A Practical Shortcut for Smaller Payments
Not every payment owed to a child needs a conservatorship. When the amount is small, Arizona offers a simpler path. A.R.S. 14-5103 lets anyone who owes money or property to a minor skip the court. They can pay up to $10,000 per year directly.
Any person under a duty to pay or deliver money or personal property to a minor, including monies related to the settlement of a civil claim, may perform this duty, in amounts not exceeding ten thousand dollars per annum, by paying or delivering the money or property to any of the following: 1. The minor, if the minor is married. 2. Any person having the care and custody of the minor and with whom the minor resides. 3. The guardian of the minor. 4. A financial institution incident to a deposit in a federally insured savings account in the sole name of the minor and giving notice of the deposit to the minor.
A.R.S. § 14-5103(A)The statute covers civil settlements, insurance proceeds, and inheritances. The person who receives the funds on the child's behalf must protect and preserve them. They may only use the money for the child's support and education when other resources are limited.
When This Shortcut Does Not Apply
If the court has already appointed a conservator for the minor, this process is off the table. The same is true if conservatorship proceedings are pending. In those cases, payments must go through the conservator.
This section does not apply if the person making payment or delivery has actual knowledge that a conservator has been appointed or proceedings for appointment of a conservator of the estate of the minor are pending.
A.R.S. § 14-5103(B)Once the child turns 18, any remaining balance must go to them. The child then has three years to ask for an accounting of how the funds were spent. For families handling modest amounts owed to a child, this law offers a simple alternative to formal court proceedings.