The Accountability That Comes With Broad Power
Arizona gives personal representatives sweeping authority over estate property under A.R.S. 14-3711. This statute is the counterweight. If that authority is exercised improperly, the personal representative faces personal liability to anyone with an interest in the estate.
If the exercise of power concerning the estate is improper, the personal representative is liable to interested persons for damage or loss resulting from breach of his fiduciary duty to the same extent as a trustee of an express trust.
A.R.S. § 14-3712The comparison to a trustee is significant. Trustees are held to one of the highest standards of care in the law. They cannot self-deal, cannot favor one beneficiary over another without justification, and cannot ignore the terms of the governing document. The same expectations apply to a personal representative managing an estate.
Protection for People Who Deal With the Estate
This statute also addresses a practical concern: what happens to buyers, lenders, or other third parties who do business with a personal representative? Their rights are determined under A.R.S. 14-3713 and 14-3714, which provide protections for people who deal with the estate in good faith.
That separation matters. The personal representative may face liability for a bad decision, but a good-faith buyer who purchased property from the estate does not automatically lose the property just because the representative acted improperly. The law protects both sides, holding the representative accountable while keeping innocent third parties from bearing the consequences of someone else's breach.