Eliza Read

Eliza’s practice has been primarily focused in T&E and elder law since 2000, when she entered private practice. Her practice regularly includes estate planning, estate administration, T & E and guardianship litigation, guardianship and conservatorship, and special needs and public benefit planning. Eliza’s clients include high net worth families and individuals, families just starting out, non-traditional family structures, and families and individuals navigating age and disability related issues. She has learned a diverse subset of practice areas so that she can approach a client’s situation holistically, and help them understand and choose the best tools to meet their needs.

Eliza works extensively with clients and families walking through severe mental illness, dementia, end-of-life, and serious age-related disabilities, including indigent and institutionalized populations.

She has served as court appointed counsel for over 20 years in guardianships and conservatorships in Coconino County. This has given her the opportunity to deeply understand how our social safety net programs do and don’t work. The experience has been invaluable in helping her clients successfully navigate these systems. She has also used this experience to collaborate with the courts, mental health services, and fiduciaries to improve service delivery.

Eliza intentionally chose to base her practice in rural Northern Arizona, and works extensively with an increasingly underserved population both in rural Arizona and on many Native American reservations. She believes that an essential part of being an effective attorney is to have a deep understanding of the legal issues, underlying statutory and case law, planning options, and potential pitfalls, so that she can confidently guide clients, who often have little or no legal background, through their legal issue in a way that makes sense to the client.

• Certified Specialist, Trust and Estate Law, State Bar of Arizona
• Certified Elder Law Attorney, National Elder Law Foundation

Bar and Court Admissions:

· State Bar of Arizona, 1997

· Federal District Court, District of Arizona,2000

· Navajo Nation Bar Association, member 2002-2010; 2014-2021

· Hopi Tribal Courts

Professional Memberships and Committees:

· Northern Arizona Estate Planning Council. Founder

· AZ NAELA. Board member (current), past president, member

· Probate and Trust Executive Committee, State Bar of Arizona. Board member

· NAELA National, member

· Tax and Legal Annual Seminar Planning Committee, Arizona Community Foundation/Center for Jewish Philanthropy, Planning committee member

· State Bar of Arizona Section Memberships: Animal Law Section, Alternative Dispute Resolution Section, Indian Law Section, Elder Law, Mental Health and Special Needs Planning Section, Probate and Trust Law Section, Tax Law Section, Sole Practitioner/Small Firm Section

Civic and Charitable Activities

• Board member, Northern Arizona Gerontology Association. Mid 2000’s (now defunct). Board Member, Flagstaff Unified School District No. 1 Foundation. 2017-2019.
• Board Member, Flagstaff Medical Center. 2003-2006.
• Certificate Holder, Northern Arizona Health Care (regional health care governing agency). 2004-present.
• Reduced Rate/pro bono court-appointed counsel, Coconino County, 2002-2023 (program discontinued).

• Probate and Trust Track: Representing Multiple Family Members and Vulnerable Adults, Arizona State Bar Annual Convention, Co-Chair and Moderator Tucson AZ, 06/16/2023
• Probate Mediations – Getting to a Signed Settlement Agreement. State Bar of Arizona CLE Program, Webinar, 09/15/2021
• High Conflict Mediation: Dealing with High Conflict Personalities. State Bar of Arizona CLE Program, Webinar, 04/28/2021
• Best Practices in Working with Court- Appointed Counsel: The Who, What, Where, When, and Why.