How the Personal Representative Reviews Claims
The personal representative has real authority here. After a creditor submits a claim within the required time limits, the representative reviews it. They then decide whether to allow or disallow it, in whole or in part.
Creditor claims must be evaluated carefully against estate records. If the claim is disallowed, the personal representative mails a notice of disallowance. That notice starts a 60-day clock.
Every claim which is disallowed in whole or in part by the personal representative is barred so far as not allowed unless the claimant files a petition for allowance in the court or commences a proceeding against the personal representative not later than sixty days after the mailing of the notice of disallowance or partial allowance.
A.R.S. § 14-3806(A)If the creditor misses that 60-day window, the disallowed portion is barred for good. The representative may also do nothing for 60 days after the claim deadline. In that case, silence counts as approval.
Changing Course and Community Property
The representative can change course before paying a claim. Within six months of its presentation, they may rescind a prior allowance. They must then notify the creditor of the change.
Once a court has ordered the claim paid, the allowance cannot be undone.
Unless otherwise provided in any judgment in another court entered against the personal representative, allowed claims bear interest at the legal rate for the period commencing sixty days after the time for original presentation of the claim has expired unless based on a contract making a provision for interest, in which case they bear interest in accordance with that provision.
A.R.S. § 14-3806(E)For estates involving community property, the representative may classify a claim as payable from community property or separate property. That classification itself counts as a partial disallowance. As a result, it gives the creditor the right to challenge it.