MH Scottsdale Office
14300 N Northsight Blvd
Suite 202
Scottsdale, AZ 85260
(SW corner of Evans and Northsight, directly across the street from emissions testing site)
Phone: 602-560-6190
Fax: 602-248-2887
Creating a comprehensive estate plan may very well be the most important undertaking of your lifetime. That plan, if well drafted, should protect and provide for you and your loved ones both now and in the future. Given the purpose and importance of your estate plan, the estate planning attorney you choose to help you create that plan should also be chosen with care. The estate planning attorneys at Morris Hall PLLC understand how important it is to choose the right attorney to work with you on your plan. Our attorneys are dedicated to helping our friends and neighbors in the Scottsdale, Arizona community to create an estate plan that fulfills their needs both now and in the future.
Scottsdale, Arizona
Located just outside of Phoenix to the northeast, the area we now know as Scottsdale was originally inhabited by the Hohokam, from approximately 300 BC to 1450 AD. This ancient civilization farmed the area and developed a complex network of canals for irrigation which was unsurpassed in pre-Columbian North America. At its peak, the canals stretched over 250 miles, many of which can still be seen, and even used, today. Under still-mysterious circumstances, the Hohokam disappeared around 1450 or 1500. The area’s later occupants, the Pima and O’odham (also known as the Papago), are thought to be the direct descendants of the Hohokam people.
The first Europeans to settle the area were a U.S. Army Chaplain named Winfield Scott and his wife, Helen. In 1888, the Scotts purchased 640 acres in what is now downtown Scottsdale for $3.50 an acre. At that time, the town was known as Orangedale due to the large citrus groves planted by Winfield Scott and his brother. The town’s name was changed to Scottsdale in 1894, in honor of its founder. Between 1908 and 1933, due to the construction of the Granite Reef and Roosevelt dams, Scottsdale’s population experienced a boom, turning the town into a small market town providing services for families involved in the agricultural industry.
Much of the aesthetics in Scottsdale were influenced by the internationally renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright who, with his wife, purchased 600 desert acres at the foot of the McDowell Mountains in 1937. That became what is now known as Taliesin West, his winter home and his architectural firm’s Southwestern headquarters. After being incorporated in 1951, the town began a period of rapid population growth, growing from 2,000 to 10,000 residents during the 1950s. The population of Scottsdale continued to swell throughout the second half of the 20th Century. By the 2010 Census, the population of Scottsdale had grown to 217,385 residents, making it the state’s sixth-largest city.
Morris Hall PLLC in the Scottsdale, Arizona Community
The estate planning attorneys and staff at Morris Hall PLLC are honored to assist our friends and neighbors in the Scottsdale, Arizona community with their estate planning needs. Estate planning encompasses much more than just deciding what will happen to your assets when you are gone. It should also protect those assets and help them grow while you are alive as well as ensure that they continue to provide for your loved ones when you are gone. Our goal is to help you create a plan that accomplishes all of that and more.
A successful estate plan requires a solid foundation; however, it also requires nurturing. Consequently, your estate plan is not something you create and forget about once it is in place. Instead, your estate plan is something that will need to be reviewed and updated throughout the course of your life as your estate and your family grow. Initially, your focus may be on nothing more than ensuring you do not leave behind an intestate estate should something happen to you. As such, a Last Will and Testament may be all you need in the beginning. Deciding to marry and/or become a parent, however, will change that as you now have a family to protect and provide for in your plan. At that point, you may decide to create a trust to protect your minor child’s inheritance, for example, as well as incorporate incapacity planning into your overall plan. As you move into middle age, you should begin merging your retirement plans with your estate plan to ensure that the two plans work in harmony with each other. Long before you reach retirement age, however, you should also consider adding Medicaid planning to your estate plan to ensure that you can afford the high cost of long-term care. Funeral planning along with advance directives should also be included in your overall estate plan if you want your wishes to be honored with regard to end-of-life medical treatment.
At the Scottsdale, Arizona law firm of Morris Hall PLLC, we plan to be with you throughout the course of your lifetime to ensure that your estate plan reflects your needs and desires.
Contact Us
If you have additional questions or concerns about estate planning or wish to get started on your plan today, contact an experienced Scottsdale, Arizona estate planning attorney at Morris Hall PLLC by calling 888-222-1328 to schedule your appointment today.
