Our Leadership
Founders & Executives
The family and partners guiding RJP Estate Planning.
Debbie Placet
My phone rang in the middle of the night, just days after New Year’s. When I answered, I heard the words no one is prepared for:
“Your husband is gone.”
My heart sank. Life for me and my two teenage daughters changed forever. But what followed was even worse than I ever could have imagined.
Suddenly, I was faced with a barrage of claims, accusations, and demands:
“That’s mine, not yours.”
“Your husband promised me this.”
“She won’t know how to handle this… I’ll just take it.”
Despite the overwhelming chaos, I survived. Because I had two powerful things on my side: our caring, compassionate team at RJP Estate Planning, and my Living Trust as part of our estate plan.
My signed and notarized Living Trust gave me proof of ownership. No one could take what was rightfully mine. That Living Trust saved me from uncertainty and turmoil, and it will do the same for my daughters when I’m gone.
Since 1995, over 40,000 Arizona families have trusted RJP Estate Planning to protect their assets and their families. Let us help protect you and your family with the same compassion and dedication that carried me through the hardest time of my life.
Caroline Liechty
With over 20 years in the financial industry and 15+ years at RJP, Caroline helps the firm run with intention, integrity, and heart. She believes leadership means showing up, solving problems, and stepping into whatever role the team and families need.
Raised in a family of entrepreneurs, she was managing one of her family's businesses by age 14. That hands-on start shaped her work ethic and her office reputation as the "question box" who keeps asking until there's clarity and a solution.
Married with two boys and three dogs, Caroline moved her parents one block away to help care for them. That personal experience gives her deep compassion for seniors and families navigating life's toughest transitions.
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Estate Planning Essentials
With over 25 years in financial services and deep Arizona roots, Chris takes a steady, thoughtful approach to wealth and estate planning. As a Chartered Financial Consultant® (ChFC®) and Retirement Management Advisor® (RMA®), he helps individuals and families build, protect, and transfer wealth through personalized strategies.
Chris’s passion is shaped by his upbringing in a service-driven home, learning early how financial decisions impact families. A devoted husband and father of three, he leads with the values he lives by: family, integrity, and thoughtful preparation for life’s milestones.
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Tips from Our CEO
Jared Hardison
With more than a decade of experience serving RJP Estate Planning’s clients, Jared is one of the newest members of the RJP leadership team. After seeing the clarity his grandfather’s estate plan and living will provided during a difficult medical situation, he developed a deep respect for how the right plan can guide families when it matters most.
At RJP, Jared focuses on strengthening the systems and processes that support the firm and the families it serves. He leads behind-the-scenes improvements across operations, technology, scheduling, and internal workflows to help create a smoother client experience.
Born in Texas and raised in Mesa, Arizona, Jared is known around the office as the person people turn to when something needs to be solved, improved, or rebuilt.
Asset Protection Advisors
Our Advisors
Senior planning consultants who design your strategy.
Ron Tallou
Born and raised in Michigan, Ron developed a strong work ethic and deep appreciation for community values early in life. These formative experiences ignited a lifelong passion for wealth management, ultimately shaping his career in finance.
Guided by some of the nation’s top advisors, Ron has earned prestigious recognition from Forbes, U.S. News, Barron’s, CNBC, and CBS News. He is a proud member of the Independence Excellence Group, reflecting his commitment to excellence and leadership in the industry.
As a financial services professional since 1978, Thomas has developed risk-managed retirement income and estate-transfer strategies that help clients protect lifetime cash flow, provide for surviving spouses or special-needs family members, and pass wealth efficiently across generations.
His four decades in life insurance and planning inform a disciplined, education-driven approach to protecting family assets.
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Planning & Protection
Stephen Levin
Stephen brings a background in risk management to his role at RJP, where he helps Tucson-area families protect what they've worked so hard to build. Before transitioning into estate and insurance planning, he spent years in risk-management leadership, learning how to spot vulnerabilities and build strategies that hold up when it matters most.
That experience shaped the way he works with clients today. Stephen takes a thorough, organized approach to every plan, whether it involves estate-transfer design, insurance-based income strategies, or long-term asset protection. He believes every family deserves a clear, personalized roadmap, not a one-size-fits-all solution, and he takes the time to make sure his clients understand every step of the process.
For more than 25 years, Lenny has helped Arizona families sit down at the kitchen table and finally make sense of retirement, trusts, and what happens to everything they've worked for. A Certified Legal Document Preparer and licensed life and health insurance agent, he walks clients through revocable living trusts, special needs planning, powers of attorney, and insurance-based asset protection in plain English. Clients consistently describe him as patient, warm, and genuinely interested in their story, the kind of advisor who'll pause the paperwork to hear about the grandkids before getting back to the signatures.
Drawing on more than 30 years in insurance and retirement-income planning, Ralph structures tax-efficient wealth-transfer and protection solutions for RJP clients. His analytical approach and coaching style help households understand complex options and make informed decisions.
Estate Protection Consultants
Our Consultants
Specialists who help your plan stay current as life changes.
Brett served in the U.S. Navy before building his career in estate planning. That military background shows up in how he works: organized, direct, and focused on getting things done right.
He sits down with families across the Valley to walk through their options for wills, trusts, and asset protection, breaking it all down in plain language so nothing feels overwhelming.
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Estate Planning Tips
Brian partners with Scottsdale-area families to design and implement customized living-trust and retirement-income strategies. He coordinates closely with attorneys and financial advisers to make sure each plan is executed accurately and on schedule.
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Protecting Your Family
Gabe Cabrera
Gabe is an Arizona native who has spent over 15 years at RJP helping families across the state protect themselves from probate. His deep roots in the community and years of hands-on experience give him a genuine understanding of the challenges Arizona families face when it comes to planning for the future.
Outside of work, Gabe is a devoted family man. He and his wife of 10 years have two children, a son and a daughter, and they love spending time together outdoors, whether it's bowling, playing at the park, or watching sports. Being so close to his own family is what makes his work so rewarding. Helping other Arizona families feel protected and prepared is more than a career for Gabe. It's personal.
Partner Attorneys
Attorneys We Work With
Independent attorneys who draft and review your documents.
Clint has been offering peace of mind to Arizona families since 1985. He graduated from ASU's Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law and has practiced across the East Valley, including Mesa, Apache Junction, Queen Creek, Gilbert, and now Scottsdale.
After spending decades in courtrooms helping people with financial difficulties, Clint began his transition into estate planning in 2010. Today, he helps clients stay out of legal trouble and gives their loved ones a precious gift: an estate plan that keeps their affairs out of court.
Joseph M. Udall
Joseph Udall has spent more than 30 years helping Arizona families and business owners with estate planning and business law. He graduated first in his class from ASU's law school, summa cum laude, then clerked for a federal judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
His firm, established in 1997, takes a no-nonsense approach to wills, trusts, probate, and business matters. He is also the author of Bankruptcy Litigation and Practice: A Practitioner's Guide, published by Wiley Law Publications.
Office Staff
Our Support Team
The people behind the scenes who keep everything running.
Stacey Endres is the heart behind every RJP seminar and educational event. With five years in the estate planning industry, she specializes in helping families understand living trusts and guiding them through the planning process. She handles everything from finding the perfect venue to making sure every guest feels welcome when they walk through the door.
Her passion for estate planning is deeply personal. As a mother of two grown boys, Stacey spent two decades raising her family before channeling that same nurturing energy into her work at RJP. She understands the peace of mind that comes from knowing your family is protected, and she believes a living trust is not just a document but a final act of care for the people you love most.
Whether you have questions about an upcoming seminar, need to RSVP, or just want to know what to expect, Stacey is always happy to help. When she is not helping clients, she loves life as an empty-nester, playing golf, shopping, and spending time with her two dogs in Scottsdale.
Susan Palmer
Ruby Vasquez
Jina Ridley
Christopher Cummings
Lauren Hazen
Lauren has been part of RJP Estate Planning for over two years. She started at the front desk as an Administrator and grew into her current role as a Case Manager in May 2025. She enjoys the day-to-day work of case management and is always excited to learn more about estate planning.
She is known for being detail-oriented, especially when it comes to notarizing documents, preparing plans for consultants, and taking on new skills and challenges. Around the office, Lauren is also the Director of Fun, planning team parties, birthdays, and other events that bring everyone together.
Outside of work, Lauren is the proud owner of the office dog, Onyx. She enjoys going to the dog park, teaching Onyx new tricks, and making candles.
Onyx
Onyx is 9 years old and an important member of our team here on the "paw-role." She was adopted by Lauren, one of our case managers, in August 2020 from a Phoenix shelter. Since then, she has completed four levels of training, including obedience, desensitization, off-leash work, and scent detection. Onyx helps create a welcoming and calming environment for our clients, offering quiet companionship during conversations that can sometimes feel overwhelming. Outside of the office, she enjoys chasing her ball, swimming, and visiting the dog park. Her favorite scratch spot is right on her back, and she's always happy to stop by for a quick hello.
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Office Dog Adventures
Grant Epley
Grant Epley got his start in digital marketing six years ago working in Google's advertising division. Today, as RJP's Director of Marketing, he handles everything digital, from the website and software to the tools clients use every day. He also built and maintains the site you're on right now.
Grant started at RJP just a few months before losing his father. The RJP team became family during the hardest chapter of his life, and that experience drives his passion for the work. Every line of code he writes is about making things easier for clients and newcomers, whether that means a simpler website, a faster way to reach the team, or a better experience from the very first click.
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Estate Planning Explained
Trent Gaiser
Trent joined RJP Estate Planning because he believes families deserve clarity and peace of mind long before a crisis ever happens. After watching his grandmother go through probate following the loss of his great uncle, he saw firsthand how stressful and complicated things can become without a proper plan in place. That experience shaped his desire to help seniors and their families get their affairs organized early, so they can avoid unnecessary court involvement and confusion.
At RJP, Trent supports both the educational and creative sides of the firm. He plays an active role in seminars, helping break down estate planning concepts in a clear, practical way while guiding families toward the right next steps. Behind the scenes, he leads the company's graphic design, social media, and in-office marketing efforts to ensure clients receive consistent, thoughtful communication at every stage of the process. His goal is to help families feel informed, confident, and fully protected.
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