Life Insurance and Estate Creditors in Arizona For years, the law in Arizona has been that life insurance proceeds paid to a decedent’s spouse are exempt from claims of estate creditors. Did amendments to the Uniform Probate Code change this law? In May v. Ellis, 92 P.3d 859 (Ariz. 2004) the Arizona Supreme Court reviewed […]

Jurisdiction of Probate Court in Arizona The Superior Court has authority to deal with property ownership questions. But does the Superior Court acting as a probate court rule on matters other than the actual administration of the estate? In Gonzalez v. Superior Court, 570 P.2d 1077 (1977), the Arizona Supreme Court considered this issue. Facts […]

Will Contest After Probate Distribution in Arizona Will contests are usually filed before a will is probated. In Arizona, the statutes permit a will contest after probate in certain situations, including fraud. What type of fraud is necessary to permit a post-probate will contest? In Re Cassidy’s Estate, 270 P.2d 1079 (Ariz. 1954) the Arizona […]

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, […]