New clients come in daily who tell us “I want to avoid probate.” Luckily, when it comes to Informal Probate in Arizona there are many mechanisms in Arizona that make it possible to avoid probate in many circumstances and also proves successful in helping clients through the probate process.
Unfortunately, however, if your loved one didn’t have the chance to set up an estate plan in which he or she appointed beneficiaries to his or her assets or placed assets in the name of a trust, then probate may be necessary, and you have to consult with estate planning lawyers. There are some ways to transfer asset without opening informal or formal probate in Arizona, even after the decedent has passed away. (In Arizona, you can transfer up to $75,000 of personal property and/or up to $100,000 in real property to a single beneficiary by affidavit after waiting a certain amount of time after the death of the property owner.)
When you do have to face probate, however, it is not the end of the world. Unless contested, probate can actually be a very straight-forward process. In Arizona, you have two years from the date of passing within which you are supposed to probate a will. When you’ve taken time to grieve and get the ceremony and other affairs in order, come in for a probate consultation.
We’ve outlined many of the key steps in Informal Probate in Arizona for when you’re ready to move forward with probate:
(1) Review your loved one’s important paperwork to see if he or she left a valid will. Bring the will and any known asset documentation into the initial consultation with one of our attorneys. At the initial consultation the attorney will provide you with questionnaires about the decedent and the potential assets and liabilities related to the estate. There are also the elder law lawyers that can help protect one’s property.
(2) Once you fill the questionnaires out and return them to your attorney, then the attorney will prepare a series of documents, which you will sign, that will allow you to be appointed as a personal representative of the estate.
(3) After signing the paperwork, we will file this documentation in Court. The probate court will then take some time (usually a few business days) to review the paperwork. If approved, the Court will notify the law firm that the paperwork is filed and available for pickup.
(4) Upon receipt of the filed paperwork, the law firm will send the notice to creditors out for publication, and contact any known creditors. The law firm will also let you know that you can pick up the certified letters of personal representative.
(5) You can use the letters of personal representative to apply for an EIN with the IRS and to open up an estate account at a local bank. Any liquid assets will be distributed into the estate account.
(6) As soon as notice is published, creditors may come forward with claims against the estate. They will have four months from the date of the first publication to make their claims.
(7) Your attorney will help you file an inventory regarding the assets of the estate within a period of time after the certified letters are issued.
(8) Assuming there are no contests to the estate, once all assets are distributed and claims are either paid or barred, then you can prepare an accounting of the estate.
(9) Upon preparation of the final accounting and either filing the accounting or mailing it to interested parties, you can file a closing statement to close the estate.
Even though the summarized process is relatively simple, each estate will vary in its own way, which may make the process last longer than just a few months. According to attorneys for estate planning in Cedar Rapids, each estate will have its own challenges, whether a creditor is being particularly difficult, a will that wasn’t executed properly in front of a notary and/or witnesses, or an asset won’t transfer or sell for one reason or another. An experienced attorney will walk you through these bumps along the way and help you manage the estate as efficiently as possible.
Should you have any questions about probate or any other legal issues, feel free to contact The Carroll Law Firm PLC at (623)551-9366.
