Step 1: The First Days
You do not need to make legal decisions right away. In the first days, focus on a few practical things:
- Order certified death certificates. The funeral home can usually order them. Banks, insurers, the MVD, and the court each need one, so order several.
- Secure the home, vehicles, and valuables. Lock up the property, keep vehicles insured, and collect the mail.
- Find the original will. Check the home, files, and any safe deposit box. Arizona law requires whoever holds the original will to deliver it promptly to the court or to the person who can open probate.
- Do not give away property or pay debts out of your own pocket. Until someone has legal authority over the estate, wait.
Step 2: Find Out What Passes Outside Probate
Much of what a person owns may go directly to someone without probate:
- Property owned in joint tenancy with right of survivorship, or as community property with right of survivorship
- Life insurance, retirement accounts, and bank accounts with a named beneficiary (often marked “payable on death” or “transfer on death”)
- Real estate with a recorded beneficiary deed
- Property held in a trust
Only property the person owned in their own name, without a beneficiary, normally goes through probate.
Step 3: Decide Whether Probate Is Needed
If the remaining property is modest, a small-estate affidavit may be enough. For personal property such as bank accounts and vehicles, the affidavit can be used 30 days after the death. For real estate, it can be used six months after the death if no personal representative has been appointed. Arizona law sets value limits for both, and we can tell you whether an estate qualifies.
If the estate is larger, or includes real estate that cannot pass by affidavit, probate is usually needed to give someone legal authority to collect, sell, or transfer the property.
Step 4: Open Probate and Appoint a Personal Representative
Most Mohave County estates use informal probate, which is filed with the probate registrar at Mohave County Superior Court without a hearing. An application cannot be made until 120 hours after the death.
The court appoints a personal representative, the Arizona term for an executor. The person named in the will has first priority. Without a will, the surviving spouse and then other heirs have priority. Once appointed, the personal representative receives letters from the court that let them act for the estate with banks, title companies, and the MVD.
Step 5: The Personal Representative’s Duties
- Notify heirs and beneficiaries of the appointment within 30 days.
- Notify creditors. A notice is published in a local newspaper once a week for three weeks, and known creditors are notified directly. Most claims are barred four months after the first publication.
- Prepare an inventory of the estate’s property and its value within 90 days and provide it to the people entitled to it.
- Keep estate money separate in an estate bank account, and keep records of every payment.
- Pay valid debts, expenses, and taxes from estate funds, including the person’s final income tax return.
A personal representative who skips these steps can be held personally responsible for mistakes. This is the main reason families hire a lawyer for probate.
Step 6: Debts and Taxes
Debts are paid from the estate, not by the family. Children and other heirs are generally not personally responsible for a parent’s debts, although a surviving spouse may be responsible for some community debts. If there is not enough money to pay everything, Arizona law sets the order in which debts are paid.
Arizona has no state estate or inheritance tax. The federal estate tax applies only to very large estates.
Step 7: Distribute the Property and Close the Estate
After the creditor period ends and debts are paid, the personal representative distributes the remaining property under the will. Without a will, Arizona’s inheritance laws decide who receives it. A surviving spouse usually inherits everything if all of the person’s children are also the spouse’s children; otherwise, children from other relationships also receive a share.
An informal estate is usually closed with a sworn closing statement, which generally cannot be filed until six months after the personal representative was appointed. Simple estates often close within about a year.
If the Family Lives Out of State
Many Bullhead City, Fort Mohave, Kingman, and Lake Havasu City families have relatives in other states, and many people who own homes here live elsewhere part of the year. If someone who lived in another state owned a home or land in Arizona, an Arizona probate (called ancillary probate) may be needed to transfer it. A personal representative who lives out of state can usually handle much of the process remotely.
How We Can Help
Mr. Irgens has handled probate for more than 20 years. We represent personal representatives and heirs in informal probate and small-estate affidavits, including estates without a will and estates with family out of state.
- Free first consultation for probate matters
- Flat-fee pricing for probate
- Home and hospital visits for clients who cannot come to the office
Read more about our probate services, or call (928) 763-3533.