About Lora

Biography

Lora G. Johnson was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. After obtaining her undergraduate degree in psychology and having her research published, she attended law school at Arizona State University. Lora then went to work for a large estate planning law firm, where she practiced exclusively in the area of estate planning and elder law for several years. In order to better serve her clients, Mrs. Johnson opened her own estate planning firm in 2006. She is devoted to her clients and enjoys working with people who are preparing for the future.

Lora loves what she does, and she has enjoyed her 26 years of being able to help people in the community resolve their concerns about caring for loved ones with dementia or other illnesses, as well as being able to financially and emotionally survive such ordeals. She believes that customer service is vital to her practice and that hard work is important to success. Lora has served on the Alzheimer's Association Desert Southwest Chapter Regional Leadership Council, the Benevilla Board of Directors, the Gateway Office Park Board of Directors, and the West Valley Bar Association Board of Directors. Lora is also a member of the Arizona National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys Arizona Chapter (past president), the Arizona Wealth Counsel, the Arizona State Bar (Elder Law, Mental Health, and Special Needs Section), and the Maricopa County Bar (Estate Planning, Probate, and Trust Section). She is a VA accredited attorney and a Certified Senior Advisor.

Lora is a noted speaker in the community on legal and financial planning, and she understands the importance of getting people access to good and accurate information so that they can be proactive in their own decision-making. She participates in many local community service groups and enjoys reading, sewing, traveling, painting, and playing the piano. Lora and her husband Steven, also an Arizona native and a retired high school English teacher, live in Peoria. They have five children and eight grandchildren.

Practice Areas

Elder Law 25%

26 years

25%

Estate Planning 20%

26 years

20%

Probate 15%

Probate is basically court supervision of the re-titling of assets out of the decedent's name into his or her beneficiary's name. Because of the different legal requirements, costs and time can be significant.

26 years

15%

Guardianship 10%

A 'guardianship' is a court proceeding that can be undertaken to appoint an individual for you and give that individual the legal ability to make any decisions involving your person, such as where you should live, any medical care and treatment decisions, etc. During this court proceeding your competency is brought into question and evidence must be presented. This can be a very time-consuming, expensive, and frustrating process to embark on within an overburdened court system.

26 years

10%

Medicaid and Medicare 10%

26 years

10%

Trusts 10%

When properly created, a Living Trust can: minimize estate and inheritance taxes, avoid death probate (even in multiple states), determine who will handle your affairs, should you become incapacitated, in order to avoid having to go to court, control distributions to minor beneficiaries beyond the age of 18, provide for special needs beneficiaries without creating benefit ineligibility, protect monies from creditors or divorcing spouses of beneficiaries, maintain financial privacy, and more.

26 years

10%

Wills and Living Wills 10%

A Will is a document which states what you want to happen to your belongings at your death. A Will can list guardians for minor children, which can be extremely important. A Will also should name a Personal Representative, or person that you want to handle your affairs at your death. A Will should also state whether the Personal Representative must post a bond or not in order to be appointed and be able to administer your estate.

26 years

10%

Fees and Rates

We have not found any cost information for this lawyer

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Licenses

Licensed in Arizona for 25 years

State: Arizona

Acquired: 2000

Active

No misconduct found

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Location

Johnson & Ashworth, PLLC

10320 W McDowell Rd, Bldg. D, Avondale, AZ, 85392

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Lora G Johnson's Reviews

Avvo Review Score

5.0 /5.0

28 Client Reviews

Showing 1 - 5 of 5 reviews | Professionalism

Posted by Terri | April 20, 2020 | Hired Attorney | Estate Planning

Knowledgeable and professional estate-planning attorney

Lora was very knowledgeable in estate planning and reviewed our former Montana trust agreement with us and explained the changes that needed to be made. We were very impressed with her thoroughness and knowledge of estate planning.

Posted by Karen | December 19, 2019 | Hired Attorney | Estate Planning

The Answer Woman!

We were fortunate enough to be able to have Lora for our attorney when we moved to Arizona from Washington. We received her name from our pastor, and also knew of her from her work with Benevilla. She did a thorough review of our estate plans, suggested some modifications, and discussed with us th...e changes. She was professional, knowledgeable, and eager to help us with all questions She completed the review in a timely fashion, and called us in for the final reading. She made (what could have been) a difficult session, a very comprehensive review of all our questions. Thank you so very much!

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Posted by Judy | October 21, 2018 | Hired Attorney | Trusts

A welcomed relief!

I was a client of previous owner and had to return for a change to my trust and then again after a death in the family. Lora was not only compassionate but so professional. The cost of services are very reasonable. I have recommended others to her because of her experience with Elder law and her i...nvolvement with Alzheimers. You will NOT be disappointed with this practice!

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Posted by Patricia S. | October 19, 2018 | Hired Attorney | Elder Law

Great Attorney with a Heart

Lora Johnson is a great attorney who also really cares about her clients. I was dealing with a lot of elder care issues for my husband with dementia, but also worries about my financial future. I was so confused by hearing different things from different people including another lawyer. Lora took ...the confusion out of the process for me by educating me on elder care options that make sense. Then she put together a plan I understand and all the documents needed to make it reality. I feel like Lora isn't just trying to make money, but that she really does care about her clients. She is a great attorney with a heart.

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Posted by Garnett | November 25, 2015 | Hired Attorney | Estate Planning

FAMILY/ESTATE LAW--THE BEST!!!!!

Anyone who knows me knows that I generally don't have a great opinion of lawyers. LORA JOHNSON is the EXCEPTION!!!!!!! As a client I am tough to work with and very skeptical. She worked with us very diligently and patiently and came up with wills and a family trust that is fantastic. YOU have a N...EED for A TRUST AND A WILL. Trust Lora to take good care of you and help you plan for the family you leave behind. She's a wills, estates, and trusts lawyer; that's what she does. And she is hands down the best I've found.

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Lora G Johnson's Lawyer Endorsements

Endorse Lora

Heath Hirschi

Guardianship lawyer | Aug 11

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"Lora really has a solid understanding of guardianship law. I strongly endorse her."

Andrew Alex

Elder law lawyer | Feb 22

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"I endorse this lawyer."

Paul Faith

Wills and living wills lawyer | Dec 18

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"I endorse this lawyer."

Sergio Escamilla

Estate planning lawyer | Dec 01

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"I have known Lora for several years. I know her to be compassionate, well trained, and very approachable. Lora truly cares about the cases she manages, and more importantly, about her clients. I would unequivocally recommend Lora without hesitation to my current clients and my own family and friends who need assistance with wills, trusts, estate, and elder law."

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Sergio Escamilla

Personal injury lawyer

Experience

Rating: 7.8 (Very Good)

Honors

2023

Community Person of the Year, Sun City Independent

2019

Benevilla Legacy Champion Award, Benevilla

2014

Annual Volunteer Award, Alzheimer's Association

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Work Experience

2006 - Present

Owner, Johnson & Ashworth, P.L.L.C

2000 - 2006

Associate, Morris, Hall & Kinghorn, PLLC

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Associations

2013 - Present

Benevilla

Enriching Lives Network Partner

2012 - Present

AZ NAELA

Board of Directors

2009 - Present

Alzheimer's Association

Regional Leadership Council

2009 - Present

Southwest Chamber of Commerce

Member

2008 - Present

WealthCounsel

Member

1999 - Present

Maricopa County Bar Association Mental Health and Elder Law Section

Member

1999 - Present

Arizona Bar Association Probate Section

Member

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Sample of Legal Cases

Excellent ALTCS approval record

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Education

1999

Arizona State University Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law

JD - Juris Doctor

1992

Arizona State University

BA - Bachelor of Arts

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Speaking Engagements

2015

Estate Planning @Benevilla

End of Life Planning & Decisions in Late-Stage Care

2015

CARES Partners - Caregiver Forum

Area Agency on Aging

2015

Benevilla

The Ten Most Commonly Made Mistakes in Estate Planning and Long-term Planning

2015

Anthem Mini-Conference

Legal and Financial Planning

2015

Alzheimer's Assoc of Avondale

Legal and Financial Planning for Alzheimer's Disease

2015

24th Annual Alzheimer's Education Conference

Legal and Financial Planning for Caregivers & Professionals

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Publications

1994

Journal of Personality and Social Psycology A Multiplication Model of the Dispositional Antecedents of a Prosocial Behavior: Predicting More of the People More of the Time

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Languages

English

Spanish

Swedish

Russian

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