Full Authority Without a Separate Probate Case
This statute gives foreign personal representatives meaningful power in Arizona. After complying with the filing requirements under A.R.S. 14-4204, the representative can do everything a locally appointed personal representative could do. That includes collecting debts owed to the estate, selling or transferring property, and handling any legal proceedings related to the estate's Arizona assets.
A domiciliary foreign personal representative who has complied with section 14-4204 may exercise as to assets in this state all powers of a local personal representative and may maintain actions and proceedings in this state subject to any conditions imposed upon nonresident parties generally.
A.R.S. § 14-4205The only limitation is that the representative remains subject to the same procedural conditions Arizona imposes on any nonresident party in legal proceedings. These are general jurisdictional rules, not estate-specific restrictions.
Why This Streamlines Multi-State Estate Settlement
Without this statute, a family settling an estate across state lines would need to open a full ancillary probate in Arizona, appoint a local representative, and navigate a separate court process. That means more attorney fees, more delays, and more complexity for everyone involved.
By allowing the foreign representative to act with full local authority after a simple filing, Arizona reduces that burden. The estate can be managed from the home state while still properly handling Arizona assets. This is particularly valuable for families where the Arizona property is a modest portion of the overall estate and a full local probate would be disproportionately expensive.