Like most states, Arizona has a simplified mechanism to avoid probate for small estates. The process is pretty straightforward. The biggest challenge is to figure out what is a “small” estate. An easier issue: what kinds of property are eligible for the treatment?
Collection of personal property
Arizona’s small estates affidavit process (more on how it works below) is available for almost anything other than real estate. And it helps heirs (or will devisees) to avoid probate. But it isn’t really a substitute for probate.
It’s not that small estates get a complete pass from creditors’ claims or other issues. It’s just that the legislature has decided to let beneficiaries fill out a simple form to collect the assets. If there are claims against the estate, creditors can still pursue the person who used the affidavit process. And if there are disputes about the identity of heirs, or the validity of a will, those disputes can still be initiated. It’s just that the bank (or brokerage house, or whomever) is permitted to release the funds to someone who will sign the affidavit.
And signing the affidavit isn’t just an heir saying “give me the money.” The signer swears that they are entitled to the money, and that they have taken care of (or will take care of) creditors. So signing the affidavit is not without its own consequences.
OK — what do I have to do?
It’s simple. You can download the Arizona “affidavit for collection of personal property” online at all sorts of websites — including some operated by the government itself. But, for the reasons we explain below, you might want to carefully review the form before using it — the law is changing just this week (on September 26, 2025). Some government offices (including the unclaimed property office of the Arizona Department of Revenue) have already revised their forms.
Once you have the form in hand, you fill it out, attach a death certificate, and sign before a notary. Hand the form to the bank, stockbroker or employer, and they can (but are not required to) hand you the proceeds. They can also retitle assets in your name if you don’t want to cash them out. And you’re done.
Can I use the small estates affidavit?
It depends. First, the estate has to be “small.” Before September 26, 2025, that meant that all probatable personal property had to be worth less than $75,000. As of September 26, that figure jumps up to $200,000.
That may sound like a simple statement, but there are a number of points to keep in mind:
- The dollar limit applies not to the individual asset, but to the collective value of all personal property assets that are subject to probate. How does Bank A know about the $250,000 in an account in Bank B? They don’t — but you do have to swear an oath that there are no such accounts totaling more than the small estates amount.
- The dollar limit does not apply to things that have beneficiary designations, joint tenants or other transfers outside of the probate process. So you’re not swearing that the entire estate is less than the statutory limit — just that the personal property subject to probate is less than that amount.
- In theory, that does include vehicles, unpaid wages, personal household effects, etc. But those items rarely cause problems with the dollar limits.
- Real estate is not included in this calculation at all. It is subject (in Arizona) to a different section of the law.
- You can’t prepare an affidavit for collection of personal property until thirty days after the owner’s death, and you need a death certificate to go with it.
- If a probate is underway, you can’t use the affidavit (though you CAN if new assets are discovered after the probate is closed).
So what’s the big change?
Arizona’s legislature hadn’t adjusted the definition of small estates for over a decade before this legislative session. Someone suggested that maybe they ought to increase the $75,000 limit to $100,000. Rather than having to reconsider in another few years, the legislature decided to jump the number up to $200,000. The new law becomes effective, as we noted above, on September 26, 2025.
Importantly, the new dollar amount applies to all estates — even for decedent’s who died before September 26. So if you are about to try collecting a small estate worth $150,000, you can just wait until the new effective date. Even though your family member died in August. Or May. Or last year, or in 1936.
Did you download a form that refers to the prior, $75,000, limit? No problem. Just change that figure to $200,000 and the affidavit will work fine.
By the way, the small estates affidavit is specifically permitted for transfer of Arizona vehicle titles. It doesn’t, though, apply to unpaid wages; that figure is still stuck at a maximum of $5,000.
And if there’s real estate involved?
Arizona, unlike most other states, even has a “small estates” concept for real property. It’s not quite as simple as filling out an affidavit and handing it to real estate agency, title company or County Recorder. But it’s not much more complicated.
First, the real estate small estate concept is available if the entire value of real estate is less than $300,000 ($100,000 until September 26). And that can use the County Assessor’s valuation of the property, subtracting remaining mortgages or other encumbrances. You don’t consider the value of personal property in calculating the small estates procedure for real estate.
The real estate succession process is not available until six months after the death. It does require a filing with the Clerk of the Superior Court, but does not require all the formalities of a regular probate. Most importantly, there is no requirement of publication of notice to creditors. The entire process can often be completed in a single day.
Arizona jumps out ahead of the pack
Remember: “small estates” means something different in each state. And the process is very different in some states. Some states refer to the small estates process as “simplified” estates — but they might look like just streamlined probate proceedings.
But Arizona’s very large jump in the small estates figures makes us one of the easiest (if not the easiest) state for probate avoidance. At least one state, for example, limits the small estate process to assets less than $15,000, and even that only applies to bank and brokerage accounts.
