Arizona Probate Guide: Laws, Process, Costs & Resources
Someone you love has died, and now you have to deal with an Arizona probate. You do not have to do it alone, and you do not have to pay for it out of your own pocket.
Arizona probate attorney and former CPA Richard C. Keyt handles uncontested informal Arizona probates for a $5,000 flat fee. The estate reimburses the personal representative, so the fee ultimately comes out of the estate, not you. The fee even includes the Superior Court filing fee, two certified copies of the Letters and the newspaper publication of the notice to creditors.
This page is KEYTLaw's Arizona Probate Center. Find the situation that fits you below, read the short summary, and click through to the article that answers your question. Every guide was written by Ricky.
- A Loved One Just Died
- Does the Estate Need a Probate?
- The Arizona Probate Process
- If You Are the Personal Representative
- Money, Property and Family Issues
- Hire Us or Plan Ahead
- Arizona Probate Deadlines at a Glance
- The Risk Nobody Tells the Personal Representative About
- What the $5,000 Flat Fee Includes
- Why Families Hire Richard C. Keyt
- How to Hire Ricky in 3 Steps
A Loved One Just Died
Start here if the death was recent. These are the first things to do, in the order most families need them.
First steps
What to Do After a Death in Arizona: Complete Checklist
A 16-part checklist for the personal representative or successor trustee: ordering death certificates, finding the original will and trust, securing the house and accounts, the 60-day trust beneficiary notice, collecting benefits, date-of-death appraisals and the community property step-up, getting a tax ID number, the portability election and common trustee mistakes.
Does the Estate Need a Probate?
Whether probate is required depends on how each asset was titled on the date of death, not on whether there was a will.
Quick answer
Do I Need an Arizona Probate?
Answers the ten questions families ask most: whether every estate needs probate, why a will doesn't avoid it, what happens with no will, the small estate shortcuts, which assets are and aren't probate assets, living trusts, jointly owned property and what happens when the surviving spouse inherits everything.
Must read
What Is Arizona Probate, When Is It Required & How to Avoid It
Plain-English answers to 38 questions: testate and intestate, what makes a will valid (including handwritten wills), informal, formal and supervised probate, who can serve as personal representative, bonds, the notice to creditors, probate assets and how property transfers by law or by contract.
Small estates
Arizona Small Estate Affidavit: How to Avoid Probate
How heirs skip probate with a sworn affidavit when personal property is $200,000 or less (30 days after death) or Arizona real estate is $300,000 or less (six months after death). Covers bank accounts, cars, houses, valuation rules and our $800 and $1,800 flat fees.
The Arizona Probate Process
How a probate is opened and closed, how long it takes and what it costs.
Step by step
How to Probate an Estate in Arizona: Step-by-Step Guide
How to start a probate, the documents you need, where to file, the 120-hour and two-year deadlines, filing rules in Maricopa County, what happens at a hearing, informal versus formal probate, lost wills and opening a probate years after a death.
Timeline
How Long Does Probate Take in Arizona?
Why a simple uncontested probate usually takes about five to six months, a month-by-month timeline, how to finish as fast as the law allows, what causes delays and when heirs can receive their inheritance.
Costs
How Much Does Probate Cost in Arizona?
A breakdown of court filing fees, publication, bonds, attorney fees and personal representative pay, why the estate pays the lawyer, flat fee versus hourly billing, and the least expensive way to settle an estate.
Overview
Arizona Probate Attorney $5,000 Flat Fee
Our original probate overview and probate at a glance, informal versus formal probate, the 10-step process, who inherits without a will and our flat fee service.
If You Are the Personal Representative
The day the court signs your Letters, you become a fiduciary who can be personally liable for mistakes.
Your job
Arizona Personal Representative Duties and Responsibilities
Answers to 10 questions: what the job involves, executor versus personal representative, the 90-day inventory, how to be appointed, who has priority, selling property, early distributions, personal liability and how a personal representative can be removed.
The statutes
Statutory Duties of Personal Representatives of an Arizona Probate
The actual text of the Arizona statutes that impose fiduciary duties and personal liability on every personal representative, including A.R.S. § 14-3712, notice to heirs, the inventory and the duty to find concealed assets.
Before you go it alone
Arizona Probate Without a Lawyer
Twenty-seven specific reasons a do-it-yourself probate goes wrong, from court rules and fiduciary training to creditor traps, missed tax elections and family objections, and why the estate, not you, pays the probate lawyer.
Avoid liability
13 Costly Arizona Probate Mistakes & How to Avoid Them
The 13 mistakes that most often make a personal representative personally liable, with a deadline calendar, the order for paying claims, the priority list for appointment and a statute quick-reference table.
Money, Property and Family Issues
Answers for the situations that cause the most questions and the most conflict.
Debts & taxes
Debts, Creditors & Taxes in Arizona Probate
Who pays a deceased person's debts, why children usually aren't responsible, how long creditors have to file claims, what happens when the estate can't pay everyone, Arizona's lack of an estate tax and the returns the estate must file.
No will
Arizona Probate With No Will: Who Inherits?
How Arizona's intestate succession laws divide an estate among a surviving spouse, children, children from a prior marriage, parents and siblings, and why stepchildren and unmarried partners inherit nothing without a will or trust.
The house
How to Transfer a House After Death in Arizona
The six ways an Arizona house transfers after death, selling before or during probate without court approval, what happens to the mortgage, beneficiary deeds, trust-owned homes and real estate in other states.
Disputes
Arizona Probate Disputes
Will contests and their deadlines, heirs who disagree about selling property, challenging a personal representative, suspicious transfers made before death, and property discovered after the estate closes.
Hire Us or Plan Ahead
Let an experienced Arizona probate attorney carry the legal risk, or keep your own family out of probate.
Ready to start
Arizona Probate Questionnaire
Hire attorney and former CPA Richard C. Keyt to handle an uncontested informal probate for a $5,000 flat fee the estate ultimately pays. The person who will be personal representative completes and signs the online Probate Legal Service Agreement in a few minutes.
Free meeting
Book a Free Consultation
Book a free office, phone or Zoom video meeting with Richard C. Keyt or Richard Keyt. We don't charge to talk to people, and you can get your probate questions answered before you decide anything.
Plan ahead
Arizona Probate Costs Loved Ones Time, Money, & Stress
The story of a family that went through probate because a parent never set up a trust, and how a $3,497 or $4,497 KEYTLaw estate plan with a revocable living trust would have kept them out of court entirely.
Arizona Probate Deadlines at a Glance
These are the dates that drive every Arizona probate. Missing one is how most personal representatives get into trouble.
| Deadline | What must happen | Statute |
|---|---|---|
| 10 days after learning of the death | Whoever has the original will must deliver it to the Superior Court | A.R.S. § 14-2516 |
| At the time of appointment | Begin publishing the notice to creditors once a week for three successive weeks | A.R.S. § 14-3801 |
| 30 days after appointment | Notify every heir and devisee of the appointment | A.R.S. § 14-3705 |
| 90 days after appointment | Prepare the inventory with date-of-death values, community or separate character and encumbrances | A.R.S. § 14-3706 |
| 4 months after first publication | Creditor claim period ends (known creditors: 4 months or 60 days after mailing, whichever is later) | A.R.S. § 14-3801 |
| 2 years after death | Outside deadline to open an informal probate, with limited exceptions | A.R.S. § 14-3108 |
The Risk Nobody Tells the Personal Representative About
Most people think probate is paperwork. It is not. It is a Superior Court proceeding governed by roughly 200 sections of Title 14 of the Arizona Revised Statutes, the Arizona Rules of Probate Procedure and county local rules. The day the court signs your Letters, you stop being just a son, daughter or spouse in the eyes of the law. You become a fiduciary who manages other people's money.
Under A.R.S. § 14-3712, a personal representative who improperly exercises a power over the estate is personally liable to the heirs, devisees and creditors for the resulting loss, to the same extent as the trustee of an express trust. "I didn't know" is not a defense, and the money comes from your bank account, not the estate's.
These are the mistakes we see do-it-yourself personal representatives make most often:
- Paying the heirs before the creditors. Distribute early, run out of money, and the unpaid creditor sues you, not the beneficiary who already spent the money.
- Paying creditors in the wrong order. A.R.S. § 14-3805 sets a mandatory priority. Pay the loudest collector first and you can be personally liable for the shortfall.
- Missing a statutory deadline. Thirty days to notify heirs and devisees, 90 days to prepare the inventory, two separate creditor clocks, and a two-year window to open an informal probate at all.
- Distributing to the wrong people. Arizona is a community property state, blended families are common, and intestate succession often produces a result the family never expected.
- Mixing estate money with your own. The estate needs its own EIN and bank account before a single dollar moves.
Read all 13 in 13 Costly Arizona Probate Mistakes & How to Avoid Them, and the full case against going it alone in Arizona Probate Without a Lawyer.
You are not saving money by doing it yourself. Under A.R.S. § 14-3720, a personal representative acting in good faith is entitled to receive necessary expenses and reasonable attorney fees from the estate. So the real question is not "Can I afford a probate lawyer?" It is "Why would I accept personal liability for a job the estate will pay a professional to do?"
What the $5,000 Flat Fee Includes
Arizona does not set probate attorney fees as a percentage of the estate, and most lawyers bill by the hour because they cannot predict how long a probate will take. Ricky charges one flat fee for an uncontested informal Arizona probate, so you know the cost before you start.
- Preparing and filing the court papers to open the probate and appoint the personal representative
- The Superior Court filing fee
- Two certified copies of the Letters of Appointment
- Newspaper publication of the notice to creditors
- The statutory notices to heirs, devisees and known creditors
- The estate's federal EIN application and the IRS and Arizona notices of fiduciary relationship
- The paperwork to collect and distribute the estate's assets, including a release and waiver for heirs to sign when they receive their distributions
- Ricky's advice to the personal representative on every step and every question along the way
The personal representative pays the $5,000 when hiring us, by check, credit or debit card. After the probate opens and the personal representative takes control of the estate's assets, the estate reimburses the personal representative.
The flat fee does not include tax returns, financial accountings, collecting assets outside Arizona, or contested or formal proceedings. If your situation needs any of those, Ricky will tell you so in your free consultation, before you pay anything.
Why Families Hire Richard C. Keyt
- He is an attorney and former CPA. Probate is as much a money job as a legal one: date-of-death values, community versus separate property, final income tax returns, estate income tax returns and the portability election that can save a surviving spouse millions. Ricky understands both sides.
- You know the price up front. One flat fee, not an hourly bill that grows while the house sits empty.
- He protects the personal representative. We represent you in your capacity as personal representative, keep you on the court's deadlines, and have heirs sign releases before they receive their distributions.
- You can reach him. Call Ricky directly at 480-664-7472 or email rck@keytlaw.com. We try to return calls within one business day.
- A family firm with a long track record. His father, Richard Keyt, has practiced law in Arizona since 1979, and together they have earned 433 five-star Google, Facebook & Birdeye reviews.
- Statewide service. Probates are filed in the Superior Court of the county where the deceased lived, and we handle informal probates for families throughout Arizona with free office, phone or Zoom meetings.
How to Hire Ricky in 3 Steps
Get your questions answered free
Call Ricky at 480-664-7472, email rck@keytlaw.com, or book a free office, phone or Zoom video consultation.
Complete the questionnaire
The person who will be personal representative completes and signs the Arizona Probate Questionnaire and Probate Legal Service Agreement online. You receive an emailed copy right away.
Pay the $5,000 flat fee
Pay on our secure online payment page, call legal assistant Michelle at 480-664-7413, or mail a check payable to KEYTLaw, LLC, to 7373 E. Doubletree Ranch Road, Suite 135, Scottsdale, AZ 85258.
If after reviewing your situation we decide we cannot represent you, we will tell you and immediately return the money you paid.
Let Ricky carry the legal risk
Hire Arizona probate attorney and former CPA Richard C. Keyt for a $5,000 flat fee the estate ultimately pays. Call Ricky directly at 480-664-7472 or email rck@keytlaw.com.
Complete the Arizona Probate Questionnaire | Book a free office, phone or Zoom video consultation
Want to keep your own family out of probate? A will alone does not do it. A properly funded revocable living trust does. See our Arizona Wills, Trusts & Estate Planning Articles and the 36 documents and services in every KEYTLaw estate plan.
This page provides general information about Arizona probate law and is not legal advice for your specific situation. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Statutes and dollar thresholds change. KEYTLaw, LLC · 7373 E. Doubletree Ranch Road, Suite 135, Scottsdale, AZ 85258 · 480-664-7472 · © 2026
Updated October 24, 2026