Probate in Arizona: small estates, no will, and skipping court

Updated 2026-10-16 · Expert review in progress

The short answer

In Arizona, family can skip probate with a small estate affidavit if personal property is $200,000 or less, 30 days after death. Real estate of $300,000 or less can pass by affidavit after six months. Larger estates go through informal or formal probate. Arizona has no estate or inheritance tax.

When someone dies in Arizona, the family's first question is usually practical. Do we have to go to court, and how long will it take?

Often the answer is no, or not for long. Arizona has generous small estate rules, a simple informal probate, and a deed that passes a house without court at all. This page covers each one, plus who inherits if there is no will. It is part of our state-by-state estate planning guides. If the word is new, start with what probate is.

Can my family use a small estate affidavit in Arizona?

Yes, if the estate fits the limits. Arizona has two affidavits, one for personal property and one for real estate (A.R.S. 14-3971).

Item	Personal property affidavit	Affidavit of succession to real property
What it covers	Bank accounts, vehicles, stocks and other personal property	Real estate in Arizona
Value limit	$200,000 or less, wherever located, less liens, at date-of-death value	$300,000 or less, less liens, using the assessor's full cash value for the year of death
Earliest you can use it	30 days after death	6 months after death
Bills that must be paid first	Funeral and last-illness expenses	Funeral, last-illness and all unsecured debts
Other conditions	No personal representative appointed or pending	Filed with the court; the registrar issues a certified copy to record with the county recorder

For the personal property affidavit, banks, transfer agents and the motor vehicle division must honor it. Separately, an employer must pay up to $5,000 of unpaid wages to a surviving spouse on affidavit, at any time.

Older articles online show lower limits. The current amounts are $200,000 and $300,000.

Who inherits if there's no will?

Arizona's intestacy law decides, and it starts with the fact that Arizona is a community property state (A.R.S. 14-2102).

If you are married, the surviving spouse takes everything (your separate property and your half of the community property) when either of these is true:

You have no children or other descendants, or
All your descendants are also your spouse's descendants.

Blended families are different, and this surprises people. If you have children from an earlier relationship, your spouse takes one-half of your separate property and none of your half of the community property. The rest goes to your descendants.

Anything that doesn't pass to a spouse goes in this order (A.R.S. 14-2103):

Your descendants, by representation.
Your parents equally, or the surviving parent.
Your parents' descendants: brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews.
Half to your father's side and half to your mother's side: grandparents or their descendants.

Half-siblings inherit the same as full siblings (A.R.S. 14-2107). Notice that friends never appear on this list. If you want a friend, a charity or a favorite neighbor to receive anything, it has to be in a will or trust. Our post on dying without a will covers what happens when the list runs short.

Who serves as personal representative?

Arizona calls the executor a "personal representative." If more than one person wants the job, the law sets the order (A.R.S. 14-3203):

The person named in the will.
A surviving spouse who inherits under the will.
Other people who inherit under the will.
The surviving spouse.
Other heirs.
The Arizona department of veterans' services, if the person who died was a veteran or a veteran's spouse or child.
Any creditor, 45 days after death.
The public fiduciary.

People in groups 2 through 5 may nominate someone else. A personal representative is a fiduciary: legally required to act in the estate's interest and follow what the will says.

Arizona doesn't require the personal representative to live in the state. The statute lists only three disqualifications: being under the age of majority, being found unsuitable by the court in formal proceedings, or being a foreign corporation. A son in Ohio or a niece in Oregon can serve.

Informal or formal probate: which one?

Arizona follows the Uniform Probate Code model, with two paths (A.R.S. 14-3301).

Informal probate is an application to the court's registrar, with no hearing. It is generally available within two years of death. A will with the required signatures and an attestation clause is probated without further proof (A.R.S. 14-3303).

Formal probate goes before a judge. It is needed to resolve objections, or when someone with equal or higher priority to serve has not stepped aside or joined in the nomination.

Most families who don't qualify for an affidavit start with informal probate. Our post on the probate process walks through the steps, and how long probate takes covers timing.

How long do creditors have?

The personal representative publishes a notice once a week for three weeks. Creditors then have four months after the first publication to come forward (A.R.S. 14-3801).

Known creditors get a mailed notice. They have the later of four months after publication or 60 days after the mailing. Debts from before death are barred in any case two years after death, if they were never presented (A.R.S. 14-3803).

How much is the personal representative paid?

Arizona says "reasonable compensation" (A.R.S. 14-3719). There is no percentage schedule in the statute.

If the will sets a fee, the personal representative may turn it down before taking the job and take reasonable compensation instead. Every fiduciary must also manage costs prudently (A.R.S. 14-1104). Our post on what an executor gets paid compares approaches.

Can my house skip probate?

Yes, with a beneficiary deed. Arizona allows a deed that passes your home to the people you choose at your death (A.R.S. 33-405).

What to know:

You sign it, it is acknowledged, and it must be recorded with the county recorder before your death.
The beneficiary doesn't have to sign it or even be told.
You can revoke it by recording a revocation. A will can't revoke it.
It can name the trustee of your revocable trust as the beneficiary. Our post on what a trustee does explains that role.
Unless the deed says otherwise, if no named beneficiary outlives you, the deed is void. Name a backup.

The statute includes a sample form. A living trust is the other common way to keep a home out of court. Our post on how to avoid probate compares the options.

Will my heirs owe Arizona estate or inheritance tax?

No. Arizona has no estate tax for deaths after 2004, and it has no inheritance or gift tax (Arizona Department of Revenue, Publication 900).

Here is a typical case, a composite. Helen, 74, lived in Scottsdale and never married. Her home had a recorded beneficiary deed naming her niece. Her bank accounts came to well under $200,000. Thirty days after Helen died, her niece used the affidavit for the accounts. The house passed to her under the beneficiary deed. There was no court case.

Some people would rather not leave this to a niece in another state. Trella Trust Company, through a Kinly membership, can be named as executor or trustee, first or as backup to someone you choose. If it steps in and settles the estate, that work is charged by the hour, and you see the rates before anything starts.

Before death, the papers that matter most are your powers of attorney. See our Arizona financial power of attorney guide and Arizona medical power of attorney guide.

Common questions

What is the small estate limit in Arizona?

For personal property, $200,000 or less, less liens, and the family must wait 30 days after death. For Arizona real estate, $300,000 or less, less liens, and the wait is six months.

Does a surviving spouse inherit everything in Arizona?

Only if there is no will and either there are no descendants or all the descendants are also the spouse's. If the person who died had children from an earlier relationship, the spouse gets half the separate property and none of the deceased spouse's half of the community property.

Can someone who lives in another state be a personal representative in Arizona?

Yes. Arizona's statute lists no residency requirement. A personal representative appointed in the person's home state also has priority in Arizona unless the will says otherwise.

Does Arizona have an inheritance tax?

No. Arizona has no inheritance tax, no gift tax, and no estate tax for deaths after 2004.

How long do creditors have to come forward in Arizona probate?

Four months after the first published notice. Known creditors who get a mailed notice have the later of four months after publication or 60 days after mailing.

Sources

This page is general information, not legal or financial advice. Laws vary by state.

Keep reading

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