Arizona Probate
Avoidance
Arizona Estate and Trust Administration
Organizing your probate and estate administration is important to ensure a seamless and orderly distribution of your assets according to your wishes.
Establish a seamless distribution of your assets.
Beneficiary Designations
Arizona allows Transfer on Death (TOD) or Pay on Death (POD) beneficiary designations to be added on bank accounts. Opting for these beneficiary designations is beneficial compared to joint tenancy, as they enable property transfer solely upon your death without relinquishing current ownership. However, there is a potential challenge in achieving a proper distribution of property among heirs through beneficiary designations.
Joint Tenancy & Tenancy By The Entirety
Adding another person to your assets as a joint owner or “joint tenancy with rights of survivorship” will allow your property to pass to them upon your death without going through probate. There are pitfalls to this strategy, however, to include subjecting such assets to any claims (such as lawsuits) against the co-owner and making them available to the co-owner’s creditors — all while you are still alive and planning on using the assets yourself.
