Scottsdale Estate Planning Attorney
Know your loved ones will be taken care of.
Minimize taxes as your wealth changes hands.
Protect your assets from creditors and the IRS.
But everyone needs to plan for it.
- What would happen to your family should the unexpected happen?
- Will your wealth support your loved ones – or – create problems for them?
- Who will be responsible for managing your affairs?
Safeguard your wealth and protect your assets from potential liabilities, taxes, and probate fees.
Prevent potential conflicts by clearly outlining your intentions, ensuring a smooth transition of assets.
Ensure that your assets are distributed according to your wishes, providing you and your loved ones with peace of mind.
Do you want to incentivize your kids to be good, productive members of society?
Ask about installing incentive provisions into your Living Trust.
Would you like the money you give your kids to be protected from their creditors?
Ask about asset-protected, beneficiary-controlled sub trusts.
What values would you like to pass along to the next generation?
A detailed trust document can encourage your children to live life according your family values.
Trust Design Center
Affordable and convenient. Our most streamlined way to design a customized estate plan for you and your family.
Appropriate for individuals and families with net worth between $100,000 and $3M, and includes:
• Lifetime Planning Documents (9)
• Designed by completing online intake form or brochure
• 30-minute review call with Estate Planning attorney
• Walkthrough of the documents during the Estate Plan Signing at our Scottsdale Law Office
• Trust Funding Instructions
Family Protection Plan
Personally design every detail of your estate plan, guided by Arizona’s preeminent estate planning team.
Appropriate for individuals and families with net worth in excess of $500,000, and includes:
• Lifetime Planning Documents (9) and Property Agreement
• Up to three, 2-hour meetings with Scottsdale Estate Planning Attorney, Whitney Sorrell, Esq.
• Walkthrough of the documents during the Estate Plan Signing at our Scottsdale Law Office
• Trust Funding Instructions
Wealth Preservation Plan
Our most strategic plan for individuals and families with a closely-held business or net worth in excess of $8M+
This plan may also make sense for individuals in high-risk occupations such as surgeons, accountants, and real estate professionals.
• Lifetime Planning Documents (9) and Property Agreement
• Business and Tax Planning Structures (Various)
• Asset Protection Structures (Various)
• Unlimited meetings with Scottsdale Tax and Estate Planning Attorney, Whitney Sorrell, Esq.
• Walkthrough of the documents during the Plan Signing at our Scottsdale Law Office
• Funding Services
Trust Design Center
Affordable and convenient. Our most streamlined way to design a customized estate plan for you and your family.
Appropriate for individuals and families with net worth between $100,000 and $3M, and includes:
• Lifetime Planning Documents (9)
• Designed by completing online intake form or brochure
• 30-minute review call with Estate Planning attorney
• Walkthrough of the documents during the Estate Plan Signing at our Scottsdale Law Office
• Trust Funding Instructions
Family Protection Plan
Personally design every detail of your estate plan, guided by Arizona’s preeminent estate planning team.
Appropriate for individuals and families with net worth in excess of $500,000, and includes:
• Lifetime Planning Documents (9) and Property Agreement
• Up to three, 2-hour meetings with Scottsdale Estate Planning Attorney, Whitney Sorrell, Esq.
• Walkthrough of the documents during the Estate Plan Signing at our Scottsdale Law Office
• Trust Funding Instructions
Wealth Preservation Plan
Our most strategic plan for individuals and families with a closely-held business or net worth in excess of $8M+
This plan may also make sense for individuals in high-risk occupations such as surgeons, accountants, and real estate professionals.
• Lifetime Planning Documents (9) and Property Agreement
• Business and Tax Planning Structures (Various)
• Asset Protection Structures (Various)
• Unlimited meetings with Scottsdale Tax and Estate Planning Attorney, Whitney Sorrell, Esq.
• Walkthrough of the documents during the Plan Signing at our Scottsdale Law Office
• Funding Services
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Find Your Plan
Select from three different estate planning processes based on your family needs.
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Share Your Story
Tell us about your goals, your concerns, and what you’re looking to accomplish with your estate plan.
Protect Your Legacy
No detail or wish is overlooked as we design and customize your comprehensive estate plan.
Sorrell Estate and Probate Family Protection Plan
Face-to-face meetings with your attorney, held over videoconference or in-person at our Scottsdale office.
In-office estate plan signing. Access to your custom plan documents in a secure, online portal.
In-depth analysis on your goals, family dynamics, and any special circumstances.
Specially prepared documents to protect your wealth & family.
Common Estate Planning Firm
Forms practice, where they replace your name and address in a standard template.
Little or no experience drafting custom documents.
Cookie-cutter documents that don’t account for special circumstances
Advice designed to sell you life insurance and other financial products.
Trust & Will / Legalzoom
Laborious online forms.
You print your own documents and handle your own signing.
Attorney help is an additional fee.
Computer-generated documents.
Meet Whitney Sorrell, your Scottsdale Estate Planning Attorney
Whitney Sorrell isn’t just a nationally-recognized estate planning attorney — he teaches the course on estate planning to other attorneys. With over 1,500 personalized estate plans drafted and revised for clients, Whitney has seen and guided clients through just about any estate planning scenario you could imagine.
That knowledge and experience, combined with smart tax-planning ideas allows him to see both the hidden critical details of your estate plan and implement wealth-saving tax strategies that will protect your wealth from unnecessary taxes and future creditors.
JD, MBA, LLM (Tax)
Certified Public Accountant
Former IRS Agent
30+ Years of Experience
Every estate plan includes all important lifetime planning documents.
Living Trust
A living trust is like a special suitcase where you can put your stuff (like money, house, and other belongings) while you’re still alive. You choose someone (called a trustee) to take care of the suitcase and the stuff inside it. While you are alive and well, you are usually your own trustee. After you die, the successor trustee steps into your shoes and gives the stuff in the box to the people you want to have it (called beneficiaries).
The major benefit of a living trust is that it helps avoid a time-consuming and public process called probate, making it easier and faster for your beneficiaries to get your stuff after you’re gone with the least chance of family strife or litigation.
Last Will & Testament (Pour-Over Will)
A special kind of will that works together with a living trust. It’s a document you create to make sure any assets you didn’t put into the trust while you were alive are transferred into it after you pass away. This way, everything gets managed by the trust and goes to the people you want to receive it (the beneficiaries). The pour-over will help catch any assets you might have missed and make sure they’re handled according to your plan.
Financial Power of Attorney
A financial power of attorney is a document where you choose someone you trust to handle your money if you can’t do it yourself, like if you’re super sick or injured. This person, called your financial agent, will take care of things like paying your bills, managing your bank accounts, and even making investment decisions for you. It’s a way to make sure your finances are in good hands when you’re not able to handle them on your own.
Health Care Power of Attorney
A healthcare power of attorney is a document where you pick someone you trust to make medical decisions for you if you can’t do it yourself, like if you’re in an accident or really sick. This person, called your healthcare agent, will talk to your doctors and nurses about your treatment options and choose what’s best for you based on your wishes. When you can’t speak up for yourself, it’s a way to make sure someone who knows you well is in charge of your healthcare.
Living Will
A living will is a document where you write down your choices about medical treatments if you get really sick or hurt and can’t make decisions for yourself. It helps doctors and nurses know what you’re okay with and what you don’t want when it comes to end-of-life care, like being on life support or getting resuscitated. Having a living will makes sure your wishes are followed when you’re not able to speak up for yourself.
HIPAA Authorization
HIPAA authorizations are documents that let you give permission to your doctors and other healthcare providers to share your private medical information with specific people, like family members or friends. This way, if you’re sick or hurt and can’t communicate, the people you trust can stay in the loop about your health and help make decisions for you. It makes sure your privacy is protected while allowing your loved ones to be involved in your care when needed.
Personal Property Memorandum
A document where you decide who gets your physical belongings, like furniture, jewelry, or art, after you pass away. It’s a way to make sure your favorite things go to the right people and can help avoid any arguments among your loved ones. By listing out your items and choosing who should get them, you can have peace of mind knowing your possessions will be given to the people you care about.
Deed to transfer primary residence to Living Trust
A document that moves legal title of your home from your name into the trust you’ve set up. By doing this, your home can be managed by the person in charge of the trust (the trustee). When you pass away, the trustee can easily distribute your home to the people you want to have it (the beneficiaries), without going through the lengthy probate process. This transfer makes it simpler and quicker for your loved ones to handle your home after you’re gone.
Trust Funding Instructions
A guide to help you transfer your assets, such as your house, money, or investments, into a trust you’ve set up. These instructions explain which assets should go into the trust and how to actually transfer them, making sure everything is in the right place. By following these instructions, you make it easier for the person in charge of the trust (the trustee) to manage your assets and distribute them to the people you want to have them (the beneficiaries) when the time comes.
Wealth preservation plans include more sophisticated business and asset protection structures, depending on your needs.
Disclaimer: Photographs contain actors to protect client confidentiality.
Be advised that every case is unique, and past results do not guarantee a favorable outcome.
Putting together a family trust is truly confusing. [Whitney] eliminated all the uncertainty, confusion, and apprehension about this process. They are very professional and informative. I enjoyed how they laid out a game plan and insured we had clarity in each step. Really, really good group. Ben and Whitney are knowledgeable about what needs to be done and when.
While the experience a few years ago with a California lawyer was ok, the experience at Sorrell was better. The first lawyer had a set list of questions, took those answers and created a document. Whitney Sorrell dug deep on several issues that could have caused problems and offered a variety of ways to solve them. he trust he created seems much more resilient and tax efficient than the original trust.
When my wife and I both pass, together or separately, the distribution of assets passes in a way that leaves the heirs very well protected. For instance, if one has the unfortunate luck of being in some sort of lawsuit at the time, the assets pass protected from that lawsuit. Whitney’s deep and very, very knowledgeable analysis left us feeling much better about the future – whatever it might bring.
Whitney listened to what I wanted while at the same time challenging me, in a very positive way, as to the wisdom of my choices. In the end, the final document represents my wishes while protecting assets and future finances.
Your estate plan is more than just forms and signatures.
It’s an opportunity for you to define how your name — and your legacy — will be remembered for generations to come. Our job is to help you protect and preserve the values and wealth you’ve worked hard to acquire. The best way to make sure that happens is with a carefully drafted estate plan.
Whether you’re looking for a simple estate plan, or need help navigating a unique family situation or substantial wealth, we can help.