Simplified route
$200,000
The personal-property route uses a $200,000 ceiling after 30 days, measured after liens and encumbrances. A separate real-property affidavit uses a $300,000 ceiling after six months.
Eligibility and caveatsArizona estate administration
Arizona probate: rules, process, costs, executor fees and deadlines
Small-estate limit: $200,000
This guide explains probate in Arizona: Arizona has separate affidavit procedures for personal and real property, with different limits and waiting periods.
Sources reviewed August 7, 2026. Latest primary-source re-fetch September 15, 2026.
Answer first
Arizona simplified probate route
The personal-property route uses a $200,000 ceiling after 30 days, measured after liens and encumbrances. A separate real-property affidavit uses a $300,000 ceiling after six months.
Affidavit for collection of personal propertyWhat the reviewed rules establish
Court cost
$149
Opening a probate case costs $149. The personal-property affidavit route does not require a court filing.
Filing-cost detailExecutor compensation
Court-reviewed
Arizona uses a reasonable-compensation standard rather than a fixed percentage.
Compensation detailCreditor deadline
Not published
No creditor deadline is published here because the governing rule was not verified to this site’s primary-source standard.
Timeline and creditor detailsStatutes read in full for Arizona
These are the Arizona provisions read end to end on the enacting state’s own site, rather than summarised from a secondary source. The middle column is what reading each one actually established for Arizona — not a restatement of the topic — and the last column records the date the wording was read, so a later amendment can be spotted by comparing dates.
| Citation | What reading it established | Read on |
|---|---|---|
| A.R.S. § 12-284 | What the Arizona superior court clerk charges to open a probate — court and filing cost note | 2026-09-17 |
| A.R.S. §§ 14-3801, 14-3803 | Arizona’s outer deadline is two years plus whatever is left of the notice period — creditor deadline note | 2026-09-17 |
| A.R.S. § 14-3971 | Arizona does not have one small-estate threshold; it has three different affidavits — small estate route note | 2026-09-17 |
| A.R.S. §§ 14-3719, 14-3721 | Arizona lets the people a representative hired ask the court to cut their own fees — representative pay note | 2026-09-17 |
Arizona decision map
The four facts that change the Arizona route
Use this map before opening a form or entering a number. It keeps the Arizona amount test, time gate, court cost, and creditor record separate so one easy figure does not stand in for the whole administration.
| Question | Recorded Arizona answer | Carry into the case |
|---|---|---|
| What route is being screened? | Affidavit for collection of personal property | Confirm that the will, prior appointment, family facts, and asset titles fit this route. |
| What property and basis count? | personal probate property only; net of enforceable liens and encumbrances. | Keep real property, liens, beneficiary transfers, and survivorship transfers classified separately. |
| What is the amount screen? | $200,000 | Use the counted property, not a bank-balance shortcut. |
| What is the time or deadline record? | 30 days after death; No deadline is recorded here: The creditor-notice and claim-bar deadlines have not been verified to this site's primary-source standard, so no number is published. | Keep the event that starts each clock with the date; do not combine separate periods into one number. |
| What does the cost record establish? | $149 is the recorded statewide amount. | Ask the Superior Court about local surcharges, copies, publication, bond, and later filings. |
| What does compensation use? | Arizona uses a reasonable-compensation standard rather than a fixed percentage. The relevant base is the estate accounting. | Keep the will, task log, receipts, and accounting base together; extraordinary work is separate. |
Arithmetic illustration
See the Arizona amount screen without mistaking it for a result
The recorded Arizona ceiling is $200,000, and it is tested against personal probate property only, on a basis this site records as net of enforceable liens and encumbrances. Counted that way, $150,000 sits below the Arizona figure and $250,000 sits above it. Both are comparisons to a published number rather than legal outcomes: two estates holding the same total can land on opposite sides of this line, because what Arizona counts and how it values it are decided before the comparison is made.
| Illustrative counted amount | Comparison to the Arizona ceiling | What it does not decide |
|---|---|---|
| $150,000 | Below $200,000 | Title, liens, waiting period, appointment, or creditor duties |
| $250,000 | Above $200,000 | Whether another statutory route or court process applies |
Next evidence to collect
Start with the row that is still unknown, then take that question to the named court or source.
- Record the date of death, the county, and the exact proceeding or affidavit being considered.
- Classify each asset by title, beneficiary, trust, real-property status, and the value basis shown above.
- Open the official court material below and keep its form or schedule with the estate record.
- Do not distribute property until the route, creditor position, and required approvals are resolved.
Official material
- Arizona court filing feesArizona Judicial Branch
- Arizona Self-Service CenterArizona Judicial Branch
Arizona publishes no single statewide small-estate affidavit form. Superior court clerks in each county publish their own affidavit packets built on A.R.S. § 14-3971.
County surcharges are added to the statutory filing fee, so the published statewide schedule is the figure to confirm locally.
Source trail
Records used by this Arizona map
- A.R.S. § 14-3971Arizona Revised Statutes, Small Estates; reviewed August 7, 2026
- A.R.S. § 12-284Arizona Revised Statutes, Superior Court Fees; reviewed August 7, 2026
- A.R.S. § 14-3719Arizona Revised Statutes, Personal Representative Compensation; reviewed August 7, 2026
Limits and unresolved costs
- This calculator evaluates the personal-property route only.
- Funeral and last-illness expenses must be paid for that route.
- A separate wage affidavit lets a surviving spouse collect up to $5,000 of unpaid compensation immediately, with no waiting period.
- Attorney fees, bond premiums, publication, certified copies, tax work, and asset-sale costs are not included unless expressly shown.
- Asset title, beneficiary designations, creditor claims, and will terms can change the route.
Use this as a starting point.
This is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Probate law varies by state and county and changes over time. Verify the current rule with the court or a licensed attorney in the relevant state.
Continue
What Arizona courts publish
The statutes on this page state the rule. These are the documents the court itself publishes. Every link is probed before release, and any link that stops resolving fails the build rather than staying on the page.
- Fee scheduleArizona court filing feesArizona Judicial Branch
- Self-help centreArizona Self-Service CenterArizona Judicial Branch
Limits on court material
- Arizona publishes no single statewide small-estate affidavit form. Superior court clerks in each county publish their own affidavit packets built on A.R.S. § 14-3971.
- County surcharges are added to the statutory filing fee, so the published statewide schedule is the figure to confirm locally.
Primary sources
Each legal input links to the government source reviewed for this page. Source text can change; confirm the current rule before acting.
A.R.S. § 14-3971
Reviewed source note: 1. Thirty days have elapsed since the death of the decedent. 2. Either: (a) An application or petition for the appointment of a personal representative is not pending and a personal representative has not been appointed in any jurisdiction and the value of all personal property in the decedent's estate, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $200,000 as valued as of the date of death.
A.R.S. § 12-284
Reviewed source note: C Initial case filing fee Filing petition for annulment $ 149.00 Filing for dissolution/legal separation petition 149.00 Petition in formal testacy or appointment proceeding 149.00 Application for informal probate or informal appointment 149.00
A.R.S. § 14-3719
Reviewed source note: A personal representative is entitled to reasonable compensation for his services.