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Arizona Probate Guide

County-specific probate filing-office contacts, filing fees, required forms, and step-by-step guidance for families settling an estate in Arizona.

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Do I Need Probate?Free assessment toolEstate ChecklistStep-by-step tasksFee CalculatorEstimate your costsGlossaryLegal terms explainedFirst StepsWhat to do firstEstate PlanningPlan your own will & POA

Types of Probate in Arizona

Arizona probate is heard by the Superior Court, the general-jurisdiction court, which sits in each of the 15 counties. Arizona adopted the Uniform Probate Code as Title 14. Most families never reach a full administration, because A.R.S. 14-3971 carries THREE affidavit routes rather than one: personal property up to $200,000, valued at the date of death, available 30 days after the death; real property up to $300,000, valued at the date of the affidavit, available SIX MONTHS after the death; and a separate route for transferring ownership of vehicles. Those thresholds were raised by HB 2116 in 2025, so a death before March 31, 2025 is governed by lower figures. Arizona is a COMMUNITY PROPERTY state, which changes intestacy: under 14-2102 the surviving spouse takes the entire intestate estate when there is no surviving issue or when every surviving child is also the spouse's child, but where a surviving child is NOT the spouse's child the spouse takes one-half of the separate property and no interest at all in the decedent's half of the community property.

See the full comparison of Arizona probate typesWhich procedures exist, who qualifies, and how the timelines compare.
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Find your county

Arizona Probate Filing Offices by County

Choose your county to get its probate court contacts, filing fees, and required forms. 15 counties have detailed data.

Full data available: ApacheFull data available: CochiseFull data available: CoconinoFull data available: GilaFull data available: GrahamFull data available: GreenleeFull data available: La PazFull data available: MaricopaFull data available: MohaveFull data available: NavajoFull data available: PimaFull data available: Pinal
Show all 15 counties
Full data available: Santa CruzFull data available: YavapaiFull data available: Yuma

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Arizona Probate Guides

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Arizona Probate Guide
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How to Avoid Probate in Arizona
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Arizona Probate Timeline
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Arizona Probate Forms Checklist
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Arizona Personal Representative Duties
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Browse Arizona guide topics

Jump to court, executor, tax, planning, property, and probate-avoidance guides that match your next task.

Probate Basics

4

Forms & Court

2

Executor Duties

6

Taxes & Deadlines

8

Planning Documents

5

Property Transfer

5

Avoiding Probate

6
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Arizona Probate Self-Help and Online Resources

Arizona Estate Law Overview

Arizona Estate Tax Info

Arizona does not currently have a state estate tax or inheritance tax in the cited Arizona Department of Revenue estate-tax publication. Federal estate and income tax issues may still apply.

No
State Estate Tax
No
Inheritance Tax
Yes
State Income Tax
Federal estate tax info

Federal estate tax only applies to estates exceeding $15,000,000 (2026).

Who Inherits Without a Will?

Arizona intestate succession determines who receives probate property when a person dies without a valid will for that property.

View spouse inheritance rules
The decedent leaves a surviving spouse and no surviving issue.Entire intestate estate

Arizona gives the surviving spouse the entire intestate estate when there are no surviving issue.

Every surviving issue of the decedent is also issue of the surviving spouse.Entire intestate estate

Arizona gives the surviving spouse the entire intestate estate in this shared-issue scenario.

At least one surviving issue of the decedent is not issue of the surviving spouse.One-half of the intestate separate property and no interest in the decedent's one-half of community property

Arizona separates the spouse share for blended-family issue. Confirm title and community-property characterization before distribution.

View order of inheritance (no spouse)
  1. 1DescendantsBy representation
  2. 2ParentsEqually if both survive, or all to the surviving parent
  3. 3Descendants of parentsBy representation
  4. 4Grandparents and descendants of grandparentsGenerally one half to the paternal side and one half to the maternal side, with statutory fallback if one side has no surviving relatives

Arizona Homestead Protection

Arizona has a creditor homestead exemption for a resident's qualifying home equity and a separate probate homestead allowance for a surviving spouse or qualifying children.

Creditor protection: read the statute text

$400,000 base amount, adjusted annually beginning January 1, 2024 under A.R.S. 33-1101(D)

Statute: A.R.S. 33-1101

Restrictions on leaving homestead in will

With spouse, no minor children:

No Florida-style restricted devise rule is promoted. Review title, the will, trust, beneficiary deed, spouse rights, and claims.

With minor children:

No Florida-style minor-child homestead devise restriction is promoted. If there is no surviving spouse, minor and dependent children may share the probate homestead allowance.

Exempt Property

Arizona gives a surviving spouse and certain children priority family protections through the probate homestead allowance, exempt property, and family allowance.

View exempt items
Household furniture, automobiles, furnishings, appliances, and personal effects
The surviving spouse may receive qualifying estate property up to the statutory value, net of security interests.
$7,000 in excess of security interests
Other estate assets if exempt property is insufficient
If the estate does not contain enough qualifying exempt property, the spouse or minor or dependent children may be entitled to other estate assets to make up the deficiency.
Amount needed to make up the $7,000 value

Family Allowance

Reasonable amount for maintenance during administration - Arizona provides a reasonable family allowance for the surviving spouse and qualifying children during estate administration.

Arizona Probate Questions

How much does probate cost in Arizona?
Arizona probate filing fees vary by county and type of administration. Typical costs include the court filing fee plus certified copy fees, publication notice fees where notice is required, and potential bond premiums. Use our free Arizona fee calculator for county-specific estimates.
How long does probate take in Arizona?
The creditor clock is what sets the floor on a full administration. Under A.R.S. 14-3801 the personal representative publishes notice once a week for three successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county, and creditors then have FOUR MONTHS from the date of first publication to present claims or be forever barred; known creditors get the same four months by mailed notice. Section 14-3803 adds an outer limit of two years after death. The affidavit routes avoid administration altogether, but they have their own waits: 30 days for personal property and six months for real property, which is the difference that decides whether a family waits a month or half a year.
Do I need an attorney for probate in Arizona?
No statewide rule requires an attorney for every Arizona probate filing, and the 14-3971 affidavits are designed to be used without one. Two Arizona features are worth counsel. Community property characterisation drives the intestate result, and whether an asset is separate or community is a question of title and history rather than a lookup. And A.R.S. 14-3719 sets no fee schedule at all: a personal representative is entitled to 'reasonable compensation', and where a will fixes a fee with no contract behind it, the representative may renounce that provision BEFORE QUALIFYING and take reasonable compensation instead -- a decision with a deadline at the start of the case, not at the accounting.
Are these Arizona probate resources county-specific?
No. This map shows state-level source links from Settled data. Use it with the Arizona county page and the county office handling the estate before filing.
Which Arizona source should I use first?
Start with the official court, form, or agency source for the task, then confirm local requirements with the county filing office, clerk, register, or office that accepts the filing.
Does the Arizona Probate Resource Map replace attorney review?
No. The map is source navigation. It helps families find current public sources, but it does not decide eligibility, prepare filings, or replace advice from counsel.