Arizona supplies rules when your will does not.
When a loved one passes, a missing will can leave you unsure who should receive their property. Arizona calls the rules for inheritance without a will intestate succession. Those rules follow family relationships, which may differ from the wishes your loved one shared with you.
A.R.S. 14-2101 applies these rules to the part of an estate that a will does not effectively address. Begin with your family history and the records for each asset.
Your family relationships affect the answer.
A surviving spouse and children may have different rights depending on the family. Arizona treats a family whose children are shared by both spouses differently from a family with children from an earlier relationship. Whether property is separate or community property also affects the answer.
For example, a Scottsdale family might include a current spouse and an adult child from a prior marriage. Assuming that the spouse receives everything could miss a rule that matters to that child. Bring these details to a review before anyone agrees to divide assets.
Start with the property records.
Make a list of the home, accounts, vehicles, and other property. Gather deeds, account statements, and any trust or beneficiary records you can find. A person named on one document may have a different role on another.
You do not need to solve each ownership question yourself. Give the records to the person reviewing the estate and ask which transfers follow a will, a trust, an account designation, or the inheritance rules. Keep those answers separate from family assumptions.
Put your own wishes into a written plan.
Think about who would receive your home and money if you left no plan. You can begin with a simpler task today: write down who you want to help and what you want them to receive. Include people whose needs would be easy to overlook.
Then discuss how to record those choices in the right documents. A note you leave for your family can help explain your thinking, but ask how to make your wishes legally effective. The right approach depends on your property, your family, and any plan you already have.
Explain the people behind your choices.
Tell us about children from earlier relationships, a partner you have not married, or a relative who depends on your help. Explain any wish to leave a gift to a friend or a cause. Your family tree alone cannot show every person you care about.
If your wishes have changed, bring your current documents rather than crossing out a name. We can discuss how your home, accounts, and written instructions fit together.
Give your family a starting point.
Decide where you will keep signed documents and tell the person you choose how to find them. Review your plan after a marriage, a loss, or a change in who depends on you. Clear records give your family something concrete to work from.
Turquoise Law Group helps Arizona families discuss these choices in English and Spanish. Bring the documents you have and your unanswered questions to a free consultation.
Your questions, answered plainly.
Does my spouse automatically inherit everything?
Not in every family. A.R.S. 14-2102 uses different rules when you have descendants who are not also your spouse's descendants. Separate property and community property matter too, so review your actual family and asset details.
Who inherits if there is no surviving spouse?
A.R.S. 14-2103 sets an order for relatives, beginning with descendants. If there are none, the rules look to parents and then other relatives. The family facts determine which part of that order applies.
Does having no will mean Arizona takes everything?
No. Arizona has rules that identify heirs from surviving family relationships. Start by finding out who survives your loved one and which property falls under those rules. Do not assume that a missing will answers every ownership question.
What should I bring to a consultation?
Bring any will or trust, recent account statements, property deeds, and a simple family list. Note prior marriages and children from each relationship. If something is missing, tell us what you have already checked.