Probate in Arizona: do you need a lawyer, and what it costs

Settling an estate in Arizona

What an executor deals with after the funeral: the will, the court, creditors, tax and closing the estate. Each fact links to the statute it comes from and shows the date we last read it.

Filing the original will

In Arizona, whoever holds the original will must hand it over promptly after the death, either to someone who can start probate or, if no one is known, to the court. The law sets no fixed number of days, and a person who refuses on purpose can be held liable for the harm it causes.

Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 14-2516Read the statute · azleg.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

Which court handles probate

In Arizona, probate is handled by the Superior Court in the county where the person who died lived. If they lived out of state, it can be opened in any Arizona county where they owned property.

Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 14-3201 (court defined in § 14-1201)Read the statute · azleg.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

Creditors' deadline to make claims

In Arizona, the executor or administrator (called the personal representative) publishes a notice to creditors once a week for three weeks in a local newspaper and mails notice to known creditors. Creditors then have four months from the first publication (or 60 days from a mailed notice, if later) to file a claim, and most claims are barred two years after the death in any case.

Ariz. Rev. Stat. §§ 14-3801, 14-3803Read the statute · azleg.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

Estate inventory

In Arizona, the executor or administrator must prepare an inventory of what the person who died owned, with values as of the date of death, within 90 days of being appointed. You can either file it with the court or send copies to the heirs or beneficiaries and anyone else interested who asks.

Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 14-3706Read the statute · azleg.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

The order estate debts are paid

In Arizona, if the estate can't pay every bill, debts are paid in a set order: the costs of running the estate first, then reasonable funeral costs, then debts and taxes the federal government puts first, then last-illness medical bills, then state-preferred debts and taxes, and finally everything else.

Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 14-3805Read the statute · azleg.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

State estate and inheritance tax

Arizona has no state estate tax and no inheritance tax. Only the federal estate tax can apply, and only to very large estates.

Ariz. Rev. Stat. Title 42 (former estate tax chapter 4 no longer in the code)Read the statute · azleg.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

Closing an estate

In Arizona, most estates are closed by the executor or administrator filing a sworn closing statement with the court, no earlier than four months after appointment, saying the creditor deadline has passed, the estate is fully settled, and everyone entitled got notice and an accounting. If no one objects or sues within one year, the role ends.

Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 14-3933Read the statute · azleg.govchecked Oct 5, 2026