Complex Will with Trust

COMPLEX WILL WITH TESTAMENTARY TRUST

(Arizona—Comprehensive Template)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Document Header
2. Definitions
3. Revocation of Prior Wills & Codicils
4. Family Information & Identification of Heirs
5. Appointment of Fiduciaries
6. Payment of Debts, Expenses, and Taxes
7. Specific Bequests & Devises
8. Residuary Clause and Creation of the Testamentary Trust
9. Testamentary Trust Terms
10. Fiduciary Powers, Standards, and Indemnification
11. No-Contest (In Terrorem) Clause
12. Governing Law; Forum Selection; Injunctive Relief
13. General Provisions
14. Execution Block
15. Self-Proving Affidavit (A.R.S. § 14-2504)

1. DOCUMENT HEADER

LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT
AND
TESTAMENTARY TRUST AGREEMENT
OF
[TESTATOR FULL LEGAL NAME], of [County], State of Arizona
Effective Date: [EFFECTIVE DATE]

Recitals
A. Testator is a domiciliary of the State of Arizona and is of legal age and sound mind.
B. Testator desires to dispose of Testator’s estate in accordance with the provisions herein and to establish a testamentary trust for the benefit of designated beneficiaries.
C. This instrument is intended to constitute a witnessed will under A.R.S. §§ 14-2501 and 14-2502 and to create a testamentary trust governed by applicable Arizona trust law.

2. DEFINITIONS

For ease of reference, the following terms as used herein shall have the meanings set forth below:

“Accounting” – A trustee's report of trust property, liabilities, receipts, disbursements, compensation, and asset values to the extent required by A.R.S. § 14-10813.
“Children” – The legal, natural, or adopted descendants of Testator in the first generation, excluding stepchildren unless expressly included.
“Disability” – A condition in which an individual is unable to manage property or financial affairs, as determined under the written standard in Section 9.5 and applicable law.
“HEMS” – Health, Education, Maintenance, and Support, as customarily interpreted under federal transfer-tax regulations.
“Personal Representative” – The individual or corporate fiduciary appointed in Section 5.1.
“Probate Court” – The Superior Court of the State of Arizona, [Designated County] Probate Division.
“Residue” – All property of Testator not otherwise effectively disposed of by specific devise or bequest.
“Testamentary Trust” or “Trust” – The trust created under Section 8 and administered under Section 9.
“Trustee” – The person or entity acting from time to time with the fiduciary powers granted herein.

3. REVOCATION OF PRIOR WILLS & CODICILS

I, [TESTATOR NAME], hereby revoke all prior wills, codicils, and testamentary dispositions.

4. FAMILY INFORMATION & IDENTIFICATION OF HEIRS

4.1 Spouse. I am married to [SPOUSE NAME] (“Spouse”).
4.2 Children. I have the following living children:
 a. [CHILD 1 NAME], born [DOB];
 b. [CHILD 2 NAME], born [DOB];
 c. [ADDITIONAL CHILDREN].
4.3 Future Children. References to “Children” or “Issue” shall include any children hereafter born to or legally adopted by me.
4.4 Omitted Heirs. No person not named or referred to herein shall take any share of my estate except as mandated by statute.

5. APPOINTMENT OF FIDUCIARIES

5.1 Personal Representative.
 a. Primary: I appoint [PRIMARY PR NAME] as Personal Representative.
 b. Successor: If the Primary is unable or unwilling to serve, I appoint [SUCCESSOR PR NAME].
 c. Bond. I request that no bond be required of any Personal Representative to the fullest extent the court and controlling law permit.

5.2 Trustee.
 a. Primary: I appoint [PRIMARY TRUSTEE NAME] as Trustee of the Testamentary Trust.
 b. Successor: If the Primary is unable or unwilling to serve, I appoint [SUCCESSOR TRUSTEE NAME].
 c. Corporate Trustee Option: Any corporate fiduciary organized under federal or Arizona law with trust powers may serve.

5.3 Guardian of Minor Children. If at my death any child of mine is a minor, I nominate [PRIMARY GUARDIAN] as Guardian of the person and estate, and [ALTERNATE GUARDIAN] as alternate.

6. PAYMENT OF DEBTS, EXPENSES, AND TAXES

6.1 Debts & Expenses. My Personal Representative shall pay all legally enforceable debts, funeral expenses, and administration costs from my probate estate.
6.2 Death Taxes. All federal and state estate, inheritance, and generation-skipping transfer taxes attributable to property passing under or outside this Will shall be paid from the Residue without apportionment, unless any non-probate instrument expressly provides otherwise.

7. SPECIFIC BEQUESTS & DEVISES

7.1 Tangible Personal Property Memorandum. I direct my Personal Representative to distribute tangible personal property in accordance with any valid written statement I may leave, as permitted by A.R.S. § 14-2513.
7.2 Specific Devises.
 a. To [BENEFICIARY NAME], I give [DESCRIPTION OF GIFT] if [he/she/they] survives me by 30 days.
 b. [ADDITIONAL SPECIFIC GIFTS].
7.3 Lapse & Anti-Lapse. Unless a mandatory anti-lapse rule or another provision of this Will applies, a failed specific gift becomes part of the Residue.

8. RESIDUARY CLAUSE AND CREATION OF THE TESTAMENTARY TRUST

I give all of the Residue of my estate to the Trustee, IN TRUST, to be held, managed, and distributed as hereinafter provided (the “Testamentary Trust”).

9. TESTAMENTARY TRUST TERMS

9.1 Name. This trust shall be known as the “[FAMILY] Testamentary Trust.”

9.2 Beneficiaries.
 a. Primary Beneficiaries: My Children, in equal shares, per stirpes.
 b. Secondary Beneficiaries: If no Child survives me, then to my Issue, per stirpes; if none, then to [CONTINGENT BENEFICIARY].

9.3 Distribution Standards.
 a. Discretionary Distributions. During the term of the Trust, the Trustee MAY distribute income or principal to or for a Beneficiary’s HEMS, considering other resources available.
 b. Mandatory Termination Ages. Each Beneficiary’s separate share shall terminate and be distributed outright as follows: one-third at age [AGE 1]; one-half of the balance at age [AGE 2]; remainder at age [AGE 3]. The Trustee may accelerate distributions for good cause.

9.4 Spendthrift Provision. All interests of any Beneficiary shall be subject to a spendthrift restriction to the maximum extent allowed under A.R.S. § 14-10502.

9.5 Trustee Discretion for Disability. If the Trustee determines from a licensed physician's written opinion or other reliable evidence that a Beneficiary cannot manage a distribution, the Trustee may apply it for the Beneficiary or use a permitted custodial arrangement under A.R.S. § 14-10816(21).

9.6 Termination. The Trust shall terminate upon the earlier of: (i) final distribution under Section 9.3(b); (ii) total depletion of assets; or (iii) twenty-one (21) years after the death of the last surviving descendant of [REFERENCE LIFE] living at my death, whichever occurs first.

10. FIDUCIARY POWERS, STANDARDS, AND INDEMNIFICATION

10.1 Powers. In addition to the specific statutory powers under A.R.S. § 14-10816, the Trustee may:
 a. Invest and reinvest in property consistent with the terms of this Trust and the Arizona prudent-investor rules;
 b. Make distributions in cash or in kind;
 c. Allocate receipts and disbursements between principal and income as the Trustee deems advisable;
 d. Employ professionals and delegate investment authority under A.R.S. § 14-10807;
 e. Exercise a special power to appoint trust property to another trust only when the conditions of A.R.S. § 14-10819 are satisfied.

10.2 Standard of Care. The Trustee shall invest and manage Trust assets consistently with the prudent-investor rule in A.R.S. § 14-10901 and the terms of this Trust.

10.3 Accounting & Reports. The Trustee shall provide notices, information, and reports to the beneficiaries and at the times required by A.R.S. § 14-10813, subject to any waiver or trust-term variation that statute permits.

10.4 Compensation. The Trustee is entitled to reasonable compensation and reimbursement of properly incurred expenses.

10.5 Fiduciary Liability.
 a. No provision of this instrument relieves a Trustee from liability that A.R.S. § 14-11008 makes nonwaivable, including a breach committed in bad faith or with reckless indifference.
 b. A Trustee's personal liability on contracts, torts, and obligations arising from trust property is governed by A.R.S. § 14-11010; this instrument does not create a broader immunity.

10.6 Removal & Successor Trustees. A majority of the adult Beneficiaries then eligible to receive distributions may remove the Trustee and appoint a successor by written instrument delivered to the Trustee and filed with the Probate Court.

11. NO-CONTEST (IN TERROREM) CLAUSE

If any person directly or indirectly contests this Will or seeks to impair or invalidate any provision herein, any share or interest given to such person shall be forfeited and shall pass as if such person had predeceased me without issue. Under A.R.S. § 14-2517, this penalty is unenforceable when probable cause exists for the contest or related proceeding.

12. GOVERNING LAW; FORUM SELECTION; INJUNCTIVE RELIEF

12.1 Governing Law. This Will and the Testamentary Trust shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Arizona.

12.2 Forum. A proceeding concerning this Will or Trust should be brought in the Arizona Superior Court having jurisdiction and proper venue under controlling law.

12.3 Arbitration. No provision of this instrument shall be construed to require arbitration.

12.4 Jury Rights. This instrument does not waive any jury right that controlling law makes available; the assigned court shall determine the proper mode of trial.

12.5 Injunctive Relief. Beneficiaries may petition the Probate Court for injunctive relief to enforce fiduciary duties or restrain breaches thereof.

13. GENERAL PROVISIONS

13.1 Simultaneous Death. For purposes of this Will, if any Beneficiary does not survive me by thirty (30) days, that Beneficiary shall be deemed to have predeceased me.

13.2 Survivorship by Trust Beneficiaries. All references to relationship designations (e.g., “child,” “issue,” “descendant”) shall be determined per stirpes.

13.3 Digital Assets. Subject to any controlling online-tool direction, federal law, and custodian requirements, I consent to disclosure of digital assets and the content of electronic communications to my Personal Representative to the fullest extent permitted by A.R.S. §§ 14-13101 and 14-13107.

13.4 Captions. Headings are for convenience only and shall not affect interpretation.

13.5 Severability. If any provision is held invalid, the remaining provisions shall remain in full force.

13.6 Integration. This instrument constitutes my entire Will and Trust agreement.

14. EXECUTION BLOCK

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I, [TESTATOR NAME], have signed this Last Will and Testament and Testamentary Trust on the date written below.

______________________________
[TESTATOR NAME], Testator
Date: ________________________

ATTESTATION CLAUSE

We, the undersigned witnesses, declare that on the date written below [TESTATOR NAME], whom we know personally or whose identity has been proven to us, declared this instrument to be Testator’s Last Will and Testament and Testamentary Trust, signed it in our presence, and requested that we witness the same. We affirm that the Testator is of sound mind and under no duress, fraud, or undue influence.

Witness 1: ______________________________
Name: [PRINT]
Address: [ADDRESS]
Date: __________________

Witness 2: ______________________________
Name: [PRINT]
Address: [ADDRESS]
Date: __________________

15. SELF-PROVING AFFIDAVIT (pursuant to A.R.S. § 14-2504)

State of Arizona
County of ____________

We, [TESTATOR NAME], [WITNESS 1 NAME], and [WITNESS 2 NAME], the Testator and the witnesses, respectively, whose names are signed to the attached or foregoing instrument being first duly sworn, do hereby declare to the undersigned authority that the Testator signed and executed the instrument as the Testator’s Last Will and Testament and that the Testator had signed willingly (or willingly directed another to sign for the Testator), and that the Testator executed it as the Testator’s free and voluntary act for the purposes therein expressed; and that each of the witnesses, in the presence and hearing of the Testator, signed the Will as witness and that to the best of the witnesses’ knowledge the Testator was at that time eighteen (18) years of age or older, of sound mind, and under no constraint or undue influence.

_________________________________
[TESTATOR NAME], Testator

_________________________________
[WITNESS 1 NAME], Witness

_________________________________
[WITNESS 2 NAME], Witness

Subscribed, sworn to, and acknowledged before me by [TESTATOR NAME], the Testator, and subscribed and sworn to before me by [WITNESS 1 NAME] and [WITNESS 2 NAME], this ___ day of __________, 20__.

_________________________________
Notary Public
My commission expires: ____________

SOURCES CONSULTED

• Arizona Legislature, A.R.S. § 14-2501, § 14-2502, § 14-2504, § 14-2513, and § 14-2517.
• Arizona Legislature, A.R.S. § 14-10502, § 14-10807, § 14-10813, § 14-10816, § 14-10819, § 14-10901, § 14-11008, and § 14-11010.
• Arizona Legislature, A.R.S. § 14-13107 and chapter 13, article 1 (fiduciary access to digital assets).