Intestate Succession

Probate & Legal

Arizona's default rules for distributing your assets when you die without a will or trust.

Intestate succession is the set of laws that control how your estate is distributed. These rules apply when you die without a valid will or living trust. In Arizona, they appear in Title 14 of the Arizona Revised Statutes.

Arizona's Intestacy Order

When someone dies intestate in Arizona, their assets go out in a specific order:

Surviving spouse: If all children are also children of the surviving spouse, the spouse inherits everything. If there are children from a prior relationship, the spouse gets half. The children share the other half.
Children: If there is no surviving spouse, children inherit equally.
Parents: If there are no children, parents inherit.
Siblings, then more distant relatives: The order continues outward through the family tree.

Why Intestacy Creates Problems

Intestacy removes your ability to choose who inherits and when. It can force your estate through probate and create family conflicts. The result may be distributions you would never have chosen. A properly funded living trust avoids intestacy entirely.