contains a no-contest clause.
• The Trust names as successor co-trustees: the Trust’s…
Continue Reading No-Contest Clauses Don’t Automatically Trigger: Key Takeaways from Champagne v. Bozer

Partner Jimmy Cool is featured in a Phoenix New Times article discussing a lawsuit he filed that stems from a dispute between his clients and Mesa-based cleaning company, Cardinal Clean. The article notes that after hiring Cardinal Clean to store their belongings and complete restoration work on their condo, our […]
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A well-conceived buy-sell agreement can protect you and your company from the consequences of a co-owner’s misfortune.



For any type of entity that has multiple owners (LLC, partnership, or closely held corporation), a well-conceived buy-sell agreement can lessen – or avoid altogether – the financial and emotional pain in a variety of common scenarios, cumulatively known as the “killer D’s”: death, default, departure, disability, disagreement and divorce.

As

Investopedia

explains, a buy-sell agreement among co-owners is a “legally binding contract that stipulates how [an owner]’s share of a business may be reassigned if that [owner] dies or otherwise leaves

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Continue Reading Multiple Owners? A Buy-Sell Agreement Is a Must

Husband and wife created a standard survivor’s bypass trust, with half the assets passing to the family of each spouse.  Upon the death of the husband, this structure necessitated the valuation and allocation of the assets between the two trusts.  While the couple had plenty of liquidity, the sheer number of entities and accounts made this a daunting task.  DeAngelis Legal worked with the surviving spouse, her accountant and her financial advisor to value and allocate the assets between the two trusts.  DeAngelis Legal also prepared detailed funding instructions and prepared the necessary documents to update each entity’s corporate records…
Continue Reading October 2025 Trust Administration

Client and friends created a new restaurant concept and engaged DeAngelis Legal to form the entity.  After reviewing the alternatives, DeAngelis Legal created a new LLC and a comprehensive operating agreement detailing capital contributions, management, ownership and dispute resolution provisions incorporating the parties compensation framework they had agreed upon.  Kudos to the parties for resolving these issues in advance.  We can’t wait to try the food.
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Frazer Ryan Goldberg & Arnold, LLP, a leading Arizona-based law firm, is pleased to announce that it has been recognized regionally in six practice areas in the 2026 edition of Best Law Firms®. Frazer Ryan earned Metropolitan Tier 1 (Phoenix) status in the categories of Closely Held Companies and Family […]
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The Social Equity Ownership Program under Proposition 207 allocated 26 “social equity” licenses to individuals from communities disproportionately impacted by the enforcement of previous marijuana laws. Partner Jimmy Cool was interviewed by Jimmy Magahern of PHOENIX magazine on his thoughts on the barriers faced by winners. The article follows the […]
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Continue Reading Partner Jimmy Cool speaks with PHOENIX magazine on uneven outcomes faced by state’s cannabis “social equity” license lottery winners