Arizona Small Estate Affidavit Statute: Limits and Who Can File

Arizona’s small estate affidavit lets you collect a deceased person’s property without opening probate, provided the personal property is worth $200,000 or less and any Arizona real estate is worth $300,000 or less. The process runs under A.R.S. § 14-3971: you complete a sworn affidavit, wait out a statutory period, and present it to whoever holds the property. For many families, that means clearing bank accounts, transferring a vehicle, or moving title to a house in weeks rather than the year or more a formal probate can take.¹

The Two Value Limits

There are two separate caps, and you can use one affidavit, the other, or both depending on what the decedent owned.

For personal property, the total value of everything the decedent owned, wherever located, minus debts and liens, must be $200,000 or less as of the date of death. Personal property covers bank and investment accounts, vehicles, and household goods.¹

For real property, the total value of Arizona real estate in the estate, minus liens and mortgages, must be $300,000 or less as of the date of death. Value is measured by the full cash value on the county assessor’s rolls for the year of death, not a private appraisal or listing price. For a debt secured by a lien on the property, use the unpaid principal balance on the date of death.¹

These thresholds took effect September 26, 2025. What matters is the date you file, not the date of death, so a person who died before that date can still be handled under the higher limits if you file afterward.

What Doesn’t Count Toward the Limits

Anything that passes automatically outside probate is excluded from the calculation:

Property held in joint tenancy with right of survivorship, which goes straight to the surviving owner.
Accounts with payable-on-death or transfer-on-death designations, and real property covered by a beneficiary deed.
Life insurance and retirement account proceeds paid to a named beneficiary (unless the estate was named or no beneficiary was designated).
Assets held in a revocable living trust.

The Community Property Wrinkle

Arizona is a community property state, and only the decedent’s half of community property counts toward the estate. Property acquired during the marriage generally belongs equally to both spouses, so the surviving spouse already owns their half. Separate property, meaning what the decedent owned before marriage or received during it as a gift or inheritance, counts in full.

Who Is Allowed to File

The person filing (the “affiant”) has to be legally entitled to the property, either as a beneficiary named in the will or as an heir under Arizona’s intestacy laws.

If there was a will, the person the will names to receive that specific property files, and the original will must be attached to the affidavit. A court-certified copy works if the will was already probated in another court.²

Without a will, intestacy rules decide who inherits. A surviving spouse takes the entire estate if the decedent had no children or all children were shared with that spouse. If the decedent had children from another relationship, the spouse receives half of the separate property and none of the decedent’s share of community property, with the rest passing to those children.³ If there is no spouse, children inherit; then parents; then siblings.

When Other Heirs Have to Sign Off

If other people have an equal or greater right to the property, you can still file, but only after they’ve each assigned their interest to you in writing. Copies of those signed assignments have to be attached to the affidavit.² Without them, a bank or other holder will refuse to release the property. This is the step that trips up the most families. If one heir won’t sign, the affidavit route usually closes and you’ll need to open probate instead.

Waiting Periods and What to Gather

You can’t act right away. The statute requires at least 30 days from the date of death before the personal property affidavit can be used, and at least six months before the real property affidavit can be filed.¹

The forms are separate: an “Affidavit for Collection of All Personal Property” and an “Affidavit for Transfer of Title to Real Property.” Both are available from the Superior Court in each Arizona county, and you may need both if the estate holds both kinds of assets.

Either way, you will need a certified death certificate attached to the affidavit, the original will or a certified copy if there was one, a list of the property you’re claiming with values, and signed assignments from any other heirs.² Your signature has to be notarized. The affidavit is sworn under penalty of perjury.¹

The affidavit also requires you to confirm that no application for a personal representative is pending and none has been granted anywhere.¹ If someone has already applied for or been appointed, the small estate affidavit is off the table.

Collecting Personal Property

The personal property affidavit isn’t filed with any court. Once 30 days have passed and the notarized affidavit is complete, you present it directly to whoever holds the asset.² Bank account? Bring it to the bank. Brokerage account? Send it in. Safe deposit box? Take it to the institution holding the box.

For a vehicle, you present the affidavit to the Arizona Motor Vehicle Division, which transfers title once you pay the standard title transfer fees.¹

A person or institution that releases property in good faith on a properly completed affidavit is protected from liability and required to comply. In practice, some institutions have internal review processes and staff who haven’t seen the procedure before. Bringing a copy of A.R.S. § 14-3971 alongside your affidavit helps. If a holder still refuses, the remedy is a petition in probate court for an order compelling delivery.

Transferring Real Estate

The real property process is more involved. After the six-month waiting period, you file the notarized affidavit with the Clerk of the Superior Court in the county where the property sits.² There’s a filing fee at submission that varies by county, and it may be waived if you qualify under Arizona’s fee waiver rules.

Once the registrar determines the affidavit is complete, the court issues a certified copy, which is then recorded in the county recorder’s office where the property is located.¹ Recording is the step that updates the chain of title. Under the statute the registrar handles the recording after issuing the certified copy, so confirm with the clerk whether that happens automatically in your county or whether you need to walk the certified copy to the recorder.

Debts Still Follow the Property

The affidavit doesn’t wipe out the decedent’s debts. Creditors with valid claims can pursue payment from the assets you collect. Unlike probate, there is no formal creditor notice period after which claims expire, so the structured cutoff that probate provides isn’t there.

Before you file, get a clear picture of what was owed. Medical bills, credit card balances, mortgages, and unpaid taxes all survive death. Debts secured by an asset, like a mortgage or car loan, follow that asset. When debts are substantial relative to the estate’s value, opening a formal probate can actually be safer, because it forces creditors to file within a set window or lose their claim.

If the Estate Is Too Large

If personal property tops $200,000 or Arizona real estate tops $300,000, the small estate affidavit isn’t available. The next step for most families is Arizona’s informal probate, which is handled through the registrar rather than a judge and typically proceeds without ongoing hearings, though it still requires statutory notice and creditor claim procedures. For estates with unclear heirship, big creditor issues, or disputes among heirs, formal supervised probate may be needed.

What Happens If You Lie on the Affidavit

Because the affidavit is signed under penalty of perjury, knowingly false statements, like understating value to squeeze under the threshold or claiming to be the sole heir when others exist, are perjury.¹ Perjury in Arizona is a class 4 felony.⁴ Beyond the criminal exposure, any heir wrongfully cut out can bring a civil action against you for the value of the property they should have received.

1
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 14-3971 – Collection of Personal Property by Affidavit; Ownership of Vehicles; Affidavit of Succession to Real Property
2
Superior Court of Arizona in Maricopa County. Small Estate Affidavit
3
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 14-2102 – Intestate Share of Surviving Spouse
4
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-2702 – Perjury; Classification