Marlene Appel

About Marlene Appel

Marlene Appel practices probate, trust and G/C administration and litigation. She is a certified specialist in estate and trust law and a licensed fiduciary. She is the 2007 Recipient of the Eleanor Ter Horst Distinguished Service Award. She is rated AV-Pre-eminent by Martindale-Hubbell and has been recognized by SuperLawyers, Arizona’s Finest Lawyers and Best Layers of America (2023 & 2025 Best Lawyer of the Year, Phoenix: Elder Law and Trusts & Estates). Since 1990, she has served as Judge Pro Tem for the Probate/Mental Health Division of the Maricopa County Superior Court. She attended Northwestern University and Arizona State University College of Law (JD 1977). She is a former co-chairman of the Executive Council of the State Bar's Probate and Trust Section and former member of the Continuing Legal Education Committee. She served on the initial Advisory Committee on Estate and Trust Specialization (1991-98), the board of the Maricopa County Bar Association’s Estate Planning, Probate and Trust Section, the Arizona Supreme Court’s Task Force for the Rules of Probate Procedure.(2017-19), the Arizona Supreme Court’s training panel for court-appointed attorneys and guardians ad litem and the 2014-15 ADR Policy/Training Group for the Probate Court. She was a faculty member of the Arizona College of Trial Advocacy 2014-18. She was a Senior Editor of the Probate Practice Manual, 5th ed. 2014, and the 6th ed. 2022; and Chairman of the Estate & Trust Advisory Commission in 2015-16. She is currently on the Sole Practitioner Section’s Probate Litigation Committee, which presents the annual advanced probate/trust/estate planing seminar, and a volunteer with the MCBA Probate Lawyer Assistance Program. She is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, the American College of Trust & Estate Counsel, the Arizona Fiduciary Association and the Arizona Association of Women Lawyers.She is qualified as an expert witness, special master, guardian ad litem, arbitrator and mediator and is a frequent speaker on probate and trust administration, guardianships, conservatorships, litigation and professional ethics.

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Education

• Law School: Arizona State

Common questions about Estate Planning in Arizona

Answered by Arizona Attorney Search Network

Are handwritten wills legal in Arizona?

Yes, under ARS § 14-2503 a holographic will is valid if the signature and the material provisions are in the testator's handwriting. Witnesses are not required for a holographic will - unusual among states. However, holographic wills are far more vulnerable to challenge than properly witnessed wills under ARS § 14-2502, and treating them as a planning method (rather than an emergency backstop) is risky.

Does Arizona have an estate or inheritance tax?

No. Arizona repealed its state estate tax in 2005 and has never had an inheritance tax. The federal estate tax applies only to estates exceeding the federal exemption (approximately $13.99 million per individual in 2025). For the vast majority of Arizonans, federal estate tax is not a concern.

What is a beneficiary deed in Arizona?

Under ARS § 33-405, an Arizona homeowner can record a beneficiary deed naming who will inherit the property at death, without giving any present interest. The deed is revocable during the owner's lifetime, has no effect on title until death, and avoids probate entirely. Most U.S. states do not have an equivalent tool, making this one of Arizona's most useful estate planning instruments.

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