Small estate checker for Arizona
Enter the date of death and what the person owned. The page adds what the state counts and compares it with the limit for that date. It does not decide anything.
The limits this checker uses
These come from the state's law as we checked it. The checker picks the row that matches the date of death you enter.
Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property (small estate affidavit)
| Date of death | Limit |
|---|---|
On or after September 26, 2025 | $200,000 |
On or before September 25, 2025 | $75,000 |
30 days after the death.
Affidavit of Succession to Real Property (Affidavit for Transfer of Title to Real Property)
| Date of death | Limit |
|---|---|
On or after September 26, 2025 | $300,000 |
On or before September 25, 2025 | $100,000 |
6 months after the death.
Also in Arizona (not tested here)
These procedures have their own rules, so the checker does not test them. See the state page.
- Surviving spouse's affidavit for wages owed
- Summary administrative procedure for small estates
What counts toward the limit in Arizona
There are two separate totals. For the personal property affidavit, add up the value of all the person's personal property in the estate, wherever it is, on the date of death, and subtract liens and encumbrances (such as a car loan). For the real property affidavit, add up all the person's real property in Arizona at the assessor's full cash value for the year of death, and subtract liens and encumbrances such as a mortgage.
Law: A.R.S. 14-3971
In this state the total is counted after subtracting liens.
| Kind of property | How it is treated | Details |
|---|---|---|
Bank accounts in the person's name alone | Counts | Bank accounts in the person's name alone, with no pay-on-death beneficiary, count as personal property. Law: A.R.S. 14-3971(B); Maricopa County form PBSE1k |
Joint or payable-on-death (POD) bank accounts | Left out | Money in a joint account with a surviving owner, or a pay-on-death account, belongs to the surviving owner or beneficiary and is not part of the estate. Law: A.R.S. 14-6212 |
Cars and other vehicles | Counts | Cars count as personal property, minus any car loan. The Motor Vehicle Division transfers the title on the same affidavit. Law: A.R.S. 14-3971(B), (D); Maricopa County form PBSE1k |
Boats and mobile or manufactured homes | Not clear | Ask the court self-help center how a boat or mobile home is treated. Law: A.R.S. 14-3971 |
Real estate in Arizona | Own procedure, up to $300,000 | Arizona real estate is not part of the personal property total. It can go through the real property affidavit if all of it, minus liens, is worth $300,000 or less. Law: A.R.S. 14-3971(B), (E) |
Main home (primary residence) | Own procedure, up to $300,000 | The person's home is real estate and goes through the real property affidavit ($300,000 limit for all Arizona real property, minus liens). Law: A.R.S. 14-3971(E) |
Real estate in another state | Left out | Real estate outside Arizona is not counted and cannot be transferred with the Arizona affidavit. Law: A.R.S. 14-3971(E)(1)(a); Maricopa County form PBSE1k |
Unpaid wages owed to the person | Counts | Money owed to the person, including unpaid wages, is listed and added to the personal property total. A surviving spouse can also collect up to $5,000 of wages from the employer with a separate affidavit. Law: A.R.S. 14-3971(A)-(B); Maricopa County form PBSE11f |
Military pay owed to the person | Not clear | Ask the court self-help center how military pay owed to the person is treated. Law: A.R.S. 14-3971 |
Life insurance or retirement money paid to a named person | Left out | Life insurance, retirement and pension benefits paid to a named beneficiary pass outside the estate. Law: A.R.S. 14-6101 |
Life insurance or retirement money paid to the estate | Counts | Insurance or retirement benefits payable to the person's estate are personal property of the estate and count. Law: A.R.S. 14-3971(B) |
Property in a living trust | Left out | Property held in a trust passes under the trust, not as part of the estate. Law: A.R.S. 14-6101 |
Property owned jointly with right of survivorship | Left out | Property held jointly with right of survivorship passes to the surviving owner. A home owned jointly with right of survivorship is part of the estate only if the other owner has also died. Law: AHCCCS brochure DE-810, question 8; A.R.S. 14-6212 |
Property going to a surviving spouse | Not clear | Arizona is a community property state. Ask the court self-help center how community property that passes to the spouse is counted. Law: A.R.S. 14-2102, 14-3971 |
Stocks, bonds and brokerage accounts | Counts | Stocks and bonds in the person's name alone, with no transfer-on-death beneficiary, count. Law: A.R.S. 14-3971(B)-(C); Maricopa County form PBSE1k |
Furniture, jewelry and other belongings | Counts | Jewelry, furniture and other belongings count at their value. Law: A.R.S. 14-3971(B); Maricopa County form PBSE1k |
Source: Official page
Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property (small estate affidavit)
A sworn statement you give to a bank, company or person holding the property, so they pay or deliver it to you. It is not filed with the court.
- Limit
Up to $200,000 (deaths on or after September 26, 2025) Counted after subtracting liens (what is owed on the property).
Date of death Limit On or after September 26, 2025$200,000On or before September 25, 2025$75,000The personal property, minus liens and encumbrances, cannot be worth more than $200,000. This limit took effect on September 26, 2025. Before that date the limit was $75,000.
- What counts
The value of all the person's personal property in the estate, wherever it is, minus liens and encumbrances, on the date of death. Real estate is not part of this total.
- Waiting period
At least 30 days must have passed since the death.
- Who can use it
A person who claims to be the successor (the person who inherits under the will, or under state inheritance law if there is no will), or someone acting for that person. The Maricopa County court form lets an heir sign when everyone with an equal or greater right has assigned their interest to them in writing.
- Court or where to file
Not filed with a court. You give it to the person or company holding the property.
- Notary
The court form is signed under oath before a notary. The Maricopa County court clerk cannot notarize this form.
- Papers to attach
- Certified copy of the death certificate (many holders ask for it)
- Copy of the will, if you inherit under a will
- Signed documents assigning interests to you, if other heirs with an equal or greater right gave you their share
- Steps
- Wait until at least 30 days after the death.
- Make sure the person's funeral expenses and last-illness expenses have been paid.
- List the personal property and debts owed to the person, with values, and check that the total minus liens is not over $200,000.
- Sign the affidavit under oath before a notary.
- Give the affidavit to each bank, company or person holding the property.
- Fee
No court filing fee, because the affidavit is not filed with the court.
- Debts and responsibility
A person who receives property by affidavit must account for it to any personal representative of the estate or to anyone with a better right to it.
- What the bank or holder must do
On a proper affidavit, the holder must pay the debt or deliver the property, and a transfer agent must re-register securities. The holder is released from liability as if it dealt with a personal representative and does not have to check the truth of the affidavit. If the holder refuses, the people entitled to the property can bring a court proceeding to recover it.
Law: A.R.S. 14-3971(B)-(D), 14-3972; Laws 2025, ch. 24 (HB 2116)
Source: Official page
Affidavit of Succession to Real Property (Affidavit for Transfer of Title to Real Property)
A sworn statement filed with the superior court. The court's probate registrar issues a certified copy, which you record with the county recorder to put the real estate in the name of the people who inherit it.
- Limit
Up to $300,000 (deaths on or after September 26, 2025) Counted after subtracting liens (what is owed on the property).
Date of death Limit On or after September 26, 2025$300,000On or before September 25, 2025$100,000All the person's Arizona real property, minus liens and encumbrances, cannot be worth more than $300,000, using the assessor's full cash value for the year of death. This limit took effect on September 26, 2025. Before that date the limit was $100,000.
- What counts
All the person's real property in Arizona, valued at the full cash value on the county assessment roll for the year of death, minus liens and encumbrances (such as a mortgage). A debt secured by real property is valued at its unpaid principal balance.
- Waiting period
At least six months must have passed since the death.
- Who can use it
The person or people who inherit the real property as sole heirs with no will, under a valid will, or by the allowance in lieu of homestead, exempt property or family allowance. No other person may have a right to the property.
- Court or where to file
Superior court in the county where the person lived. If the person did not live in Arizona, any county where they owned real property. The certified copy is then recorded with the county recorder where the property is.
- Notary
Each person signs under oath before a notary or a deputy clerk.
- Papers to attach
- Certified copy of the death certificate (always required)
- The original will, or a court-certified copy if it was probated elsewhere, if there is a will
- Signed documents assigning interests to you, if other heirs gave you their share
- Probate cover sheet (Maricopa County)
- Copy of the closing statement if there was a probate in another county
- Steps
- Wait until at least six months after the death.
- Pay the funeral expenses, last-illness expenses and all unsecured debts.
- Look up the full cash value of each Arizona property on the assessment roll for the year of death and subtract liens.
- Fill in the affidavit with the legal description of the property and sign it under oath.
- File it with the clerk of the superior court and pay the filing fee.
- If the registrar finds it complete, you receive a certified copy without attachments.
- Record the certified copy with the county recorder where the property is.
- Fee
The court charges its normal filing fee, set in the court's fee schedule; ask the clerk of the superior court. The county recorder charges a recording fee.
- If you can't pay
The court can waive or defer the filing fee under A.R.S. 12-301 or 12-302.
- Debts and responsibility
The affidavit must state that funeral expenses, last-illness expenses and all unsecured debts have been paid. A false statement can lead to perjury penalties.
- What the bank or holder must do
A buyer of the real property from, or lender to, the people named in the recorded certified copy is protected as if dealing with a distributee who received a deed of distribution.
Law: A.R.S. 14-3971(E)-(G), 14-3972(C); Laws 2025, ch. 24 (HB 2116)
Source: Official page
Bank accounts after a death in Arizona
When one owner of a joint account dies, the money belongs to the surviving owner or owners. In a pay-on-death account, after the last owner dies the money belongs to the named beneficiary. An account in the person's name alone with no pay-on-death beneficiary is part of the estate; after 30 days the heirs can collect it with the small estate affidavit if the personal property is under the limit. Arizona law sets no separate rule for a bank to pay family without an affidavit.
Law: A.R.S. 14-6212, 14-3971(B)
Source: Official page
Surviving spouse in Arizona
A surviving spouse can collect up to $5,000 of the person's unpaid wages from the employer with an affidavit. The spouse is entitled to a homestead allowance of $18,000, exempt property worth up to $7,000 (household furniture, cars, furnishings, appliances, personal effects), and a reasonable family allowance; these come before most claims. Arizona is a community property state.
Law: A.R.S. 14-3971(A); A.R.S. 14-2402 to 14-2404
Related pages
Free help in Arizona
A court self-help center or a legal aid office can check whether the estate qualifies, free of charge or at low cost.
- AZCourtHelp.org (court help and county forms, linked from the Arizona Judicial Branch Self-Service Center)
- AZLawHelp.org (Arizona legal aid)
- State Bar of Arizona: for the public
- Superior Court in Maricopa County, Law Library Resource Center
- Pima County Superior Court Law Library
- Arizona Judicial Branch Self-Service Center
- LawHelp.org
- Legal Services Corporation (LSC) - Find legal aid
- Eldercare Locator · 1-800-677-1116
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (debt collection and mortgage complaints) · (855) 411-2372