When This Statute Comes Into Play
Most people assume a will covers everything. In practice, it often does not. Assets get overlooked. Accounts get opened after the will was signed. Property changes hands. When that happens, this statute fills the gap.
Any part of the decedent's estate not effectively disposed of by will passes by intestate succession.
A.R.S. § 14-2101(A)That means the court follows a set order of priority: surviving spouse first, then children, then parents, then more distant relatives. You do not get a say in the order. Arizona's intestacy rules decide.
When a Surviving Spouse Does Not Inherit Everything
Many people assume a surviving spouse automatically inherits the entire estate. That is not always the case. If the decedent had children from a prior relationship, the surviving spouse receives only a portion, and the rest goes to those children.
The intestate share of a decedent's surviving spouse is the entire intestate estate if no descendant or parent of the decedent survives the decedent, or if all of the decedent's surviving descendants are also descendants of the surviving spouse and there is no other descendant of the surviving spouse who survives the decedent.
A.R.S. § 14-2102(A)This is one of the most common surprises in estate settlement. Blended families, second marriages, and children from different relationships all change the math. A properly funded living trust avoids this uncertainty entirely by letting you specify exactly who gets what.
