Creating a comprehensive estate plan can feel overwhelming. At Fishbein Law Group, we guide our clients through a structured and thoughtful process that ensures every key element is handled with clarity and care. This roadmap outlines our firm’s step-by-step process, so you know exactly what to expect.
Whether you’re establishing a Will, setting up a Living Trust, or reviewing your existing documents, this guide will help you understand each phase of our planning process.
Step 1: Initial Free Consultation
We begin with a conversation. During your first meeting, we discuss:
- Your family structure, financial situation, and overall goals
- The difference between Wills and Trusts and how each may apply to your needs
- Planning objectives like avoiding probate, protecting minor children, ensuring privacy, and controlling the timing of distributions
- Any concerns about taxes, business ownership, incapacity, or blended families
We also provide a detailed estate planning questionnaire and asset worksheet to help you prepare and organize your information.
Step 2: Strategic Design
In many cases, creating your unique estate plan begins during your initial free consultation. Once we understand your goals and circumstances, we begin outlining a customized estate plan.
This stage includes:
- Choosing between a Will-based plan or a Revocable Living Trust (most of our clients opt for a Trust-based plan)
- Identifying and appointing fiduciaries such as Successor Trustees, Powers of Attorney, and Guardians
- Establishing a clear and practical distribution structure
- Addressing any specific needs, such as multi-generational families, special needs planning, or asset protection strategies
This design phase ensures your plan reflects your values, avoids unnecessary complexity, and is built to serve your long-term goals.
Step 3: Drafting Your Estate Planning Documents
Once the strategy is finalized, we prepare the full set of tailored legal documents. Each serves a specific and important role in your overall plan:
- Revocable Living Trust – Serves as the primary mechanism for holding and distributing your assets outside of probate, while allowing you to maintain control during your lifetime.
- Certification of Trust – A shortened version of your trust used to verify its existence and authority without disclosing private details.
- Pour-Over Will – Acts as a safety net to direct any assets not titled in the trust into the trust at death.
- Health Care Power of Attorney – Appoints someone to make medical decisions for you if you become unable to do so yourself.
- Living Will – Specifies your preferences for end-of-life care, including decisions about life-sustaining treatment.
- General Durable Power of Attorney – Authorizes a trusted agent to manage your financial and legal affairs if you become incapacitated.
Step 4: Review and Signing
We schedule a dedicated signing appointment once your estate planning documents have been drafted and reviewed. During this meeting, we take time to walk through each document with you again, answer any remaining questions, and make sure you are fully comfortable before signing.
Once you’re ready to proceed, we oversee proper execution of the documents, including notarization and witnessing in accordance with Arizona law. As part of this appointment, we also scan and archive each signed document to create a secure digital file for your records.
You will receive a professionally organized estate planning binder with your originals, as well as digital copies. If desired, we can also provide guidance on how to communicate the plan to your family or fiduciaries. Our goal is to ensure that your plan is not only properly signed and legally valid, but also clear, accessible, and ready for use if needed.
Step 5: Trust Funding
Funding the trust is the final step. This is where we help align your assets with your plan so that probate can be avoided. We assist with:
- Preparing deeds for real estate
- Retitling financial accounts into the trust
- Assigning personal property, such as household items, jewelry, or firearms
- Reviewing and coordinating beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance
- Advising on business interests, promissory notes, or joint accounts
A well-drafted trust is only effective if it is properly funded. We make sure this crucial step is completed.
Ongoing Support
We view estate planning as an ongoing relationship. Your life, assets, and the law will evolve. That’s why we:
- Recommend periodic plan reviews every 2–3 years
- Encourage updates after major life events such as marriage, divorce, new children, or a change in financial circumstances
- Help ensure new accounts or property are properly titled
We remain available for check-ins, revisions, and guidance as your situation changes.
An estate plan is more than a set of documents—it’s a long-term strategy for protecting your legacy. By following our estate planning roadmap, you can ensure your plan is legally enforceable, practically effective, and fully aligned with your intent.
At Fishbein Law Group, we guide our clients through each phase of the process with education, structure, and a flat-fee approach. Our goal is to make the process straightforward and empowering.
Contact us today to begin building your plan with a trusted estate planning attorney.
For more information on Phoenix Estate Planning Attorneys, or if you would like a Living Trust Attorney in Tempe, or know more about Medical Powers of Attorney, call Fishbein Law Group at (480) 920-1000 for a courtesy conversation.
The text above is for general informational purposes and should not be considered legal advice.