Asset Protection in Arizona — Skabelund PLLC, Award-Winning Asset Protection Attorney
Asset Protection
in Arizona.
Done Right.
Attorney John Skabelund — named Top 1% of U.S. Attorneys and Attorney of the Year for Trusts & Estates 2023 — has protected over 500 clients across Arizona and all 50 states. Two offices. Flat fees. Annual reviews. No hourly billing. Ever.
Arizona Offers Powerful Legal Tools. Most People Never Use Them.
Asset protection in Arizona refers to the legal strategies used to shield your personal and business assets from creditors, lawsuits, and legal claims — before any threat arises. Arizona is one of the most favorable states in the country for asset protection planning, offering a robust combination of Domestic Asset Protection Trusts, LLC charging order protections, homestead exemptions, and irrevocable trust structures.
The fundamental principle of asset protection is timing. Once a claim, lawsuit, or creditor threat exists, your options narrow dramatically. Arizona's fraudulent transfer laws can unwind asset transfers made after a claim arises. The window for effective planning is now — before you need it.
Skabelund PLLC is Arizona's premier asset protection law firm, founded by attorney John Skabelund — who holds both a J.D. from ASU Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law and an MBA from W.P. Carey School of Business. He spent a decade as a trust and estate litigator at one of Arizona's largest law firms, watching exactly how protection structures succeed — and fail — in court. He built this firm to get it right from the first day.
A+ Rating
What Skabelund PLLC Does for Arizona Clients
Every strategy we implement is customized to your assets, your risk profile, your tax situation, and your goals. No templates. No assembly-line plans.
Domestic Asset Protection Trusts (DAPTs)
Arizona’s Qualified Spendthrift Trust Act allows you to create a self-settled irrevocable trust where you can be a discretionary beneficiary while shielding assets from future creditors. One of the most powerful tools available in asset protection law.
Learn More →LLC Formation & Entity Structuring
Arizona LLCs provide charging order protection, separating personal assets from business liability. Properly structured entities are the backbone of most comprehensive asset protection plans — and the details matter enormously.
Learn More →Trust & Estate Planning
Irrevocable trusts, living trusts, gift trusts, and QPRTs — structured to simultaneously protect assets from creditors and minimize estate tax exposure. Trust and estate planning is not separate from asset protection — the best plans integrate both.
Learn More →Homestead Protection — Arizona & Beyond
Arizona’s homestead exemption protects up to $425,000 of primary residence equity automatically under A.R.S. §33-1101. If your equity exceeds that, additional structures — including QPRTs and irrevocable trusts — can protect the rest.
Read the Arizona Guide →Privacy Strategy & Planning
Structuring LLCs, trusts, and real estate holdings to make you a difficult target before a threat ever arises. Privacy is often the most overlooked — and most powerful — first line of defense in asset protection.
Learn More →Business Succession & Business Law
Buy-sell agreements, succession planning, and business structure optimization that integrate legal protection with tax efficiency. When you build a business, the plan for what happens next is part of protecting what you have built.
Learn More →You Built Something Worth Protecting. This Is How.
Asset protection is not only for the ultra-wealthy. Anyone who has built meaningful assets — a home, a business, a portfolio, a professional practice — is a potential target for creditor claims, judgment liens, or litigation. The question is not whether you need protection. It is whether you have it before something happens.
Real Estate Investors
Every property you own is a potential liability. Properly structured LLCs and trusts isolate each asset and prevent one lawsuit from threatening everything else you own.
Medical Professionals & Attorneys
Doctors, dentists, surgeons, and attorneys face outsized liability risk from malpractice claims where insurance may not be sufficient. Asset protection structures provide the second line of defense insurance cannot.
Business Owners & Executives
Corporate structures limit some liability — but not all. Personal guarantees, officer/director liability, and business disputes can pierce corporate protections without a comprehensive second layer of planning.
High-Net-Worth Individuals & Families
Anyone with a portfolio worth protecting — from early wealth builders to those with $100M+ — benefits from proactive planning. The cost of protection is always less than the cost of not having it.
Arizona’s Legal Arsenal
Domestic Asset Protection Trusts (DAPTs)
Arizona’s QASP Trust Act allows self-settled irrevocable trusts with beneficiary access — one of the most powerful creditor shields available.
LLCs with Charging Order Protection
Arizona LLCs limit creditors to charging order remedies, preventing forced seizure of membership interests or distributions.
Irrevocable Trusts
Assets in properly structured irrevocable trusts are generally out of reach of future creditors once applicable statutes of limitation run.
Family Limited Partnerships
FLPs centralize asset management while providing creditor protection, estate tax reduction, and controlled wealth transfer to the next generation.
Homestead Exemption
Arizona’s A.R.S. §33-1101 automatically protects up to $425,000 of primary residence equity — with additional structures available for equity above the cap.
Qualified Personal Residence Trusts (QPRTs)
QPRTs allow you to transfer your home into trust, retain use for a term, and protect the property while reducing estate tax exposure.
Bridge Trusts™
The Bridge Trust™ combines the protection of an irrevocable trust with greater access to assets and potential tax advantages — a proprietary advanced structure.
Offshore Trusts & Structures
For clients requiring maximum protection, offshore trusts and foundations in selected jurisdictions provide the strongest available legal shields.
Asset Protection That Holds Up
When It Needs To.
Most asset protection plans are never tested. Ours are built as if they will be. After a decade litigating trust and estate cases at one of Arizona’s largest law firms, John Skabelund knows exactly how structures fail in court — and exactly how to build ones that don’t. Every plan we create is designed to survive legal scrutiny, not just look good on paper.
Learn Asset Protection Strategy from Arizona’s Top Attorney
Attorney John Skabelund hosts The Asset Protection Show — expert strategies on trusts, LLCs, tax planning, privacy, and wealth protection. Subscribe on your preferred platform.
The Asset Protection Show
Expert strategies on protecting your wealth, trust planning, and LLC structuring in Arizona.
Asset Protection Strategy in Arizona
A walkthrough of the core tools and timing principles behind effective asset protection planning.
Subscribe to The Asset Protection Show
Two Arizona Offices. Nationwide Virtual Service.
In-person meetings available at both Arizona locations Monday through Friday. All 50 states served through secure virtual consultations.
Tempe, Arizona
1400 E Southern Ave, Suite 1020, Tempe, AZ 85282 Serving clients in Tempe, Phoenix, Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert, and the East Valley.
Scottsdale, Arizona
17015 N Scottsdale Rd, Suite 235, Scottsdale, AZ 85255 Serving clients in Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Fountain Hills, Cave Creek, and North Phoenix.
Arizona Cities & Areas We Serve
Learn Before You Plan
We publish in-depth guides, podcast episodes, and legal analyses on every aspect of asset protection — so you can understand the tools available before you sit down with an attorney. Knowledge is the first layer of protection.
Arizona’s Premier Asset Protection Law Firm.
Why It Matters Who You Choose.
Asset protection planning is not a commodity. A template trust from an online service will not protect you the way a custom-designed structure, built by an attorney who has litigated these cases, will. The difference between a plan that holds up in court and one that gets unwound is not the paperwork — it is the precision, timing, and legal architecture behind it.
Skabelund PLLC was built around one principle: every client deserves the best plan possible for their specific situation. No shortcuts. No templates. No one-size-fits-all structures. And because we charge flat fees, you are never afraid to ask a question.
Annual Reviews Included
Your life changes. Your plan should too. We review every client’s protection plan annually to ensure it stays current.
Built for Court, Not Just Paper
Every structure we design is built to withstand legal challenge. We know how courts attack these structures — because we spent a decade in that courtroom.
For CPAs & Tax Advisors
We work alongside your CPA — never around them. Every legal structure is designed within your existing tax plan. Learn about our CPA partnership.
Also: Logan Woodruff
Logan Woodruff — Series 65 licensed, 4-state bar, 10 years experience — brings depth to every engagement. Two attorneys with complementary credentials working on your plan.
Asset Protection Arizona — Frequently Asked Questions
Arizona’s Most Credentialed Asset Protection Attorney.
Ready When You Are.
Two Arizona offices. All 50 states served virtually. Flat fees. Annual reviews. The plan that holds up when it needs to — starts with one conversation.
The Asset Protection Show
Podcast by John Skabelund
YouTube · Apple · Amazon · Audacy