What is a First Deed of Trust in Arizona? Under Arizona law, a first deed of trust has priority over a lien. Does “first” refer to the first deed that is recorded or the first-in-time of any instrument recorded? In Cypress on Sunland Homeowners Ass’n v. Orlandini, 253 P.3d 288 (2011) the Arizona Court of […]

Appealing Court Orders in an Unsupervised Probate When Arizona adopted the Uniform Probate Code, probate procedure changed. The new law permits unsupervised probate proceedings in addition to supervised proceedings. In supervised proceedings, the court oversees the entire probate. In unsupervised proceedings, the personal representative only brings difficult questions to the court. In a supervised proceeding, […]

Arizona Trust Property May Be Conveyed by a Beneficiary Deed The Arizona Court of Appeals recently considered for the first time in Arizona whether Arizona trust property may be conveyed by a beneficiary deed. The court answered no in the matter of In Re Augusta Ganoni, No. 1 CA-CV 14-0240 (App. 2015). Ganoni executed a […]

Can Inherited Property Be Included in a Bankruptcy? Under Arizona law, property a debtor acquires within 180 days of filing bankruptcy is part of the bankruptcy estate. The property may be acquired by “bequest, inheritance, or devise”. What if a debtor receives property through a beneficiary deed? In the case of In re Jones Bankruptcy., 487 […]

No Contest Provision in a Will or Trust Under Arizona law, will clauses that disinherit those who contest the will are called in terrorem clauses. Are these clauses illegal or enforceable? In the case of In re Estate of Stewart, 286 P.3d 1089 (2012), the Court of Appeals considered the matter of in terrorem clauses. […]