[AZ] How should children be listed as beneficiaries in a joint revocable living trust if spouses are primary beneficiaries?

AZ Estate Planning

I’m setting up a Joint Revocable Living Trust with my husband. We’re both listed as grantors and beneficiaries. How do I add beneficiaries who get paid after we both pass away?

January 12, 2026

Jon

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That’s a great question and a very common point of confusion. While you and your husband are alive, you are the primary beneficiaries, meaning the trust exists entirely for your benefit. The “100% each” language doesn’t divide the trust—it simply reflects that you both fully benefit from it during your lifetimes.

Your children are remainder beneficiaries (A.R.S. § 14-10103(13)). They receive what’s left in the trust only after both of you pass away. These roles don’t conflict because they apply at different times (A.R.S. § 14-10603(A)).

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I’m setting up a Joint Revocable Living Trust with my husband. We’re both listed as grantors and beneficiaries. How do I add beneficiaries who get paid after we both pass away?

Lexi, Chatbot

Have you already drafted the trust terms?

Yes. In the trust, my husband and I are listed as 100% beneficiaries. I added instructions for our children to receive everything after we pass, but they’re not listed as beneficiaries. It seemed confusing to list us at 100% each and also list our kids at 50% each.

Lexi, Chatbot

Are there any special conditions you want to include for your children?

Not really. I just don’t know where to list them if we’re already beneficiaries.

Jon

We live in Arizona and are using a Revocable Trust template. There’s only one section labeled “Beneficiaries” and no separate section for remainder beneficiaries. The form also has a “Specific Distributions” section, where I listed my kids’ percentages.

Jon

In templates like that, the Beneficiaries section is where you list your children with their percentages (for example, 50% each). Those percentages apply only after the second spouse passes away.

The Specific Distributions section is meant for fixed gifts (like a specific dollar amount or item), not for dividing the remainder of the estate.

So I should remove my kids from Specific Distributions and list them only as Beneficiaries?

Jon

Yes, exactly. List your children in the Beneficiaries section with their percentages. That ensures they receive the remaining trust assets after all expenses and any specific gifts are handled.

Thank you so much—you really cleared this up for me!

Jon

You’re very welcome! Glad I could help.

Jon

556 satisfied customers

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