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Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property ("Small Esta…Verified against the statute July 29, 2026

Arizona Small Estate Affidavit

Arizona lets the next of kin collect a deceased person’s property without opening probate when the estate is worth $200,000 or less and 30 days have passed since the death. Here is exactly how it works, and how to use it.

Check if you qualifyHow to use it

Arizona at a glance

Estate value limit
$200,000
Net value
Wait after death
30 days
Before the affidavit can be presented
File with a court?
No
Present it directly to the bank or agency
Covers real property?
Yes
Under the same affidavit
Notary required?
Yes
Sign in front of a notary
Who can sign
A person claiming to be the "successor" of the…
Per the statute

Is your estate under the $200,000 limit?

Enter a rough total of what they owned in their own name alone. Leave out jointly-held accounts and anything with a named beneficiary. Those don’t count.

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The $200,000 limit, and what actually counts

Net value of all of the decedent's personal property in the estate, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances. Valued as of the date of death under § 14-3971(B)(2)(a); valued as of the date of the affidavit under the alternative in § 14-3971(B)(2)(b) (where a personal representative has been discharged or more than one year has elapsed since a closing statement was filed). Real property is excluded from this computation and is governed by a separate $300,000 cap in § 14-3971(E). Separately, a surviving spouse may collect unpaid wages/salary/other compensation for personal services up to $5,000 under § 14-3971(A) with no waiting period. That $5,000 figure was not raised by H.B. 2116.

What doesn't count toward the limit

This is where most people wrongly rule themselves out. In Arizona, these are left out of the calculation:

  • Jointly-held property with right of survivorship
  • Payable-on-death and transfer-on-death accounts
  • Life insurance with a living named beneficiary
  • Retirement accounts with a living named beneficiary
  • Property already held in a trust
  • Liens and encumbrances on estate property
  • Real property

The 30-day waiting period

Personal property: 30 days, counted from the date of death. A.R.S. § 14-3971(B) opens 'Thirty days after the death of a decedent..', and § 14-3971(B)(1) requires the affidavit itself to state that 'Thirty days have elapsed since the death of the decedent.' Arizona is a UPC state and tracks UPC § 3-1201's 30-day period. Surviving spouse wage affidavit: no waiting period. § 14-3971(A) says 'At any time after the death of a decedent.' Real property: six months, counted from the date of death. § 14-3971(E) says 'Not sooner than six months after the death of a decedent,' and § 14-3971(E)(2) requires the affidavit to state that 'Six months have elapsed since the death of the decedent as shown in a certified copy of the decedent's death certificate attached to the affidavit.' H.B. 2116 changed 'No sooner' to 'Not sooner' in subsection (E): a stylistic, not substantive, edit; the six-month period was unchanged.

Who can sign the affidavit

A person claiming to be the "successor" of the decedent (or someone acting on the successor's behalf), i.e., the person entitled to payment or delivery of the property by will or by intestate succession; § 14-3971(B) requires the affidavit to state that "the claiming successor is entitled to payment or delivery of the property." No court appointment, bond, or fiduciary letters are required. Under § 14-3971(A) the wage affidavit is made by or on behalf of the surviving spouse only. Under § 14-3971(E) the real-property affidavit is signed by the person(s) entitled 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. Court self-help packets require any person with an equal or greater right to assign their entire interest in writing to the affiant, with the signed assignments attached.

Either, testate or intestate. Personal property (§ 14-3971(B)): the statute requires only that the claiming successor be entitled to payment or delivery; it does not require the will to be filed, lodged, or probated first as a condition of the affidavit. (Separately, A.R.S. § 14-2516 imposes a general duty on any person having custody of a will to deliver it to the court or to the personal representative. That duty exists independently of the affidavit.) real property (§ 14-3971(E)(4)): stricter: the signer must be entitled 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 last will of the decedent 'the original of which is attached to the affidavit or has been probated.' So for real property, the original will must physically accompany the affidavit or must already have been admitted to probate. Note the phrase 'sole heir or heirs' in the intestate branch: where multiple heirs share, court self-help packets require heirs with equal or greater right to sign written assignments of their entire interests to the affiant, attached to the affidavit.

The affidavit must be signed in front of a notary. Most banks and UPS Stores have a notary; many charge under $15.

Can it transfer a house or land in Arizona?

Real property does not pass under the § 14-3971(B) personal property affidavit. It requires a separate instrument in the same statute: the affidavit of succession to real property under A.R.S. § 14-3971(E) (Maricopa County titles its form 'Affidavit for Transfer of Title to Real Property'; the probate cover sheet code is #204, 'Affidavit of Succession to Realty'). Separate threshold: $300,000, raised from $100,000 by H.B. 2116 effective September 26, 2025. Covers only real property located in Arizona; out-of-state realty cannot be transferred this way. Valuation rule is unusual: the decedent's interest is valued from the full cash value shown on the county assessment rolls for the year in which the decedent died (not appraised or market value, and not the assessed/limited value), except that where a debt is secured by a lien on the real property, the value is the unpaid principal balance due on that debt as of the date of death. Under the (E)(1)(b) alternative track (PR discharged or more than one year since closing statement), valuation shifts to the assessment rolls for the year in which the affidavit is given and the lien balance as of the date of the affidavit. Six-month wait, and stricter debt clearance than the personal property affidavit: § 14-3971(E)(3) requires funeral expenses, expenses of the last illness and all unsecured debts of the decedent to have been paid. Also requires that no other person has a right to the decedent's interest (§ 14-3971(E)(5)) and that no federal estate tax is due (§ 14-3971(E)(6)). Unlike the personal property affidavit, this one must be filed with the Superior Court. The § 14-3971(E) affidavit, once filed and recorded, does operate to transfer/confirm title.

How to use a small estate affidavit in Arizona

  1. 1

    Confirm you're under the limit and past the wait

    Add up the property that passes through the estate and check it against the $200,000 ceiling. Net value of all of the decedent's personal property in the estate, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances. Valued as of the date of death under § 14-3971(B)(2)(a); valued as of the date of the affidavit under the alternative in § 14-3971(B)(2)(b) (where a personal representative has been discharged or more than one year has elapsed since a closing statement was filed). Real property is excluded from this computation and is governed by a separate $300,000 cap in § 14-3971(E). Separately, a surviving spouse may collect unpaid wages/salary/other compensation for personal services up to $5,000 under § 14-3971(A) with no waiting period. That $5,000 figure was not raised by H.B. 2116.

  2. 2

    Gather the documents

    You'll need certified copies of the death certificate: order at least three, since institutions often keep one: plus account numbers, the vehicle title or VIN, and the names and addresses of every heir.

  3. 3

    Complete the affidavit

    Fill in Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property ("Small Estate Affidavit"), A.R.S. § 14-3971(B), plus two companion affidavits in the same section: surviving-spouse wage affidavit, § 14-3971(A), and Affidavit of Succession to Real Property, § 14-3971(E), listing the decedent, the heirs and their relationships, the assets and their values, and the known debts.

  4. 4

    Sign it in front of a notary

    Sign in front of a notary public. Banks, credit unions and shipping stores all offer notarization, usually for a small fee.

  5. 5

    Present it to whoever holds the property

    Mandatory language, not permissive. § 14-3971(B): any person indebted to the decedent, or having possession of tangible personal property or an instrument evidencing a debt, obligation, stock or chose in action belonging to the decedent, 'Shall make payment of the indebtedness or deliver the tangible personal property or an instrument evidencing a debt, obligation, stock or chose in action to a person claiming to be the successor' on being presented the affidavit. § 14-3971(A): an employer owing wages, salary or other compensation 'Shall pay to the surviving spouse' up to $5,000. § 14-3971(C): 'A transfer agent of any security shall change the registered ownership on the books of a corporation from the decedent to the successor or successors on presentation of an affidavit pursuant to subsection B.' § 14-3971(D): 'The motor vehicle division shall transfer title.' Safe harbor. A.R.S. § 14-3972: 'The person paying, delivering, transferring or issuing personal property or the evidence thereof pursuant to affidavit is discharged and released to the same extent as if he dealt with a personal representative of the decedent.' The payor 'is not required to see to the application of the personal property or evidence thereof or to inquire into the truth of any statement in the affidavit.' § 14-3972 has parallel subsections extending the same protection to motor vehicle title transfers and to real property transactions. The residual risk is shifted entirely to the affiant, who remains answerable to any later-appointed personal representative or person with a superior right. Practical note: the statutory 'shall' does not always translate into first-line teller compliance: banks and brokerages frequently apply internal policies, demand their own institution-specific affidavit forms, insist on a Medallion signature guarantee for securities, or escalate to a legal department. Institutions that refuse have no statutory shield for the refusal, and citing § 14-3971(B) together with the § 14-3972 discharge language is the standard escalation.

Where to take the signed affidavit

The bank

Mandatory language, not permissive. § 14-3971(B): any person indebted to the decedent, or having possession of tangible personal property or an instrument evidencing a debt, obligation, stock or chose in action belonging to the decedent, 'Shall make payment of the indebtedness or deliver the tangible personal property or an instrument evidencing a debt, obligation, stock or chose in action to a person claiming to be the successor' on being presented the affidavit. § 14-3971(A): an employer owing wages, salary or other compensation 'Shall pay to the surviving spouse' up to $5,000. § 14-3971(C): 'A transfer agent of any security shall change the registered ownership on the books of a corporation from the decedent to the successor or successors on presentation of an affidavit pursuant to subsection B.' § 14-3971(D): 'The motor vehicle division shall transfer title.' Safe harbor. A.R.S. § 14-3972: 'The person paying, delivering, transferring or issuing personal property or the evidence thereof pursuant to affidavit is discharged and released to the same extent as if he dealt with a personal representative of the decedent.' The payor 'is not required to see to the application of the personal property or evidence thereof or to inquire into the truth of any statement in the affidavit.' § 14-3972 has parallel subsections extending the same protection to motor vehicle title transfers and to real property transactions. The residual risk is shifted entirely to the affiant, who remains answerable to any later-appointed personal representative or person with a superior right. Practical note: the statutory 'shall' does not always translate into first-line teller compliance: banks and brokerages frequently apply internal policies, demand their own institution-specific affidavit forms, insist on a Medallion signature guarantee for securities, or escalate to a legal department. Institutions that refuse have no statutory shield for the refusal, and citing § 14-3971(B) together with the § 14-3972 discharge language is the standard escalation.

The DMV

No separate threshold and no separate statutory affidavit, the same § 14-3971(B) personal property affidavit is used. A.R.S. § 14-3971(D): 'The motor vehicle division shall transfer title of a motor vehicle from the decedent to the successor or successors on presentation of an affidavit as provided in subsection B of this section and on payment of the necessary fees.' The transfer is mandatory on the MVD, not discretionary. Agency: Arizona Department of Transportation, Motor Vehicle Division (ADOT MVD). Forms: ADOT form 32-6901 'Non-Probate Affidavit', submitted with ADOT form 96-0236 'Title and Registration Application'. Adot's published conditions mirror the statute: at least 30 days have passed since death; the value of all the decedent's personal property including vehicles does not exceed $200,000; the applicant is the successor entitled by will or intestate succession; all owners on the title must be deceased. Also required: the current title if available (not required for Arizona-titled vehicles) and a lien release if applicable. Title fee $4.00 plus registration fees. Paper submission only, no online filing; a wet signature is required. Distinguish: ADOT form 96-0561 'Beneficiary Designation' is a transfer-on-death designation the owner files before death; if a valid 96-0561 is on file the vehicle passes outside the estate and no small estate affidavit is needed at all. Also note A.R.S. § 14-3972(B) extends the safe harbor to MVD title transfers.

The employer

Final wages and accrued leave can usually be claimed with the same affidavit. Ask their payroll department what they need, most have a standard process.

Debts and your personal liability

Personal property (§ 14-3971(B)(4)): the affidavit must state that 'The funeral expenses and expenses of the last illness of the decedent have been paid.' That is the only affirmative debt-clearance condition, general unsecured creditors need not be paid first, and the statute does not require debts to be scheduled or listed on the affidavit. Real property (§ 14-3971(E)(3)): materially stricter. 'Funeral expenses, expenses of the last illness and all unsecured debts of the decedent have been paid.' A family with unpaid credit cards or medical bills therefore cannot use the real-property affidavit even though they could use the personal-property one. Affiant liability: under A.R.S. § 14-3972 the successor who receives the property 'is answerable and accountable therefor to any personal representative of the estate or to any other person having a superior right', the affidavit extinguishes the payor's exposure, not the recipient's. If a personal representative is later appointed, the PR can compel the successor to turn over or account for what was collected. The affidavit is a sworn instrument, so false statements expose the affiant to perjury liability; § 14-3971(E) makes this explicit for the real-property affidavit, requiring the affiant to acknowledge 'that any false statement in the affidavit may subject the person or persons to penalties relating to perjury and subornation of perjury.' § 14-3971(G) preserves heirs' and devisees' rights under § 14-3901, so the affidavit does not cut off competing successors' substantive claims.

When you can’t use it

Arizona takes the affidavit route off the table when:

  • Fewer than 30 days have elapsed since the date of death (§ 14-3971(B)(1)), the personal property affidavit cannot be used earlier
  • An application or petition for appointment of a personal representative is pending anywhere, or a personal representative has been appointed in any jurisdiction (§ 14-3971(B)(2)(a)), unless the alternative in (B)(2)(b) applies (the PR has been discharged, or more than one year has elapsed since a closing statement was filed)
  • Net personal property, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, exceeds $200,000 (§ 14-3971(B)(2)(a)), forces informal or formal probate
  • The claiming successor is not in fact entitled to payment or delivery of the property (§ 14-3971(B)(3))
  • Funeral expenses and expenses of the last illness of the decedent have not been paid (§ 14-3971(B)(4))
  • Real property may not be transferred under the § 14-3971(B) personal property affidavit at all. It requires the separate § 14-3971(E) affidavit
  • For the § 14-3971(E) real property affidavit: fewer than six months since death (§ 14-3971(E)(2)); Arizona real property valued over $300,000 net of liens (§ 14-3971(E)(1)(a)); funeral expenses, last-illness expenses, or any unsecured debts unpaid (§ 14-3971(E)(3)); any other person has a right to the decedent's interest (§ 14-3971(E)(5)); federal estate tax is due (§ 14-3971(E)(6)); real property located outside Arizona
  • For the § 14-3971(A) wage affidavit: amount owing exceeds $5,000, affiant is not the surviving spouse, or a PR appointment is pending/granted and not discharged
  • Practical (non-statutory) disqualifiers: contested heirship, an unlocated or contested will, a minor or incapacitated successor, creditor claims exceeding assets, or an institution that refuses despite the statutory mandate, all push the family to informal probate

If any of those apply, a probate attorney is the right call. A typical small-estate proceeding runs $1,000–$3,000 plus the court’s fee.

Arizona small estate affidavit FAQ

Statute and sources

Last verified July 29, 2026. H.B. 2116, 57th Legislature, 1st Regular Session (2025), titled 'small estate; affidavit; limits.' Passed and signed by the Governor on March 31, 2025. Effective September 26, 2025. This is Arizona's general effective date for the 2025 regular session (the 91st day after sine die adjournment on June 27, 2025); the bill carried no emergency clause and no delayed-effective-date clause. Some early commentary circulated a 'June 30, 2025' date; that is wrong. Changes made: (1) personal property cap in § 14-3971(B)(2)(a) and (B)(2)(b) raised from $75,000 to $200,000; (2) real property cap in § 14-3971(E)(1)(a) and (E)(1)(b) raised from $100,000 to $300,000; (3) purely stylistic edits. 'upon' to 'on' in subsection (B) and 'No sooner' to 'Not sooner' in subsection (E). Not changed: the $5,000 surviving-spouse wage figure in § 14-3971(A); the 30-day personal property waiting period; the six-month real property waiting period; the disqualifiers; the valuation methodology; the court-filing requirement for real property; and § 14-3972's safe harbor. These were the first increases in many years: the $75,000/$100,000 figures had been static long enough that ordinary home-price appreciation was pushing routine estates into full probate. No other amendments to §§ 14-3971 through 14-3974 in the 2023-2026 window were identified, and no Arizona small-estate figure is inflation-indexed. Maricopa County's form packet revision code '092625' confirms the county re-issued its forms on the September 26, 2025 effective date.

  • A.R.S. § 14-3971 (Collection of personal property by affidavit; ownership of vehicles; affidavit of succession to real property)
  • A.R.S. § 14-3971(A) (surviving spouse; wages/salary/other compensation; $5,000; no waiting period)
  • A.R.S. § 14-3971(B) (personal property affidavit; 30 days; $200,000)
  • A.R.S. § 14-3971(B)(1)-(4) (conditions and disqualifiers)
  • A.R.S. § 14-3971(C) (transfer agent of security shall change registered ownership)
  • A.R.S. § 14-3971(D) (motor vehicle division shall transfer title)
  • A.R.S. § 14-3971(E) (affidavit of succession to real property; six months; $300,000)
  • A.R.S. § 14-3971(F) (normal filing fee; registrar issues certified copy; recording)
  • A.R.S. § 14-3971(G) (does not limit rights of heirs and devisees under § 14-3901)
  • A.R.S. § 14-3972 (effect of affidavit; safe harbor for payor/transferor)
  • A.R.S. § 14-3973 (small estates; summary administrative procedure)
  • A.R.S. § 14-3974 (small estates; closing by sworn statement of personal representative)
  • A.R.S. § 14-3402(B) (petition for adjudication of intestacy and determination of heirs, the statutory heirship route)
  • A.R.S. § 14-3901 (devolution of estate; rights of heirs and devisees)
  • A.R.S. §§ 12-301, 12-302 (filing fees; deferral/waiver)
  • 2025 Ariz. H.B. 2116, 57th Leg., 1st Reg. Sess. (signed Mar. 31, 2025; eff. Sept. 26, 2025)

What we're less sure about

  • RETROACTIVITY / WHICH THRESHOLD APPLIES TO A PRE-SEPT-26-2025 DEATH: H.B. 2116 contains no retroactivity or applicability clause. Because § 14-3971(B)(2)(a) tests value 'as valued as of the date of death,' it is arguable whether an estate of a decedent who died before September 26, 2025 is governed by the $75,000/$100,000 caps or the new $200,000/$300,000 caps. Prevailing practitioner commentary applies the caps in force when the AFFIDAVIT IS MADE OR FILED (so new caps apply to affidavits executed on or after Sept. 26, 2025 regardless of death date), and Arizona's default rule under A.R.S. § 1-244 is that statutes are prospective absent express retroactivity, but no controlling appellate decision or AOC guidance confirming the point was located. Flag this in the product for deaths before Sept. 26, 2025 and recommend counsel where the estate falls between the old and new caps.
  • EXACT COURT FILING FEE for the § 14-3971(E) real property affidavit was NOT verified from a primary source. The Maricopa County Clerk's fee-schedule pages returned HTTP 403 to automated retrieval. § 14-3971(F) establishes only that 'the normal filing fee' applies (per A.R.S. §§ 12-301, 12-302, with county schedules under § 12-284). Do not publish a dollar amount without confirming the current county probate initial-filing fee directly with the Clerk of the Superior Court in the relevant county; fees vary by county and are revised by Supreme Court administrative order.
  • NOTARIZATION is treated as required because § 14-3971 uses the term 'affidavit' (a sworn statement) throughout and the Maricopa County self-help packet instructs users to take a 'completed and notarized' affidavit to the property holder and warns that 'the Clerk of Superior Court cannot notarize this form.' However, the statute itself does not contain an express 'shall be notarized' or 'sworn before a notary' clause, and Arizona has no small-estate-specific unsworn-declaration substitute. Treat notarization as practically mandatory (institutions will demand it) while noting the statutory text is indirect.
  • COUNTY FORM VARIATION: form numbers, cover-sheet requirements, and packet contents differ by county (Maricopa PBSE11f/PBSE12f vs. Pima, Pinal, Cochise, Yavapai equivalents). Only the Maricopa packet was read in full. A statewide product should either use the AOC statewide form or key the output to the user's county.
  • INSTITUTIONAL COMPLIANCE RISK: § 14-3971 says banks, employers, transfer agents and MVD 'shall' pay or transfer, but there is no statutory penalty specified for refusal and no case law was reviewed on enforcement. Real-world rejection by a bank remains a live risk that the statute does not fully eliminate.
  • WHETHER THE $200,000 CAP COUNTS OUT-OF-STATE PERSONAL PROPERTY: the text says 'all personal property in the decedent's estate, wherever located,' which plainly includes out-of-state personalty in the cap computation, but note the asymmetry that the real property cap in (E)(1)(a) is limited to real property 'located in this state' while the (E)(1)(b) alternative says 'wherever located.' This drafting inconsistency within subsection (E) was not resolved by any authority located.
  • The Pima County Superior Court page on the § 14-3971(E) affidavit returned HTTP 403 and could not be read; the real-property procedure was confirmed instead from the statutory text plus the Maricopa packet.

Kinclaim is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. We provide self-help software and statutory forms.