Desmond Law. When you’re planning your estate, you want to choose a law office you can trust. That’s why you should choose the professionals at Desmond Law in Scottsdale, Arizona, for all of your estate planning needs.

How it Began. Desmond Law owner, Marjorie Desmond, has been an attorney for 29 years. She started out in California but moved to Arizona 21 years ago. That means Marjorie is licensed in both California and Arizona. Marjorie was licensed in Arizona in 2010, and she’s been working there ever since. At first, Marjorie did a lot of commercial litigation and ended up doing a lot of debt collection—when no one’s really happy to see you! For Marjorie, it was difficult to wake up and go to work each day, as she never had fun.

When Marjorie moved to Arizona, she stayed at home with her kids prior to taking the Arizona bar. She had served as the PTO president of a K-8^th grade school in Scottsdale. While doing so, she had seen the parents of eight children die from various things. For Marjorie, this was not something she expected, as many individuals do not pass away while in their 30s and 40s. So after doing crazy litigation with a very high number of cases at a time, Marjorie decided to make a change to use her license for something that was proactive and that helps prevent family conflict and other challenges. Marjorie got all the training that she needed for estate planning, and in 2015, began her own firm—it’s what she’s been doing ever since!

Don’t Delay! The hardest part of estate planning is making the appointment because, once a client arrives at the Desmond Law office, they fill out some information and everything is super easy—Marjorie takes it from there! A lot of factors could cause someone to put off estate planning. For some, it’s the fear of planning for their death, or the discomfort of talking about their own demise. Other times, there’s a conflict between spouses about what they want to happen. Because Marjorie has navigated those waters before, she can come up with solutions that work. Marjorie stresses that, if you have a stroke, heart attack, or get hit by a car, then estate planning is too late. Marjorie has also done estate planning for individuals who are terminally ill—she’s discovered that there’s not much worse than planning death when one is actually dying. Estate planning is like an insurance against something you know will happen one day. And, when it does, you don’t want to leave your family in a mess. Because Marjorie has gone through the death of her own parents, she has seen estate planning from the lawyer AND the consumer side—the process can be easier or a nightmare if one did or did not have an estate plan.

The Desmond Law Difference. It’s important to note that not all estate planning attorneys are the same. Legal Zoom and other high-volume lawyers don’t provide you with the same experience that working with Marjorie does! Some lawyers will just slap together documents or get them through an online service (or a transactional lawyer). At the end of the day, you’ll have a legal document that will be enforced. If it’s not your true wishes, that doesn’t matter—it will be enforced as it’s written. The planning and thought process that goes into a comprehensive plan is worth more money to the recipient than it takes to draft the documents right away. Marjorie takes the time to really know your situation, allowing her to create a plan that works best for you. A good estate plan is worth money—it’s far more expensive to have a bad plan or no plan! With Marjorie, you know exactly what you’re getting since she charges on a flat fee. That means you know exactly what you’re paying for, as well as what to expect going in—there are no surprises!

A lot of times, people may think, “Wow, that’s expensive!” Yet, it’s far more expensive to either not have a plan or have a plan that creates conflict within your family. Family relationships are priceless, and having a good estate plan is, too! It’s important to consider these things when shopping for estate planning—it’s essential to understand what service, exactly, you’re getting.

A Passion for Planning. Marjorie does estate planning exclusively, which includes trust administration and a little probate. Yet, Marjorie’s real passion is the planning AND helping people plan. When Marjorie first moved to Arizona, she worked with a well-known firm in town to do her own estate planning, but she barely even met the attorney. The paralegal did the documents while Marjorie was in and out of the office—there was no in-depth look at what their real wishes were. Marjorie never even heard from that lawyer again.

When you flash forward 20 years, your family dynamic will look entirely different. Now, your kids are grown, and you might want them as you power of attorney for medical or financial decisions. The way Marjorie runs her practice is that she has relationships with her clients and, if they ever need to contact her on the weekends because of some emergency, she will call them back. Marjorie is there for her clients. She’s dealt with clients who’ve passed away, and she’s dealt with helping their families through the trying time.

Free Reviews. Marjorie does free reviews every three years for people who have done their estate planning with her. Through this, she looks at her client’s plans and makes sure that everything still makes sense for them. Marjorie’s goal is to take the time to really understand what they need to make their plan work for them—their plan can change as their lives change. Additionally, Marjorie’s flat fee allows individuals to be assured that they know precisely what they’re paying for—without unexpected (or unwanted!) “surprises.”

Taking the Time. Marjorie will work with you however long it takes for you to be satisfied with your plan. Once, it took her a year and half to help one couple put together an estate plan because they were traveling. They would change their minds and different things were happening within their family. Marjorie understands that it’s a process for the client, that sometimes involves moving parts. Because it takes some people longer to plan everything than others, Marjorie sticks with each client till the end—no matter what, they get the planning done!

Services. Desmond Law offers the following services, including:

• Planning for Your Children
• Estate Planning
• Special Needs Planning
• Asset Protection Planning
• Estate Tax Protection
• Trust Administration

Let Desmond Law assist you in planning your estate! Contact them today!

Call them at (480) 848-9550.

Visit the Desmond Law website.

Follow Desmond Law on Facebook.

Desmond Law Reviews

“Marjorie Desmond is a savvy, experienced estate planning attorney who asks all the right questions, listens like she cares and gives sage advice on matters of trusts and inheritance law. I heartily recommend Marjorie to people with complicated estates as well as relatively simple ones. She is honest, caring and thorough.” -Richard N.

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