Arizona Probate Laws: Tracks, Representative Duties, and Timelines

Arizona probate laws govern how a deceased person’s estate is settled through the Superior Court: validating any will, paying debts, and transferring what remains to heirs or beneficiaries. The court’s level of involvement depends on three things: whether there is a valid will, how much the estate is worth, and whether anyone disputes the plan. Many Arizona estates never see a courtroom at all. Others move through a light-touch administrative process, and a smaller number require full court supervision.

When Probate Is Required in Arizona

Probate reaches only the assets held solely in the deceased person’s name. Property owned in joint tenancy with right of survivorship passes automatically to the surviving co-owner. Accounts with a payable-on-death or transfer-on-death designation go directly to the named beneficiary. Life insurance proceeds and retirement accounts with named beneficiaries skip probate as well. If every asset the person owned has a built-in transfer mechanism, there may be nothing left for the probate court to handle.

For smaller estates, Arizona provides a shortcut under A.R.S. § 14-3971. An estate avoids full probate if the total value of all personal property, after subtracting debts and liens, does not exceed $200,000, and the total value of all Arizona real property, after subtracting liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $300,000.¹ Estates with solely owned assets above these thresholds have to go through formal court administration to transfer titles legally.

Using a Small Estate Affidavit

When an estate falls within those limits, a successor can collect property without opening a probate case. The timing and procedure depend on the type of asset.

For personal property, the successor can present an affidavit to banks, employers, or anyone else holding the decedent’s assets starting 30 days after the date of death. The affidavit must state that no personal representative has been appointed and that the estate’s personal property is worth $200,000 or less after debts.¹

For real property, the wait is longer. The successor must wait at least six months after death before filing a real property affidavit with the Superior Court. The net assessed value of all Arizona real estate in the estate must be $300,000 or less. After the court processes the affidavit, the successor records a certified copy with the county recorder where the property sits.¹ The value here is the full cash value shown on the county assessment rolls for the year of death, not a market estimate from a listing site. Any outstanding mortgage balance is subtracted from that figure.

Who Inherits When There Is No Will

If someone dies without a valid will, Arizona’s intestacy statutes decide who gets what. Because Arizona is a community property state, the rules handle community property and separate property differently, and this is where families get the biggest surprise.

Under A.R.S. § 14-2102, the surviving spouse’s share depends on whether the deceased had children, and whether those children are also the surviving spouse’s children. If there are no surviving children, or if all the decedent’s children are also the surviving spouse’s children, the surviving spouse inherits the entire intestate estate, including the decedent’s half of community property and all separate property.²

If one or more of the decedent’s children are not also the surviving spouse’s children, the surviving spouse receives half of the decedent’s separate property and nothing from the decedent’s half of community property. The decedent’s children inherit the rest.² Blended families get caught by this. A surviving spouse in a second marriage, where the deceased has children from a prior relationship, may inherit far less than expected. The surviving spouse already owns their own half of community property outright, but gets no part of the decedent’s half if stepchildren are in the picture.

When there is no surviving spouse, the estate passes to the decedent’s descendants. If no descendants survive, it moves to the decedent’s parents, then siblings, then more distant relatives in a defined statutory order. Adopted children are treated the same as biological children for inheritance purposes.

The Three Tracks of Probate Administration

Arizona runs probate on three tracks. The right one depends on how much conflict or complexity the estate carries.

Informal Probate

Informal administration is the most common and works when nobody disputes the will or who should serve as personal representative. There are no hearings. The probate registrar reviews the application and, if everything is in order, issues letters of appointment. The personal representative then handles the estate largely on their own with limited court oversight.³ Most informal cases finish within six to eight months.

Formal Probate

Formal proceedings are required when someone challenges the will’s validity, disputes who should serve as personal representative, or when the original will cannot be found. A formal testacy proceeding is essentially litigation: the court holds hearings, takes evidence, and issues orders deciding the disputed questions.⁴ Any interested person can petition to start formal proceedings even if an informal probate is already underway.

Supervised Administration

Supervised administration is the strictest option. The court keeps continuing authority over the entire case and must approve every significant step, including the final distribution.⁵ Courts order it when there are serious concerns about mismanagement, conflicts of interest, or unusual complexity. These cases often take a year or more.

Opening a Probate Case

Before filing anything, gather the original will if one exists, a certified death certificate, and a thorough inventory of the decedent’s assets. The inventory should cover bank and investment statements, real estate deeds, vehicle titles, and any valuable personal property. You also need the full names and mailing addresses of all heirs and beneficiaries, because the court requires notice to each of them.

Filing happens at the Clerk of the Superior Court in the county where the decedent lived. You submit either an Application for Informal Probate or a Petition for Formal Probate. The statewide base filing fee for a probate application or petition is $191.⁶ Individual counties add their own surcharges, so the total paid at the clerk’s window is higher and varies by county.

Bond Requirements

Arizona generally requires the personal representative to post a fiduciary bond to protect beneficiaries. The bond can be waived if the will expressly waives it, if all heirs or devisees file a written waiver with the court, or if the personal representative is a qualified financial institution such as a bank or trust company.⁷ Even when the bond is waived, any interested person can petition the court to require one if they can show their interest in the estate is at risk. Most attorney-drafted wills include a bond waiver because the premium comes out of the estate.

What the Personal Representative Has to Do

The personal representative is a fiduciary and owes duties of loyalty and care to everyone with an interest in the estate. In practice, that means protecting estate assets, keeping detailed records, paying legitimate debts, filing tax returns, and distributing property according to the will or intestacy law. The representative cannot mix estate funds with personal money, use estate property for their own benefit, or hide information from beneficiaries.

A representative who breaches these duties can be sued, removed, and held personally liable for losses the estate suffers. Courts call this a surcharge, meaning the representative pays out of pocket to make the estate whole.

Arizona law entitles the personal representative to reasonable compensation.⁸ If the will sets a specific fee, the representative can accept it or renounce it before qualifying and take reasonable compensation instead. What counts as reasonable depends on the size and complexity of the estate, the time required, and the representative’s skill level. A representative can also waive compensation entirely by filing a written renunciation with the court.

Creditor Claims and Family Allowances

One of the personal representative’s first jobs after appointment is notifying creditors. A.R.S. § 14-3801 requires two forms of notice: a published notice in a local newspaper once a week for three consecutive weeks, and direct written notice mailed to every creditor the representative knows about or can reasonably identify.⁹

Creditors then have four months from the first publication date to submit claims. For creditors who receive direct notice by mail, the deadline is either four months from publication or 60 days from mailing, whichever is later.⁹ A creditor who misses the deadline is permanently barred. The representative reviews each claim, pays valid debts from estate funds, and can reject claims they believe are invalid. This four-month window is also why no probate realistically closes in less than about five or six months.

Protected Amounts for Spouse and Dependents

Arizona carves out certain amounts for the surviving spouse and dependent children that take priority over almost all other claims, including most creditors.

Homestead allowance of $18,000 goes to the surviving spouse. If there is no surviving spouse, the decedent’s minor and dependent children split it.¹⁰
Exempt property of up to $7,000 in household furniture, appliances, vehicles, and personal effects, over and above any amounts owed on them, goes to the surviving spouse or, if none, to the minor and dependent children. If the estate doesn’t contain enough qualifying property, other assets fill the gap to reach the $7,000 value.
Family allowance provides a reasonable cash allowance for the surviving spouse, minor children, and dependent children for living expenses during administration. The court considers the family’s previous standard of living and other available resources. If the estate can’t cover all creditor claims, the family allowance can’t continue longer than one year.

These allowances are deducted from the estate before creditors and beneficiaries get anything. They also reduce whatever the spouse or children would otherwise receive under the will or intestacy law, so they aren’t bonus money on top of an inheritance.

Taxes on Arizona Estates

Arizona does not impose a state estate tax or an inheritance tax, so the only estate-level taxes to worry about are federal. The federal estate tax applies only to estates exceeding $15,000,000 in 2026, which eliminates it as a concern for most families.¹¹

Income tax is the more common issue. If the estate earns more than $600 in gross income during administration from interest, rental income, dividends, or asset sales, the personal representative must file IRS Form 1041.¹² The representative is also responsible for filing the decedent’s final individual income tax return for the year of death.

Grounds for Contesting a Will

Any interested person can challenge a will through formal testacy proceedings. The recognized grounds are:

Lack of capacity: the signer didn’t understand what they owned, who their family members were, or what the will would do.
Undue influence: someone in a position of trust pressured or manipulated the signer into a will that didn’t reflect their actual wishes.
Fraud or forgery: the will was based on false information, or the signature isn’t genuine.
Improper execution: the will doesn’t meet Arizona’s formal requirements, such as the required witnesses, unless it’s a valid holographic will entirely in the decedent’s handwriting.

A will contest converts what might have been an informal probate into a formal proceeding with hearings and evidence.⁴ These cases are expensive and hard on everyone involved. The person contesting the will bears the burden of proof, and general dissatisfaction with the distribution isn’t enough. You need concrete evidence tied to one of the recognized grounds.

How Long the Process Takes

The four-month creditor claim period sets the floor. No estate can close before it expires. For informal probate with straightforward assets and cooperative heirs, expect six to eight months from filing to final distribution. Formal and supervised administrations commonly run a year or longer, especially when disputes have to be litigated or unusual assets like business interests or out-of-state property need appraisal and careful handling.

The personal representative closes the estate by filing either a Closing Statement for informal proceedings or a Petition for Settlement for formal or supervised proceedings. That filing confirms all debts and taxes have been paid and all assets distributed, and it ends the representative’s authority over the estate.

1
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 14-3971 – Collection of Personal Property by Affidavit; Ownership of Vehicles; Affidavit of Succession to Real Property
2
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 14-2102 – Intestate Share of Surviving Spouse
3
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 14-3301 – Informal Probate or Appointment Proceedings; Application; Contents
4
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 14-3401 – Formal Testacy Proceedings; Nature; When Commenced
5
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 14-3501 – Supervised Administration; Nature of Proceeding
6
Arizona Judicial Branch. Superior Court Filing Fees – Section: Probate, Conservatorship, Guardianship, and Fiduciary Cases
7
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 14-3603 – Bond Required; Exceptions
8
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 14-3719 – Compensation of Personal Representative
9
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 14-3801 – Notice to Creditors
10
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 14-2402 – Homestead Allowance
11
Internal Revenue Service. Estate Tax
12
Internal Revenue Service. File an Estate Tax Income Tax Return