Arizona Small Estate Affidavit

​A Small Estate Affidavit is a legal document used in Arizona to transfer assets from a deceased person to their heirs without going through the formal, lengthy probate court process. It serves as a simplified alternative for smaller estates, allowing beneficiaries to collect personal property or retitle real estate by affirming they meet specific legal criteria.

​To qualify, the estate’s value must fall below statutory limits, and specific waiting periods must have passed since the death. Additionally, you must confirm that no personal representative has been appointed (or they have been discharged), and that all funeral expenses and unsecured debts of the decedent have been paid or provided for.

​Under Arizona’s updated laws (A.R.S. § 14-3971), the value of the decedent’s personal property must not exceed $200,000, and the value of real property (equity) must not exceed $300,000. These limits are calculated separately, meaning an estate could theoretically have both and still qualify if each category is under its respective cap.

​The waiting periods differ by property type. For personal property (like cash or vehicles), you must wait at least 30 days after the date of death. For real property (land or homes), you are required to wait at least 6 months after the date of death before filing the affidavit with the court.

​For the Small Estate Affidavit, the value of real property is determined by the full cash value listed on the county tax assessment rolls, minus any liens or encumbrances (like a mortgage). Note that this is often significantly lower than the current fair market value, allowing many homes to qualify even if they would sell for more than $300,000.

​Personal property includes assets that are not real estate, such as bank accounts, stocks, bonds, jewelry, furniture, and motor vehicles. It effectively covers anything moveable or financial that does not have a named beneficiary (like a payable-on-death account) already attached to it.

​The primary benefits are speed, cost, and simplicity. This process avoids the high attorney fees and court costs associated with formal probate, and it typically resolves in a fraction of the time. It also offers more privacy since fewer documents are filed in public court records compared to a full probate proceeding.

​Unlike formal probate, which requires a court-appointed Personal Representative to manage assets under court supervision for a minimum of several months, the affidavit process is self-executed. There are no court hearings for personal property, and the real property process involves a single filing rather than ongoing litigation and administration.

​To handle real property, you must complete the “Affidavit for Transfer of Title to Real Property,” attach a certified copy of the death certificate and the Will (if one exists), and file these with the Probate Court Registrar in the county where the property is located or the decedent lived. Once the Registrar approves it, you must record the affidavit with the County Recorder to update the land title.

​For personal property, you generally do not need to file anything with the court. Instead, you complete the “Affidavit for Collection of All Personal Property,” have it notarized, and present it directly to the person or institution holding the asset (such as a bank or the MVD). They are legally required to transfer the asset to you upon receiving the valid affidavit.

​Yes, you can and should use the affidavit if there is a Will, provided the estate meets the value limits. The affidavit is simply the vehicle for transfer; the Will determines who is entitled to receive the property. If there is a Will, you must attach a copy of it (or file the original if transferring real property) to your affidavit to prove you are the rightful heir.

​Before filing for the transfer of real property, you must affirm that all funeral expenses, last illness expenses, and unsecured debts have been paid. If you transfer assets using either affidavit, you (the recipient) become liable for the decedent’s debts up to the value of the property you received. You generally cannot use this process to “escape” legitimate creditor claims. Note: This creates a ‘chicken and egg’ problem—someone typically must pay these debts out-of-pocket before the real estate affidavit can be signed.

​There is no strict statute of limitations forcing you to file the affidavit within a certain number of years. However, waiting too long can complicate matters, as taxes may accrue on real estate or assets may be deemed abandoned. It is best to act as soon as the mandatory waiting periods (30 days or 6 months) have expired.

​If the estate’s value exceeds these statutory thresholds, you are not eligible to use the Small Estate Affidavit. In this case, you must initiate a formal or informal probate proceeding to transfer the assets. Attempting to use the affidavit for an ineligible estate can lead to legal liability and title defects.

​While you are not legally required to have an attorney, it is highly recommended, especially for real estate transfers. Errors in the legal description, valuation calculations, or failure to identify all heirs can cause the affidavit to be rejected by the court or title companies, potentially creating “clouds” on the title that are expensive to fix later.