Summary

Our Motto

We provide legal services to transform families, businesses and foundations from seedlings into redwood trees.

We provide legal leadership and service through many generations.

Our Mission

Our mission as a law firm is to provide legal structures, maintenance and transformations for families, businesses and charities to make them secure, harmonious and successful for multiple generations and at the same time provide; (1) a gratifying lifestyle and stimulating workplace for the members of our legal team who make it possible for us to accomplish this service; (2) an economically improved community of family redwood trees.

We Advocate Preventive Law As One of the
Weapons for Winning the Economic War

(Following is an excerpt from an article appearing in the Awards Banquet Program of Arizona Certified Life Underwriters)

The attorneys and staff of Goodson Manley Forakis PLC do not believe that the businesses and families of this country can afford the luxury of unnecessary income and estate taxes, probate court proceedings and lawsuits, and internecine fights among families and business associates.

Goodson Manley Forakis PLC is a Phoenix based law firm which specializes in business, estate tax, and financial planning law. They provide businesses and families with advice and legal structures – wills, trusts, partnerships, corporations, pension plans, contracts, and strategies for legal moves which reduce taxes, prevent or lessen the gravity of devastating events, and generally protect families and businesses utilizing the concepts of preventive law. They serve as general counsel for families and businesses. After they initially "overhaul" a new client, they schedule "10,000 mile maintenance checks" to prevent the families and businesses from "breaking down" legally and financially.

This firm has been operating for over 45 years. They have second generation attorneys and are rapidly working on the third generation. The firm is committed to "legal leadership and service through many generations." The firm represents some of the largest families and family businesses in Arizona. Many clients travel from other states for advice in structuring their affairs. Goodson Manley Forakis PLC uses their case history experience within their firm to give educational seminars throughout the United States. They have developed innovative techniques which speed up and make more comprehensive their legal work: "team consensus planning" (the process of brainstorming with the clients and the entire financial planning team), "legal architecture" (reflecting complex structures with easily understood schematic drawings), and "legal surgery" (maintaining action item lists so no "instruments" are left in the "chest cavity").

John Goodson, the founder of the firm, advocates that the country at the present time is in the Gettysburg of an economic war with Asia, Europe and the Middle East:

"Those of us who are advising American families and businesses have a critical role. We are our client's staff officers in this progressively harder fought economic war. We must promulgate the best advice in the areas of law, accounting, life insurance, property and casualty insurance, investment strategies, computerization, management techniques, personnel policies and psychological interaction between family members and business associates. Our American counterparts must have the finest counsel, products and assistance – intellectual vitamins for healthy financial growth. The members of the financial planning team must work together in creative harmony in the process of optimum client care. Businesses and families cannot prevail over their competitive Asian and European counterparts using 'conventional wisdom,' 'good ole boy techniques,' or enjoy the advantages of geographical location or being 'the first company on the block.' We as financial planning team members must be aggressive and innovative in order to prevent our clients from being bought out by Asia, Europe and the Middle East counterparts."

The firm of Goodson Manley Forakis PLC has a policy of generously sharing with other professionals in the financial planning field the knowledge they have acquired from their real-life client experimental laboratory.

The Concept of the "Azimuth" Focus and Direction of Goodson Manley Forakis PLC

When we advise businesses, families and foundations, we encourage them to organize their intangible assets – their culture – have an agreement within the organization as to where they are and where they are going and write this up so everyone working with them knows who they are. This is accomplished by determining their logo, motto, mission statement, character statement, unique factors (identity), their values (guiding principals), their vision of where they want to be in five years and a description of their key products or services. We are sharing our Azimuth with our clients and team members.

1. Logo
   Our Preventive Law logo and symbol display a family and business growing and expanding from generation to generation embodying the concepts of Preventive Law.
2. Motto
   Legal leadership and service through many generations; we transform families, businesses and foundations from seedlings into redwood trees.
3. Descriptive Words and Phrases That Characterize The Firm
   Eagles, Efficient, Ethical, Independent, Influential, Harmonious, Involved, Networking, Innovative, Knowledgeable, Listening, Diversified, Positive, Creative, Supportive, Flexible, Respected, Professional, Hic-Rhodes - Hic Saltes, Sensitive, Problem Solving, Teamwork, Name Recognition, Stable, Integrity, Profitable, Open to New Ideas, Superior, Consistency, Having Reserves, Ideas, Win-Win-Win, Current, Continuity, Punctual, Responsive, Effective, Outstanding, Compassionate, Warm, Trustworthy, Redwood Trees, Camelot, Follow-up, Checklist, Educated, Worthwhile and Goal Setting
4. General Mission Statement
   Our overall mission is to assist individuals, families and organizations in establishing, focusing upon and achieving their goals, dreams and aspirations. We provide them with relevant legal advice, planning, structures, documentation, transactions, problem solving and pollinating ideas so as to enable them to avoid legal problems before they occur or resolve them once they have occurred.
5. Specific Mission Statement
   1. 5.1: Provide our clients with comprehensive and innovative legal services to structure and initiate advantageous legal moves for their families, their businesses, and their charitable foundations.
   2. 5.2: Serve as "general counsel" for families, businesses, and charitable foundations by handling their legal mattes within our professional focus area and by assisting them to select the most competent and "just right" legal specialist in the legal areas or geographical locations we do not cover.
   3. 5.3: Educate our clients and the general public to become more self sufficient in legal matters.
   4. 5.4: Design and circulate legal products which assist the non-lawyer to obtain basic legal preventive law protection at a reasonable cost.
   5. 5.5: Assist clients in legal transactions creating a high percentage of favorable outcomes.
   6. 5.6: Establish a stable, continuing law firm which will serve families and businesses for generations.
   7. 5.7: Achieve a reasonable and honest profit from our efforts so as to adequately provide for families and our staff and be cost effective in our operation.
   8. 5.8: Support the State Bar of Arizona and the American Bar Association in improving the skills, ethics and image of our legal profession.
   9. 5.9: Participate in community activities and provide helpful advice to community and state leaders.
   10. 5.10: Share our skills and discoveries by conducting seminars and workshops for members of our profession and other professional fields who deal with families, businesses and charitable foundations.
6. Unique Factors
   Every business and profession should have and develop unique and identifiable traits so clients will have a choice. The unique factors of our firm are:
   1. 6.1: We promote "master planning" of client family, business, and charitable foundation situations, conceptualizing them through several generations and considering all persons concerned, all property, all objectives, and all risks. This will achieve completeness and harmony and avoid most "surprises."
   2. 6.2: We work closely with other financial planning professionals.
   3. 6.3: We emphasize client education and self-sufficiency.
   4. 6.4: We stress preventive law and the scheduling of regular, comprehensive legal checkups.
   5. 6.5: We have combined business, estate, tax, and financial planning, commercial and real estate law into a single-integrated focus.
   6. 6.6: We use the "graphic arts method" of brainstorming in client conferences to make the meetings more effective and to take less time.
   7. 6.7: We use "legal architecture" to diagram complex estate and business plans so they can be understood and remembered.
   8. 6.8: We have extensive experience in working with some of the larger families in the nation and with some of the most complex business operations.
   9. 6.9: We have a system for attorney education within the firm which allows us to attend the major seminars on new law changes and to have regular monthly education sessions for the staff and attorneys. We will soon offer quarterly seminars for clients and colleagues to keep everyone current in the fast developing legal field.
   10. 6.10: We have selected a network of highly competent specialty attorneys to handle the legal problems outside our focus areas.
   11. 6.11: Our staff has worked together for many years and has extensive experience in the intricacies of our complex legal specialty.
   12. 6.12: We give each client a letter at the beginning of the relationship detailing the fees and costs. We send monthly bills showing itemizations of work performed so the billing also serves as a monthly status report.
7. Our Values
   Within the firm, we strive to implement certain values in dealing with our clients, colleagues, friends and the team members of our firm. We welcome the association of those who share these values.
   1. 7.1: The power that makes this country strong and vibrant is the American family with its independence, self-sufficiency, and pride; its right to be different and unique; and its systems for passing wealth, high standards, ethics, family culture and traditions from one generation to another.
   2. 7.2: Family businesses, and businesses operated like an extended family, with genuine warmth and respect among executives and employees, will prevail and succeed.
   3. 7.3: Legal planning must be "holistic," must have a design where the people and the legal structures fit comfortably together. We coordinate the businesses and charitable structures with the family and its multi-generations so they will interact smoothly, efficiently and profitably like the organs of the human body.
   4. 7.4: Most taxes, lawsuits and unpleasant legal proceedings can be prevented by comprehensive and imaginative preventive law planning and counseling.
   5. 7.5: Disputes are normal in human endeavors. Our legal system for resolving them is archaic. We may learn how to settle disputes without lawsuits or ill will by understanding the techniques of:
      
      A. Positive, harmonious attitudes with ourselves
      B. Clearer communications
      C. Fair and frank notice
      D. Negotiation
      E. Mediation Arbitration
      
   6. 7.6: Any income, gift, or estate tax greater than an average of 20% is confiscatory and begins to destroy the "goose that lays the golden eggs." We want to achieve tax avoidance wherever possible so that overall tax payments to the government are less than 20% of income and less than 20% of the estate.
   7. 7.7: Clients will be treated with the same "heart," concern and understanding we would give to a family member or want to receive ourselves.
   8. 7.8: The relationship of an attorney with his clients can be both that of a professional and a friend.
   9. 7.9: An attorney has the duty to explain complex legal concepts in words a lay person can easily understand and to explain the legal consequences of every plan or documents – the "up" side and the "down" side.
   10. 7.10: The best way to legally structure a family or business is to involve, train, and coordinate with other professionals – bankers, accountants, insurance professionals, financial planners and investment advisors.
   11. 7.11: Clients must be referred to the best attorney specialist for a particular legal problem whether the attorney specialist is within or outside the firm.
   12. 7.12: We believe it is an attorney's duty to become involved in making a better community and a better legal profession.
   13. 7.13: We do not want to promise anything we cannot do, and we want to do what we promise.
   14. 7.14: We commit with all our resources to pay all bills that we owe within a reasonable time.
   15. 7.15: We want to give all our clients services which produce value to them greater than the fees paid to us.
   16. 7.16: The members of the employee team of our firm are precious and become part of an extended family. We want to create a financially efficient firm so they are handsomely compensated for their heartfelt efforts in taking exemplary care of our clients.
   17. 7.17: We want all persons involved with our firm to have a positive attitude, treating other members of the firm as if they were clients and communicating suggestions and coaching rather than complaints.
   18. 7.18: The families of the members of our firm are our reasons for going to work. The firm will give biggest priority to assist any firm member with family challenges.
8. Legal Services Provided To Individuals and Families
   1. 8.1: Serve as general counsel for families.
   2. 8.2: Design and counsel families on the optimum legal structures and moves to avoid unnecessary taxes, probates, legal proceedings, and other avoidable problems.
   3. 8.3: Involve, train, and coordinate a team of advisors, including an accountant, banker, financial planner, life insurance underwriter, and property and casualty insurance underwriter.
   4. 8.4: Prepare and process wills, living wills, durable general powers of attorney, and medical powers of attorney.
   5. 8.5: Prepare and process a revocable living trust (ABQD or AB or single grantor) and related tax and other documents with all special provisions.
   6. 8.6: Prepare and process irrevocable trusts for life insurance and for the splitting of income to minors.
   7. 8.7: Prepare and process charitable trusts of all types, including annuity trusts, unitrusts, charitable lead trusts, charitable funds within a community foundation, and charitable foundations of all types.
   8. 8.8: Prepare and process all documentation necessary for private annuities, installment sales, and other freezing techniques.
   9. 8.9: Handle legal proceedings for probates, guardianships, conservator-ships, adoptions and name changes.
   10. 8.10: Advise and counsel on how to document a family's financial status to qualify them for lines of credit or loans.
   11. 8.11: Advise on how to integrate multi-generational families so as to minimize taxes and problems.
   12. 8.12: Set up family partnerships.
   13. 8.13: Set up uniform gifts to minors structures.
   14. 8.14: Handle all transfers of assets from individuals to trusts or to businesses.
   15. 8.15: Prepare to avoid lawsuits within or outside the family; to mediate, arbitrate or otherwise assist in settling disputes without lawsuits.
   16. 8.16: Prepare and implement pre-marriage agreements, post-marriage agreements, or divorce agreements to clarify, simplify, and organize the spousal relationship.
   17. 8.17: Prepare mortgages, deeds of trust, contracts for sale, security agreements, promissory notes, and other commercial or collateral agreements.
   18. 8.18: Provide and review do-it-yourself preventive law documents.
   19. 8.19: Assist clients in locating attorneys for specialty areas
9. Legal Services Provided to Businesses
   1. 9.1: Serve as outside counsel for a business.
   2. 9.2: Counsel on forming a business, how to advantageously structure it, and how to raise capital.
   3. 9.3: Prepare all documents to form a corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship.
   4. 9.4: Prepare all minutes of annual, periodic, or special meetings of corporations, partnerships or sole proprietorships.
   5. 9.5: Prepare fringe benefit packages for businesses to maximize tax savings.
   6. 9.6: Prepare corporate documents to liquidate, merge, or sell a business.
   7. 9.7: Advise clients on common commercial problems.
   8. 9.8: Structure agreements with supervisory employees (key persons), non-supervisory employees, independent contractors, and customers/clients.
   9. 9.9: Set up procedures for settling disputes within and outside the business.
   10. 9.10: Set up procedures for settling disputes within and outside the business.
   11. 9.11: Perform "audits" of legal documents involved in a business, make recommendations, and prepare the documents to bring the structures and moves up to the state of the art.
   12. 9.12: Design and implement buy and sell agreements.
   13. 9.13: Set up foundations, non-profit corporations, and other charitable structures.
   14. 9.14: Handle the transfer of all assets and rights between persons, businesses, and other legal structures. Involve, train, and coordinate a team of business advisors, including bankers, management consultants, financial planners, accountants, life insurance underwriters, property and casualty underwriters, and marketing consultants.
   15. 9.15: Advise on techniques for collecting debts or protecting a business against the collection of unfair debts.
   16. 9.16: Advise on how to document the financial status of a business so it will qualify for lines of credit or loans.
   17. 9.17: Advise and arrange for retirement plans: pension, profit sharing, Keogh, IRA, 401(k), thrift plans and ESOP.
   18. 9.18: Prepare detailed business plans for tax reduction, legal problem avoidance and greater profitability.
   19. 9.19: Prepare documents to avoid lawsuits, to mediate, arbitrate or otherwise assist in settling business disputes without lawsuits.
   20. 9.20: Prepare legal documents for the sale of business enterprises, routine business agreements for sale or leasing of goods, and basic Uniform Commercial Code forms and transactions.
   21. 9.21: Prepare promissory notes and various collateral agreements, mortgages, deeds of trust, agreements for sale, subdivision trusts, and personal guarantees, and otherwise handle loan transactions.
   22. 9.22: Assist clients in qualifying for loans.
   23. 9.23: Handle legal work for real estate sales, financing and construction, including the preparation of escrow instructions, purchase agreements, option agreements, easements and the assessment of preliminary title reports.
   24. 9.24: Handle leasing transactions.
   25. 9.25: Advise on taxes and counsel for mergers and acquisitions of a complex type.
10. Referrals to Attorneys In Legal Areas Outside of Our Specialty
    1. 10.1: Anti-trust suits.
    2. 10.2: Bankruptcy proceedings.
    3. 10.3: Commercial litigation.
    4. 10.4: Criminal proceedings and incarcerations.
    5. 10.5: Divorces.
    6. 10.6: Drunk driving and other traffic violations.
    7. 10.7: Employees' suits or administrative proceedings.
    8. 10.8: FCC - radio, television.
    9. 10.9: Lobbying.
    10. 10.10: Malpractice suits.
    11. 10.11: Patent, copyright and trademark laws - researching and obtaining them.
    12. 10.12: Highly technical and complex tax issues.
    13. 10.13: Personal injury and wrongful death suits.
    14. 10.14: Construction law.
    15. 10.15: Securities work, including all legal work for the public sales of stocks, bonds, syndications, and franchises.
    16. 10.16: Securities litigation.
    17. 10.17: Tax litigation.
    18. 10.18: Utilities regulation.
    19. 10.19: Workmen's compensation claims.
    20. 10.20: Venture capital financing.
11. Other Services Available To Our Clients
    1. 11.1: We make available our two conference rooms for the use of clients, professional colleagues and charitable groups.
    2. 11.2: We provide preventive law educational seminars.
    3. 11.3: We conduct in-house seminars for client families and businesses to provide tailored instructions and advice on business, estate tax, financial planning, and commercial law. By doing so, we amortize the per hour professional fees among many family members or business executives.
    4. 11.4: We provide clients with blank legal forms and do-it-yourself legal kits in areas helpful to the client.
    5. 11.5: We provide written how-to-do-it reports on problem areas related to our legal specialties.
    6. 11.6: We consult with other attorneys and professionals on techniques for improving professional office procedures.

For additional information, please call (602) 252-5110.

For additional legal briefs, visit our website: www.goodsonmanleyforakis.com

DISCLAIMER