Procedures: How To Apply To Be The Personal Representative

There are all sorts of forms executors, beneficiaries, and probate court clerks have to fill out and correspond with during probate and estate settlement, including affidavits, letters, petitions, summons, orders, and notices.

Procedures: How To Apply To Be The Personal Representative is a commonly used form within Arizona. Here’s an overview of what the form is and means, including a breakdown of the situations when (or why) you may need to use it:

Atticus Fast Facts About Procedures: How To Apply To Be The Personal Representative

Sometimes it’s tough to find a quick summary— here’s the important details you should know about Procedures: How To Apply To Be The Personal Representative:

• This form pertains to the State of Arizona

Government forms are not typically updated often, though when they are, it often happens rather quietly. While Atticus works hard to keep this information about Arizona’s Form pbip11pz - Procedures: How To Apply To Be The Personal Representative up to date, certain details can change from time-to-time with little or no communication.

Step 1 - Download the correct Arizona form based on the name and ID if applicable

Double check that you have both the correct form name and the correct form ID. Some Arizona probate forms can look remarkably similar, so it’s best to double, even triple-check that you’re using the right one! Keep in mind that not all States have a standardized Form ID system for their probate forms.

Step 2 - Complete the Document

Fill out all relevant fields in Form pbip11pz, take a break, and then review. Probate and estate settlement processes in AZ are long enough to begin with, and making a silly error can push your timeline even farther back. No thank you!

Note: If you don’t currently know all of the answers and are accessing Form pbip11pz online, be sure to avoid closing the browser tab and potentially losing all your progress (or use a platform like Atticus to help avoid making mistakes).

Step 3 - Have Form pbip11pz witnessed or notarized (if required)

Some States and situations require particular forms to be notarized. If you have been instructed to get the document notarized or see it in writing on the document, then make sure to hire a local notary. There are max notary fees in the United States that are defined and set by local law. Take a look at our full guide to notary fees to make sure you aren’t overpaying or getting ripped off.

Step 4 - Submit Procedures: How To Apply To Be The Personal Representative to the relevant office

This is most often the local probate court where the decedent (person who passed away) is domiciled (permanently resides) or the institution involved with this particular form (e.g. a bank). Some offices allow you to submit forms online, other’s don’t, and we while we generally recommend going in-person to expedite the process, sometimes that simply isn’t an option.

It’s also a generally good idea to establish a positive working relationship with any probate clerk (unfortunately there’s enough people & process out there making things more difficult and unnecessarily confusing for them), so a best practice is to simply ask the probate clerk proactively exactly how and where they’d prefer you to submit all forms.

Need help getting in touch with a local probate court or identifying a domicile probate jurisdiction?

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Different probate forms or processes can require different deadlines or response times for completing the appropriate form.

While some steps in the process are bound to specific deadlines (like petitioning for probate, having to submit an inventory of assets, or filing applicable notices to creditors and beneficiaries), many probate forms or processes are not tied to a specific deadline since the scope of work can vary based on situational factors or requirements involved.

Either way, there are a bunch of practical reasons why personal representatives should work to complete each step as thoroughly and quickly as possible when completing probate in Arizona.

5 reasons you should submit pbip11pz as quickly as possible:

1. The sooner you begin, the faster Arizona can allow heirs and beneficiaries to get their share of assets subject to probate. Acting promptly can also decrease the costs & overall mental fatigue through an otherwise burdensome process.
   
   Helpful Context: What’s the Difference Between Probate and Non-Probate Assets?

2. In general, creditors of an estate usually have around 3-6 months from the time you file notice to creditors to file any claims for debt against the deceased’s assets. If they don’t, then that debt is forfeited (and more importantly, the executor won’t be held personally responsible). So doing this sooner means you have a better idea of who is owed what and ensures you won’t get a surprise collector months later.

3. Not filing a will within 30 days (on average) could mean that the probate process proceeds according to intestate laws (laws that govern what happens to someone's stuff without a will) or is subject to unnecessary supervision by the probate court. And if you aren't directly related to the deceased (a.k.a. next of kin), this could also mean you lose your inheritance.

4. It’s important to file any necessary state tax returns on behalf of the deceased or estate by the following tax season in Arizona. If you don’t, you could owe penalties and interest. This also includes any necessary federal tax returns such as Forms 1040, 1041, or even a Form 706 estate tax return.

5. If a house in the State of Arizona is left empty (or abandoned) for a while, insurance can get dicey. For example, if the house burns down and no one has been there for a year, an insurance company may get out of paying your claim.

If you’re not using Atticus to get specific forms, deadlines, and timelines for Arizona probate, then try and stay as organized as possible, pay close attention to the dates mentioned in any correspondence you have with the State’s government officials, call the local Arizona probate clerk or court for exact answers regarding Form pbip11pz, and when in doubt— consult a qualified trust & estates lawyer for that area.

Procedures: How To Apply To Be The Personal Representative is one of the many probate court forms available for download through Atticus.

It may also be available through some Arizona probate court sites, such as . In order to access the latest version, be updated with any revisions, and get full instructions on how to complete each form, check out the Atticus Probate & Estate Settlement software or consider hiring a qualified legal expert locally within Arizona.

While Atticus automatically provides the latest forms, be sure to choose the correct version of Form pbip11pz - Procedures: How To Apply To Be The Personal Representative f using any other site or resource in order to avoid having to re-complete the form process and/or make another trip to the Arizona probate court office.

Procedures: How To Apply To Be The Personal Representative is a .pdf, so opening it should be as simple as clicking “View Form” from within the Atticus app or by clicking the appropriate link found on any Arizona-provided government platform. Once you’ve opened the form, you should be able to directly edit the form before saving or printing.

Here’s the text, verbatim, that is found on Arizona Form pbip11pz - Procedures: How To Apply To Be The Personal Representative. You can use this to get an idea of the context of the form and what type of information is needed.

© Superior Court of Arizona in Maricopa County Page 1 of 2 PBIP11p 041519 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Law Library Resource Center Procedures: How to apply to be the Personal Representative What to do before you come to court to file anything: 1. Decide if you are asking for an appointment as personal representative for the person who died with no will, or with a will. If the person died with a will, you will also be asking for the will to be admitted into informal probate. 2. Decide if you are an appropriate person to be the personal representative. Generally, to file the application you must be: • Over 18 years of age and • The surviving spouse of the decedent, • An adult child of the decedent, • A parent of the decedent, • A brother or sister of the decedent, • A person entitled to property of the decedent, • A person who was named as personal representative by will, or • You are a creditor and 45 days have gone by since the person died. Read the application and all the other papers in this packet so you know what kind of information you will need to file to be appointed personal representative. 3. Determine who all the other people are that may be entitled to be the personal representative. Also, you will need to determine who the likely persons are who will inherit property under the will or, to whom property will pass by law if there is no will, and who are creditors of the estate. If you are not sure about this, talk to a lawyer who can help you decide. 4. Complete the application if you want to be appointed as personal representative. Use black ink only. 5. Go to the people who could also be personal representatives. • Ask them if they are willing to sign a waiver of appointment and will agree to your appointment as personal representative. If they are willing to sign a waiver, have them sign the waiver in this packet. • If the waiver is signed, mail or deliver the waiver to all interested persons. Interested persons are individuals who are heirs, devisees, children, spouse, creditors and others having a property right in or claim against the estate and persons having a priority for appointment as personal representative © Superior Court of Arizona in Maricopa County Page 2 of 2 PBIP11p 041519 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 6. Estimate what you think is the total value of the estate of the decedent. Go to the people who are entitled to inherit the property under a will, or to whom property will pass by law if there is no will, and ask them if they are willing to have you act as personal representative without a bond. If they are willing, ask them to sign the waiver of bond if the waiver of bond is signed by all interested persons, mail or deliver the waiver to all interested persons. Note: a bond will be required unless it is waived by the will, in writing by all heirs if there is no will or by all devisees/beneficiaries if there is a will. 7. Fill out the probate information cover sheet, informal checklist, the application, and attach the original will. Make enough copies for all interested persons. Decide in which court location you will file the application. The locations are: Filing your papers with the court: 1. File the original application and the original will and have the copies conformed (stamped) by the clerk of superior court and returned to you. (Conformed means that the original document was filed with the court and date-stamped.) Fees: a list of current fees is available from the law library resource center and from the clerk of superior court’s website. If you cannot afford the filing fee and/or the fee for having the papers served by the sheriff or by publication, you may request a deferral (payment plan) when you file your papers with the clerk of superior court. Deferral applications are available at no charge from the law library resource center. 2. Complete the notice of application. Mail or hand-deliver a copy of the notice of application and the application for informal appointment of personal representative to everyone entitled to notice. Read the notice of application in this packet to learn who must get notice. If people are entitled to notice and you cannot find them even though you tried very hard to find them, you can publish notice. Read the documents in this packet on how to serve papers when you don’t know where the other party lives. You must publish once a week for 3 consecutive weeks. If you publish, be sure you complete the affidavit of circumstances, and make sure the affidavit of publication that you will get back from the newspaper is filed with the court. 3. Complete the proof of delivery or mailing of notice application. Use black ink only. What to do next: see the Procedures for appointment of personal representative in this packet. Downtown Phoenix: Central Court Building, 1 st Floor 201 W est Jefferson Phoenix, AZ 85003 Northeast Phoenix: Northeast Regional Court Facility 18380 North 40 th Street Phoenix, AZ 85032 Surprise: Northwest Regional Court Facility 14264 West Tierra Buena Lane Surprise, AZ 85374 Mesa: Southeast Court Facility,1 st Floor 222 East Javelina Avenue Mesa, AZ 85210