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Pfarr & Rethore Phoenix builds ongoing “Life Plans” rather than one-time estate documents, a boutique practice with roots in federal court admission dating to 1990.
A NOTE TO READERS. This profile was researched and written independently by Awesome Attorneys’ editorial team. Pfarr & Rethore, P.C. did not pay for, request, or review this article prior to publication, and placement on Awesome Attorneys’ editorial pages cannot be purchased. Nothing in this article is legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney–client relationship. Past results do not guarantee, warrant, or predict the outcome of any future case.
At a Glance
| Firm | Pfarr & Rethore, P.C. |
| Partner | Bernard M. Rethore |
| Founder | John S. Pfarr (retired) |
| Associate | Alexander R. Hartman |
| Admitted | Rethore: U.S. District Court, District of Arizona, 1990; U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 1990 |
| Focus | Estate planning, probate, trust administration, business succession and continuation planning, charitable estate planning |
| Office | 5070 N. 40th St., Ste. 230, Phoenix, AZ 85018 |
| Contact | (602) 424-5547 · p-rlaw.com |
Sources: p-rlaw.com, LawInfo, Super Lawyers. Compiled August 2026.
Origin
Pfarr & Rethore Phoenix: A Boutique Built Around Ongoing Relationships
Bernard “Bernie” Rethore was admitted to the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in 1990. He is a Partner in the firm’s Phoenix office, focusing on wealth transfer and preservation, sophisticated estate and tax planning, charitable estate planning, private foundations, family limited partnerships, and business transition planning. Founder John S. Pfarr is now listed as retired on the firm’s own site; associate Alexander R. Hartman rounds out the current attorney team.
Practice
“Life Plans” Rather Than One-Time Documents
The firm frames its estate planning work as building an ongoing “Life Plan” rather than a single transactional document set, explicitly structuring the relationship to be revisited as a client’s life and the law change, rather than treated as complete after signing. Services span foundational and advanced estate planning (trusts, wills, tax planning, asset protection, gifting), probate and trust administration, and succession planning for small businesses. Rethore separately advises charitable organizations and high-net-worth donors on income, estate, retirement, and gift tax matters, and teaches courses on these topics to nonprofit principals and colleagues in the legal and financial fields.
Track Record
Awesome Attorneys did not identify an independent, itemized case-results table for the firm, which is typical for a private estate-planning practice.
Past-Results Disclaimer: Every matter is different, and no past result guarantees a similar outcome in any future matter.
Client Voice
Client testimonials on the firm’s own site describe the planning process as more interesting, creative, and collaborative than clients expected, and praise the firm’s ability to make complex concepts understandable; Awesome Attorneys notes these are firm-published testimonials rather than independently hosted, third-party-verified reviews.
Community
Rethore’s regular teaching of estate, retirement, and gift tax courses to nonprofit principals and fellow professionals reflects a sustained educational contribution to the charitable-giving and estate-planning community beyond his own client work.
Recognition
Awesome Attorneys did not identify a Best Lawyers or Super Lawyers selection, an AV rating, or a State Bar of Arizona board certification for Rethore or Hartman in the sources reviewed for this profile.
The Arizona Legal Backdrop
What follows is general legal information, not legal advice.
Arizona’s probate process runs through Title 14 of the Arizona Revised Statutes, and the state’s trust code is codified at A.R.S. § 14-10101 et seq. Family limited partnerships and business succession structures, a named focus area, typically involve Arizona’s Revised Uniform Limited Partnership Act and Limited Liability Company Act, A.R.S. § 29-3101 et seq. Charitable planning vehicles such as charitable remainder and lead trusts are governed by both federal tax law and Arizona’s trust code.
The Awesome Attorneys Assessment
Pfarr & Rethore Phoenix’s clearest differentiator is a genuinely ongoing-relationship model — a “Life Plan” framework built around revisiting a client’s plan over time — paired with Rethore’s specific depth in charitable and business-succession planning.
The honest trade-off: this is a small boutique practice without independent peer-review credentials (Best Lawyers, Super Lawyers, AV rating, or board certification) identified in the sources reviewed, and founder John Pfarr is now retired, so prospective clients should confirm which current attorney — Rethore or Hartman — would handle their matter.
Methodology & Sourcing
This profile was researched in August 2026 from p-rlaw.com, LawInfo, and Super Lawyers. Awesome Attorneys did not identify a competing “Pfarr & Rethore” or “Bernard Rethore” practicing estate law elsewhere that could create identity confusion. Pfarr & Rethore, P.C. did not commission, review, or pay for this profile.
Publisher Disclosure & Independence Notice
This profile is an independent editorial article published by Awesome Attorneys. Awesome Attorneys does not endorse, recommend, or warrant any lawyer or law firm profiled on this site, and inclusion in this series is not paid placement.