Mark E. House, Esq.

MARK E. HOUSE specializes in litigation involving estates, trusts, and financial exploitation. In particular, Mark is considered one of the top litigation attorneys in Arizona with regard to capacity and undue influence issues. He also has significant experience in litigation regarding breaches of fiduciary duty. Mark’s practice also involves estate planning. Because of his extensive background in probate litigation, Mark brings additional expertise into this estate planning to ensure that his clients’ wishes are carried out. In addition to complex tax planning, Mark has pioneered creative estate and wealth planning techniques for clients interested in cryopreservation and is a leading authority on the topic. Mark is also an experienced and highly successful mediator in trust and estate disputes. Please click HERE to request his availability as a mediator.

Mark works extensively with cryonicists regarding estate planning.  He developed the Multi-Investor Future Income Trust for Alcor members in order to allow members with more modest estates to save for revival.  He also creates custom Future Income Trusts for those with larger estates.  His practice includes all of the planning necessary to be cryopreserved. He can also help locate legal counsel in other states for clients who are not in Arizona.

After growing up in Flagstaff, Arizona, Mark attended Northern Arizona University where he received his B.S.B.A. in Business Economics in 1995. He received his J.D., with distinction, from Emory University School of Law in Atlanta, Georgia in 1998. Upon graduating, he started practicing law in Birmingham, Alabama, until his return to Arizona in 2000.

Mark teaches at Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, and previously taught at Arizona Summit Law School, in the areas of Decedent’s Estates, Trust Law, Estate and Gift Taxation, and Estate Planning. He has been teaching since 2009. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel as well as a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.  Mark is a former Director of the Central Arizona Estate Planning Council and a founding member of the Scottsdale Young Estate Planners. Mark speaks extensively for professional audiences on financial exploitation, undue influence, and other litigation-related topics, including estate planning techniques for avoiding litigation. He also routinely speaks on issues relating to trusts for cryopreservation.

In addition to his trust and estate practice, Mark has spent a great deal of time working within the Olympic sporting movement, mainly with USA Weightlifting and USA Fencing.  He has served in various capacities for USAW, including as a member of the Nominating and Governance Committee, as Chair of the Legal Commission, and as an international technical official and coach.  He is actively involved in governance issues at all levels of weightlifting, including the International Weightlifting Federation.  He served as Counsel for the IWF Athletes Commission, working with the Olympic athletes to protect their collective interests in the sport.  He currently serves as the Chair of the Grievance and Disciplinary Committee for USA Fencing.

NOTABLE CASES

In re The Kipnis Section 3.4 Trust, 235 Ariz. 153, 329 P.3d 1055 (App. 2014), In Kipnis, the Arizona courts adopted the fiduciary exception to the attorney-client privilege with regard to trusts, meaning that beneficiaries are entitled to receive the communications between the trustee and the trustee’s attorney regarding administration of the trust.

In re the Stephens Revocable Trust, 249 Ariz. 523, 472 P.3d 539 (App. 2021).  Stephens established the procedure for determining who has standing to bring a claim for violations of the Adult Protective Services Act, specifically financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult.

In re Lindquist, 254 Ariz. 594, 525 P.3d 1100 (App. 2023).  Lindquist further refined the procedure for determining standing in financial exploitation cases when the alleged vulnerable adult is still living and disputes that they are vulnerable.

PUBLICATIONS

“Estate Planning Beyond the Grave…And Back“, TrustsandEstates.com, January 2018.

“A Guide for Practitioners: Standards for Capacity in Arizona”, 11 Ariz. Summit L. Rev. 93 (2018).

“Arizona Trial Practice Manual”, Arizona State Bar, 2015 (contributing author regarding probate litigation).

“Exempting the Charitable Share: Equitable Apportionment in Arizona” Giving Counsel, May-June 2004.

“Big Savings On Campus, 529 Plans Open College Gates,” 38 Arizona Attorney 20 (2001).

RECENT ARTICLES

The Multi-Investor Future Income Trust Model

MIFIT FAQ