Top Best Estate Lawyers | 18176 Available

I went to law school because I wanted to make a difference in people’s lives and protect my own family.  I was naturally drawn to the practice of estate planning because of its positive nature and ability to impact people.  Estate planning is positive?!  Absolutely.When most people think of estate planning, they’re thinking that it’s only for the rich or the elderly. What they don’t realize is that estate planning is really about leaving a legacy – no matter how big or small – and ensuring that your loved ones are taken care of should you pass unexpectedly.  Protecting families with children is especially important to me. My studies revealed a gap, a great chasm if you will, between traditional estate planning and what families really need.  This gap could land your children in foster care, put a stranger in charge of their inheritance (who will take fees for that service), and leave your estate vulnerable to predators even if you have a will in place.  I have made it my mission to obliterate this gap for my clients—guarantee their children stay in the care of people they know and trust, ensure funds are available for the immediate care of their children, and safeguard their values, beliefs, stories, and experiences!If you want someone that can act as a guardian of your legacy, who deeply understands estate law and can be your trusted advisor in the process of protecting your family, I encourage you to contact me!

I'm a dad who know what it’s like to worry about what might happen.. As parents, we want to provide for our children and set them up to succeed, even if we’re not there. But estate planning can seem daunting.. I have learned firsthand that the best way to avoid family conflict in probate is to anticipate and plan around it. Before I narrowed my practice to this field, I advocated for the injured, the accused, and the disabled in proceedings before various civil and administrative courts.. I enjoy delving into emerging legal issues and finding cutting-edge solutions, boiling them down into valuable strategies that are both helpful and straightforward for clients.. I have my B.S. in Political Science from Utah Valley University, as well as my J.D. from Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University. I have been admitted to the State Bar of Arizona.. In my free time, I spend time with his wife Alex and their two rowdy boys. This means his latest hobbies include playing hide-and-seek, doing somersaults in the backyard, and running circles around the dining table. When the occasion permits, he enjoys board games, sports, and kayaking.

Mr. Wand is a member of Lewis Roca Rothgerber’s Tax Practice Group and currently serves as the Co-Chair of both the firm’s Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits practice and the firm’s Trusts and Estates practice.. In his executive compensation and employee benefits practice, Mr. Wand helps employers design and manage qualified and non-qualified retirement plans and executive compensation programs, including equity-based incentive compensation programs (i.e., stock options, stock appreciation rights, phantom stock and restricted stock) governed by Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code.  Mr. Wand regularly works with employers, auditors, actuaries, accountants, financial advisors and other plan fiduciaries to ensure compliance with the Internal Revenue Code and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).  Mr. Wand has considerable experience representing employers before the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Labor in connection with the correction of 401(k) plan errors governed by the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System.  Mr. Wand is listed in the 2012, 2013 and 2014 editions of Southwest Super Lawyers® - Rising Stars in the category of Employee Benefits.. In his estate and tax planning practice, Mr. Wand helps his clients identify and implement their tax and estate planning goals, utilizing the instruments and techniques best suited to each client’s needs, including revocable and irrevocable trusts, wills, powers of attorney, donor advised funds, family limited partnerships and private foundations. In his time at Lewis Roca Rothgerber LLP, Mr. Wand has also developed substantial experience helping young professionals and new parents plan for the unexpected in a tax-efficient and uncomplicated manner. Mr. Wand also counsels clients on a variety of matters related to the taxation of distributions from qualified and non-qualified retirement plans. In 2014, Mr. Wand was recognized by AZ Business Magazine as a Top Lawyer in the category of Trusts and Estates.. Prior to joining Lewis Roca Rothgerber, Mr. Wand worked for United States Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona and United States Senator Dianne Feinstein of California.  During his time in Washington, D.C., Mr. Wand also served as a legal extern to the United States Senate, Committee on the Judiciary’s Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology & Homeland Security.. While in law school, Mr. Wand was a Georgetown University Global Teaching Fellow and a member of Georgetown University’s Barrister’s Council, Appellate Advocacy Division.

W. Durrell Nielsen graduated from the University of Arizona in 1967, receiving a Bachelors of Science degree in Business Administration with an accounting major. He was also awarded his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Arizona in 1970, where he was a staff member of the Arizona Law Review. After graduation from law school, Mr. Nielsen was employed by the Office of Chief Counsel, Internal Revenue Service, as a staff attorney. During the more than four years with the Chief Counsel’s Office, he represented the Internal Revenue Service in a variety of tax matters including civil matters in the United States Tax Court, collection matters in the United States Bankruptcy Court and in state courts, and reviewing and recommending criminal prosecutions to the United States Department of Justice. Mr. Nielsen has been in private practice of law since 1974.. In his private practice of law, Mr. Nielsen has focused on estate planning, probate, trust administration, taxation, and corporate and business matters. He has presented many public and private seminars on these subjects. In addition to his busy law practice, Mr. Nielsen is very active in church and educational organizations, and has served on the Planned Giving Committee of Primary Childrens Hospital, Salt Lake City, Utah. He and his wife, Janelle, are parents of three sons, two daughters, and six grandchildren.. Mr. Nielsen is admitted to practice before all the courts in the states of Arizona and Utah, the Federal courts in Arizona and Utah, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the Tenth Circuit, the United States Tax Court, and the Supreme Court of the United States of America. He is a member of the State Bar of Arizona and the Utah State Bar.