by Richard C. Keyt, Arizona probate attorney & former CPA · 480-664-7472 · rck@keytlaw.com

 

When an Arizona resident dies, the family's first fear is usually the same one: are we headed for probate? Probate in the Arizona Superior Court is public, it takes months, and it costs money the family would rather keep.

 

Arizona law gives a lot of families a way out. If the person who died owned a modest amount of personal property, a successor can collect it with a signed, notarized affidavit — no court case, no judge, no personal representative, and in most instances no filing fee.

 

This article explains exactly how the Arizona small estate affidavit for personal property works under Arizona Revised Statutes § 14-3971, what the 2025 amendment changed, the four statements the affidavit must contain, the traps that get affidavits rejected, and when you have no choice but to open a probate.

Table of Contents

• What changed in 2025 — the new $200,000 and $300,000 limits
• The four statements every personal property affidavit must contain
• What counts as "personal property" — and what does not
• Assets that never count toward the $200,000 limit
• How to use the affidavit — step by step
• Vehicles, stocks and brokerage accounts
• The $5,000 wage affidavit for a surviving spouse
• The real property affidavit — $300,000 and six months
• Side-by-side comparison of the three affidavits
• When you cannot use a small estate affidavit
• The risks nobody warns you about
• The better answer: don't leave your family this problem
• Frequently asked questions
• Hire us to prepare your affidavit

What Changed in 2025 — the New $200,000 and $300,000 Limits

For years Arizona's small estate limits were stuck at levels set when a Scottsdale house cost a fraction of what it costs today. Families with an ordinary bank account and a paid-off condo were pushed into full probate for no good reason.

 

Arizona House Bill 2116, passed in the 2025 regular session, fixed that. Effective September 26, 2025, the limits in A.R.S. § 14-3971 rose sharply:

Type of property	Old limit	Limit today
Personal property (bank accounts, vehicles, stocks, personal effects)	$75,000	$200,000
Arizona real property (land, house, condo)	$100,000	$300,000
Unpaid wages owed to a surviving spouse	$5,000	$5,000 (unchanged)

The Four Statements Every Personal Property Affidavit Must Contain

A.R.S. § 14-3971(B) does something unusual: it compels the person holding the property to hand it over. Any person indebted to the decedent, or holding the decedent's tangible personal property or an instrument evidencing a debt, obligation, stock or chose in action, shall pay or deliver it to the claiming successor when presented with a conforming affidavit.

 

To be conforming, the affidavit must state that all four of the following are true:

1. Thirty days have elapsed since the death of the decedent. Not 29. Count from the date of death on the death certificate.
2. Either (a) or (b) is true:
   • (a) No application or petition for appointment of a personal representative is pending, no personal representative has been appointed in any jurisdiction, and the value of all personal property in the estate, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $200,000 valued as of the date of death; or
   • (b) The personal representative has been discharged, or more than one year has passed since a closing statement was filed, and the value of all personal property in the estate, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $200,000 valued as of the date of the affidavit.
3. The claiming successor is entitled to payment or delivery of the property. You must actually be the heir under Arizona's intestacy statutes or the beneficiary named in a valid will.
4. The funeral expenses and the expenses of the decedent's last illness have been paid. This requirement is frequently missed, and it is not optional. If the funeral home or the hospital has not been paid, you do not yet qualify.

What Counts as "Personal Property" — and What Does Not

"Personal property" is everything the decedent owned that is not real estate. In a typical Arizona estate that includes:

• Checking, savings, money market and certificate of deposit accounts held in the decedent's sole name
• Brokerage accounts, stocks, bonds and mutual fund shares
• Cars, trucks, motorcycles, boats, ATVs and trailers titled in the decedent's sole name
• Furniture, jewelry, art, firearms, tools, collections and other tangible personal effects
• Uncashed checks, refunds, final paychecks and accrued vacation pay
• Money someone owed the decedent — a promissory note, a personal loan, a judgment
• Membership interests in an LLC and shares of a closely held corporation
• Safe deposit box contents

You subtract liens and encumbrances. A truck worth $45,000 with a $38,000 loan against it counts as $7,000 toward the limit — not $45,000.

 

Real estate is never counted toward the $200,000 personal property limit. It has its own affidavit and its own $300,000 limit, discussed below.

Assets That Never Count Toward the $200,000 Limit

A great many assets pass automatically at death and are not part of the probate estate at all. You do not need an affidavit for them and they do not count against the $200,000 ceiling:

• Assets titled in a revocable living trust. The trustee simply carries on. This is the whole point of a trust.
• Accounts with a payable-on-death (POD) or transfer-on-death (TOD) beneficiary. The bank pays the named beneficiary directly.
• Life insurance and annuities with a living named beneficiary.
• IRAs, 401(k)s, 403(b)s and other retirement accounts with a living named beneficiary.
• Property held in joint tenancy with right of survivorship or as community property with right of survivorship.
• Real estate covered by a recorded Arizona beneficiary deed.

Here is the practical consequence: an estate can be large and still qualify. A widow whose husband left a $900,000 IRA to her by beneficiary designation, a jointly held house, and a single $60,000 checking account in his name alone has a "small estate" for purposes of § 14-3971. Only the $60,000 counts.

How to Use the Affidavit — Step by Step

1. Wait 30 days. Nothing you do before day 31 is valid.
2. Order certified copies of the death certificate. Get more than you think you need — five to ten. Every institution wants one.
3. Inventory every item of personal property the decedent owned anywhere and value it as of the date of death. Subtract liens. Confirm the total is $200,000 or less.
4. Pay the funeral bill and the last-illness medical bills, or confirm they were already paid.
5. Confirm no probate is open anywhere. If a personal representative has been appointed in any state, the affidavit route is closed until that person is discharged.
6. Determine who is legally entitled to the property — under the will if there is one, or under Arizona's intestacy statutes if there is not. Arizona is a community property state and the intestacy rules surprise people, especially in blended families.
7. Have the affidavit prepared and sign it in front of a notary. You are swearing under penalty of perjury.
8. Deliver the affidavit and a certified death certificate to whoever holds the property — the bank, the credit union, the brokerage firm, the transfer agent, the MVD, the employer, the person who owes the money.
9. Collect the property and distribute it correctly to everyone entitled to it, not just to yourself.

You do not file the personal property affidavit with the Superior Court. There is no case, no hearing and no court filing fee. It is a private transaction between you and the institution holding the asset. (The real property affidavit is different — that one is filed with the court.)

Vehicles, Stocks and Brokerage Accounts

The statute singles out two categories and orders the holder to cooperate.

Motor vehicles

Under § 14-3971(D), the Arizona Motor Vehicle Division shall transfer title of a motor vehicle from the decedent to the successor on presentation of a conforming affidavit and payment of the usual fees. Bring the affidavit, a certified death certificate, the title if you have it, and be prepared to complete the MVD's own title application. If the vehicle has a loan against it, the lender must be dealt with separately.

Stocks and securities

Under § 14-3971(C), a transfer agent for any security shall change the registered ownership on the corporation's books from the decedent to the successor on presentation of the affidavit. Transfer agents are notoriously particular about form — they often have their own medallion signature guarantee requirements layered on top of the statute. Expect a few rounds of paperwork.

The $5,000 Wage Affidavit for a Surviving Spouse

There is a third, smaller affidavit most people have never heard of. Under § 14-3971(A), at any time after death — with no 30-day waiting period — an employer who owes the decedent wages, salary or other compensation for personal services must pay up to $5,000 of it to the surviving spouse on presentation of an affidavit stating that the affiant is the surviving spouse (or is authorized to act for the spouse) and that no personal representative is pending or appointed in Arizona, or if one was appointed, that the personal representative has been discharged or more than a year has passed since a closing statement was filed.

 

This is a lifeline in the first weeks after a death, when the bills keep coming and the accounts are frozen. It is available only to a surviving spouse, and only for compensation for personal services.

The Real Property Affidavit — $300,000 and Six Months

If the decedent owned Arizona real estate, § 14-3971(E) offers a separate affidavit of succession to real property. It is a different animal from the personal property affidavit, and the differences matter.

 

The successor may file the affidavit with the Superior Court in the county where the decedent was domiciled (or, if the decedent was not an Arizona resident, in a county where the real property sits) no sooner than six months after death. The affidavit must state, under penalty of perjury, that all of the following are true:

1. Either no personal representative is pending or appointed anywhere and the value of all Arizona real property in the estate, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $300,000 as of the date of death; or the personal representative has been discharged or more than a year has passed since a closing statement was filed and the value does not exceed $300,000 as of the date of the affidavit.
2. Six months have elapsed since the death, shown by a certified death certificate attached to the affidavit.
3. Funeral expenses, expenses of the last illness, and all unsecured debts of the decedent have been paid.
4. The person signing is entitled to the real property by allowance in lieu of homestead, exempt property or family allowance, by intestate succession as the sole heir or heirs, or by devise under a valid will (the original of which is attached or has been probated).
5. No other person has a right to the decedent's interest in the described property.
6. No federal estate tax is due on the estate.

Two valuation quirks are easy to get wrong. The value of the decedent's interest is taken from the full cash value shown on the county assessment rolls for the year of death — not a realtor's opinion, not Zillow. And if what the decedent owned was a debt secured by a lien on real property, the value is the unpaid principal balance on the date of death.

 

The normal filing fee applies unless the court waives it under A.R.S. § 12-301 or § 12-302. Once the registrar determines the affidavit is complete, the registrar issues a certified copy without attachments, and that certified copy is recorded with the county recorder where the property is located. That recording is what clears title.

Side-by-Side Comparison of the Three Affidavits

	Wages	Personal property	Real property
Statute	§ 14-3971(A)	§ 14-3971(B)	§ 14-3971(E)
Dollar limit	$5,000	$200,000	$300,000
Waiting period	None	30 days	6 months
Who may sign	Surviving spouse only	Any entitled successor	Sole heir(s) or devisee(s)
Filed with court?	No	No	Yes — plus recording
Debts that must be paid first	None specified	Funeral & last illness	Funeral, last illness & all unsecured debts

When You Cannot Use a Small Estate Affidavit

Do not force it. The affidavit is off the table if any of these are true:

• Personal property exceeds $200,000, or Arizona real property exceeds $300,000 in assessed full cash value.
• A personal representative has been appointed, or an application or petition to appoint one is pending, in Arizona or any other state.
• Funeral expenses or last-illness expenses remain unpaid.
• The heirs disagree about who gets what, or someone contests the will.
• There is a minor beneficiary with no guardian or conservator in place.
• The estate is insolvent, or creditors are circling and someone needs the protection of a formal claims process.
• The decedent owned out-of-state real estate. The Arizona affidavit reaches only Arizona real property; other states have their own rules.
• The estate needs someone with legal authority to sue, defend a lawsuit, sell a business, or negotiate with the IRS. An affidavit gives you the asset; it does not make you a fiduciary with legal powers.
• Federal estate tax is due (real property affidavit only).

In those situations you need an Arizona probate. Informal probate is usually far less painful than people expect — see our Arizona probate page.

The Risks Nobody Warns You About

Small estate affidavits are simple, which is exactly why people get hurt with them. Three things to keep in front of you:

You are swearing under oath

The real property affidavit expressly acknowledges that a false statement may subject the signer to penalties for perjury and subornation of perjury. Guessing at values, overlooking an out-of-state account, or "rounding down" to fit under the limit is not a paperwork problem. It is a sworn false statement.

Collecting is not the same as keeping

The affidavit gets the property released to you. It does not decide who owns it. If you are one of four children and you collect Dad's $150,000 account by affidavit, you hold three-fourths of it for your siblings. Spend it and you are answerable to them — Arizona law preserves the rights of heirs and devisees under A.R.S. § 14-3901 regardless of what the affidavit says.

Creditors do not disappear

A probate has a formal creditor claim process with real deadlines that cut off late claims. An affidavit has none of that. Creditors of the estate can still come after the assets, and after the person who took them. When the decedent had significant debt, a probate is sometimes the safer path, not the harder one.

The Better Answer: Don't Leave Your Family This Problem

Everything on this page is cleanup. It is what your family does after you die because you did not put a plan in place before.

 

Notice what happens with the same assets if you have a properly funded revocable living trust: nothing. No 30-day wait. No six-month wait. No $200,000 ceiling and no $300,000 ceiling. No affidavit, no perjury exposure, no court, no county recorder, no bank legal department. Your successor trustee takes over the day after you die and distributes exactly as you directed.

 

A will does not do this. A will is a set of instructions to the probate court — it guarantees probate rather than avoiding it. Joint tenancy and beneficiary designations are not substitutes either; they solve one asset at a time, they fail when the beneficiary dies first or is a minor, and they hand your children their inheritance outright with no protection at all.

 

Every KEYTLaw estate plan includes a revocable living trust, a certification of trust, healthcare and financial powers of attorney, a HIPAA authorization, a living will, a deed transferring your home into your trust, a designation of guardian for minor children, an assignment of personal property, and a personal property memorandum. We also build an irrevocable asset-protected trust into the plan for each beneficiary, so what your children inherit is shielded from their creditors, a future ex-spouse and a bankruptcy court.

 

See what our estate plan contains and what it costs, or read our library of Arizona wills, trusts and estate planning articles.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do I have to wait to use an Arizona small estate affidavit for personal property?

Thirty days from the date of death. The affidavit must state that 30 days have elapsed, so it cannot be signed or presented before day 31. The real property affidavit requires a six-month wait, and the $5,000 surviving spouse wage affidavit has no waiting period at all.

Does the $200,000 limit apply to each asset or to the whole estate?

To the whole estate. The test is the value of all personal property in the decedent's estate, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances. You cannot collect one $150,000 account by affidavit if the decedent also owned another $100,000 of personal property somewhere else.

Do I file the personal property affidavit with the Arizona Superior Court?

No. The personal property affidavit is delivered directly to the bank, brokerage firm, transfer agent, employer, MVD or other person holding the property. There is no court case and no filing fee. Only the real property affidavit under § 14-3971(E) is filed with the court, and a certified copy of it is then recorded with the county recorder.

Does a small estate affidavit avoid probate if the decedent owned a home?

Sometimes. Arizona real property is handled by a separate affidavit under § 14-3971(E), available six months after death, and only if all Arizona real property in the estate is worth $300,000 or less based on the county assessor's full cash value, less liens and encumbrances. If the home is worth more than that after subtracting the mortgage, you will need a probate.

Does the new $200,000 limit apply if the person died before September 26, 2025?

Generally yes. The increased limits are applied to affidavits used on or after the effective date rather than to the date of death, so an estate that was too large under the old $75,000 cap may qualify today. Because that timing question can affect whether your affidavit is honored, confirm it with a probate attorney before you sign.

Can I use a small estate affidavit if there is a will?

Yes. A will does not prevent the use of the affidavit. What matters is the value of the estate and whether you are the person entitled to the property — which, when there is a will, means you are the beneficiary named in it. For the real property affidavit, the original will must be attached to the affidavit or must already have been probated.

What if the bank refuses to accept my affidavit?

The statute says the holder of the property shall pay or deliver it on presentation of a conforming affidavit. In practice, refusals almost always trace to a defect in the affidavit or to an institution's internal policy. A correctly drafted affidavit that tracks the statutory language, accompanied by a certified death certificate and a letter from counsel, resolves the great majority of these.

Do I still need an affidavit for an account with a payable-on-death beneficiary?

No. POD and TOD accounts, life insurance, annuities and retirement accounts with a living named beneficiary pass automatically outside the estate. The beneficiary claims them with a death certificate and the institution's claim form. Those assets also do not count toward the $200,000 limit.

What if the estate is worth more than $200,000?

Then you need an Arizona probate. Most Arizona probates are informal, which means no hearings and no judge in the ordinary case. Call Arizona probate attorney Richard C. Keyt at 480-664-7472 to find out which type of probate your situation calls for.

Is a small estate affidavit a substitute for an estate plan?

No. It is a limited, after-the-fact workaround with dollar caps, waiting periods, sworn statements and no creditor protection. A properly funded revocable living trust avoids probate entirely, at any asset level, with no waiting period and no ceiling.

Hire Us to Prepare Your Arizona Small Estate Affidavit

Arizona probate attorney Richard C. Keyt prepares both small estate affidavits for flat fees:

Affidavit	Flat fee
Personal property — probate exemption for personal property worth less than $200,000	$800
Real property — affidavit of succession to Arizona real property worth $300,000 or less, including filing with the Superior Court	$1,800

Court filing fees and recording fees are not included in the real property fee and are paid separately.

 

To get started, complete and submit the questionnaire:

 

Small Estate Probate Exemption Affidavit Questionnaire — for real property and/or personal property

Updated August 8, 2026, by Richard C. Keyt, Arizona probate attorney. This article is general information about Arizona law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Dollar limits and procedures under A.R.S. § 14-3971 can change. Confirm the current statute and your specific facts with an Arizona probate attorney before signing any affidavit under oath.