Small Estate Affidavit in Arizona

Personal property: 30 days after death, a successor can collect personal property (bank accounts, money owed, stock, vehicles) by affidavit if no personal representative has been requested or appointed and all personal property, less liens, is worth no more than $200,000; funeral and last-illness expenses must be paid. A surviving spouse can also collect up to $5,000 of unpaid wages by affidavit at any time. Real property: six months after death, successors can file an affidavit of succession to real property in the superior court if the Arizona real estate, less liens, is worth no more than $300,000 (based on the assessed full cash value); a certified copy is then recorded with the county recorder.

Small estate summary procedure: if the inventory shows the estate is worth no more than the allowance in lieu of homestead, exempt property, family allowance, administration costs, reasonable funeral expenses and last-illness medical costs, the personal representative may distribute the estate without notice to creditors and close it with a sworn closing statement. Appointment ends one year after the statement is filed if nothing is pending.

Creditors must present claims within four months after the first published notice. A known creditor who is mailed notice has until the later of four months after publication or 60 days after the mailing. In any case, claims that arose before death are barred two years after death plus any time remaining in a notice period.