{"id":371579,"date":"2016-03-31T21:34:25","date_gmt":"2016-04-01T02:34:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.findlaw-admin.com\/ability-law\/state\/arizona-law\/arizona-probate-laws.html"},"modified":"2024-12-20T19:17:43","modified_gmt":"2024-12-21T00:17:43","slug":"arizona-probate-laws","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/state\/arizona-law\/arizona-probate-laws.html","title":{"rendered":"Arizona Probate Laws"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Arizona Probate Laws<\/h1>\n
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Created by FindLaw’s team<\/a> of legal writers and editors<\/i><\/p>\n\n | Last updated\n

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Probate describes a superior court proceeding where the court appoints a personal representative of the estate of a deceased person. The representative is responsible for paying the estate’s debts and distributing any left over assets.<\/p>\r\n

In Arizona, there are three (3) different ways to probate<\/a> an estate whether the decedent died with a will<\/a> or without a will<\/a>. These three types of probate procedures are known as "informal probate, "formal probate," and "supervised probate."<\/p>\r\n

Informal Probate Process<\/h2>\r\n

Most probate actions in Arizona are \u201cinformal,\u201d which means they are completed with minimal court supervision. No visits to the courthouse are necessary and there will not be a judge overseeing the personal representative\u2019s every move. Formal probates are reserved for cases when there is controversy surrounding the validity of the will, choice of personal representative, or identification of heirs.<\/p>\r\n

Informal probate is an Arizona Superior Court proceeding overseen by a judge, the clerk of the court or a court commissioner designated to oversee and administer informal probates.<\/p>\r\n

Only certain people can file for an informal probate proceeding including:<\/p>\r\n