When a Testacy Order Becomes Final
Once the court issues a formal testacy order, it resolves every question the court considered or could have considered. That includes the validity of the will and the identity of heirs. This finality protects the estate from endless litigation. But the law also recognizes that circumstances sometimes justify revisiting the decision.
Not later than sixty days after entry of a formal testacy order probating a will or a formal adjudication of intestacy, any interested person who did not oppose the probate of the will or the allegations of intestacy at the original hearing may petition the court to vacate its order and reopen the matter.
A.R.S. § 14-3412(A)(1)This sixty-day window gives people who were not part of the original proceeding a chance to be heard. The order may be reconsidered if notice thereof except by publication was not provided to certain parties. The court then holds a new hearing, considers the evidence, and either confirms or vacates its earlier decision.
Newly Discovered Wills and Omitted Heirs
The court must also consider petitions when a previously unknown will surfaces. The person bringing it forward must show they were unaware of its existence during the original proceeding. The same protection applies to heirs who were left out of the court's determination. They may have been unaware of their relationship to the deceased, unaware of the death, or given no notice of the proceeding beyond publication.
The court shall entertain a petition for modification or vacation of its order and probate of another will of the decedent if it is shown that the proponents of the later-offered will were unaware of its existence at the time of the earlier proceeding or were unaware of the earlier proceeding and were given no notice thereof, except by publication.
A.R.S. § 14-3412(A)(2)These protections have strict deadlines. A petition to vacate must be filed before the court approves a final distribution, within six months of a closing statement, or within twelve months of the original order. Whichever comes first controls. Once those windows close, the order stands.