Arizona Debt Payment Priority

When someone dies in Arizona, their debts do not vanish, but they also do not all carry equal weight. The personal representative must pay estate obligations in a specific statutory order before handing anything to beneficiaries. Follow the order and you are protected. Pay out of order, and you can be held personally responsible for the shortfall.

A.R.S. 14-3805 sets the classification and order for paying claims when the estate cannot cover everything, and A.R.S. 14-3807 governs when you may pay and where personal liability begins. Arizona probate runs through the county Superior Court under Title 14, Chapter 3. This guide walks each class in order, explains what happens when the estate is insolvent, and shows how to protect yourself as the person in charge. This is general information, not legal advice.

Why Priority Order Matters

In most estates there is enough money to pay every debt and still leave something for the family. When that is true, the order is mostly a procedural exercise: everyone gets paid.

The order becomes decisive in two situations:

Insolvent estates, where the debts exceed the available assets. Someone will not be paid in full, and the statute decides who.
Premature payments, where the personal representative pays a lower-priority creditor or distributes to beneficiaries before higher-priority claims are resolved, leaving nothing for a claim that should have come first.

Understanding the order also tells you when it is safe to distribute. In Arizona you do not pay first-come, first-served, and you do not distribute until the claim windows have run and the allowances and higher-priority claims are handled. See the Arizona creditor claims guide for the four-month and known-creditor notice periods that set the timing.

The Order of Payment Under Arizona Law

Arizona is a Uniform Probate Code state, and A.R.S. 14-3805 groups estate claims into six classes. When the applicable assets are not enough to pay all claims in full, the personal representative pays each class in order, and no claim receives preference over another claim in the same class.

Class 1: Costs and Expenses of Administration

The costs of running the probate come first, including compensation of the personal representative and of the people the representative employs. These are the expenses that make administration possible: court filing fees, reasonable personal representative compensation, attorney and accountant fees, appraisal costs, and publication costs for the notice to creditors. Administration is paid ahead of creditors because without it there is no mechanism to pay anyone.

Class 2: Reasonable Funeral Expenses

Reasonable funeral and burial expenses come second. Arizona does not fix a dollar cap in this classification, but it limits the priority to what is reasonable given the estate. If the family arranged an unusually costly funeral relative to the estate, the personal representative should limit the Class 2 amount to what is reasonable and document the basis.

Class 3: Debts and Taxes With Preference Under Federal Law

Debts and taxes that carry preference under federal law come next. This is mainly unpaid federal income tax, federal tax liens, and any federal estate tax on a large estate. Federal law governs its own collection priority, so these claims are addressed before Arizona's own tax preferences.

Class 4: Reasonable Medical and Hospital Expenses of the Last Illness

Reasonable medical and hospital expenses of the decedent's last illness, including reasonable compensation for the people who attended the decedent, receive Class 4 priority. This is tied to the final illness rather than a fixed lookback window, so gather dated provider statements early so you can identify which bills belong to the last illness.

Class 5: Debts and Taxes With Preference Under Other Arizona Laws

Debts and taxes that carry preference under other laws of Arizona come fifth. Arizona imposes no state estate tax and no state inheritance tax, so this class is narrower than in many states, but it captures any state obligation the law gives a preference to.

Class 6: All Other Claims

Everything that does not fit a higher class lands here: credit card balances, personal loans, utility arrears, older medical bills that are not part of the last illness, civil judgments, and most other unsecured debts. Class 6 is the last category paid, and in an insolvent estate these creditors often receive a partial payment or nothing.

Two rules ride along with the list. No claim gets preference over another claim of the same class, and a claim that is already due and payable does not jump ahead of a claim in the same or a higher class that is not yet due.

When the Estate Cannot Pay All Debts

An estate is insolvent when its total valid debts exceed the value of the assets available to pay them. This happens more often than families expect, especially where most of the decedent's wealth passed outside probate through beneficiary designations, survivorship, or payable-on-death terms while the debts stayed in the estate.

In an insolvent Arizona estate:

Pay each class in A.R.S. 14-3805 order, and finish a class before moving to the next.
If the funds run out inside a class, the creditors in that class share pro rata, meaning each receives the same percentage of the amount owed. You do not get to choose which creditor in a class is paid first.
Beneficiaries receive nothing until the valid debts and the statutory allowances are resolved. In a truly insolvent estate, beneficiaries receive nothing at all.
If the estate looks insolvent, stop and get advice before paying anyone, because paying a lower class ahead of a higher one can leave you owing the difference.

Example. An estate has $18,000 available. Administration costs are $5,000 (Class 1) and funeral expenses are $6,000 (Class 2), leaving $7,000. A last-illness hospital bill of $4,000 (Class 4) is paid in full, leaving $3,000 against $9,000 in credit card debt (Class 6). The card creditors share the $3,000 pro rata, about 33 cents on the dollar, and beneficiaries receive nothing.

Protected Property

Some property is set aside for the surviving spouse and minor and dependent children before general creditors are paid, so it is not part of the pool the six classes divide.

Community property. Arizona is a community property state. The surviving spouse already owns one-half of the community property by ownership, and that half was never the decedent's to give away or to reach for the decedent's separate debts. Only the decedent's one-half of the community property and the decedent's separate property flow through the estate.
Homestead allowance. The surviving spouse may claim a homestead allowance of $18,000 under A.R.S. 14-2402, or the minor and dependent children share it if there is no surviving spouse. It is exempt from and has priority over all claims against the estate except expenses of administration.
Exempt property. In addition to the homestead allowance, the surviving spouse may claim up to $7,000 in household furniture, automobiles, furnishings, appliances, and personal effects, measured above security interests, under A.R.S. 14-2403. This right also has priority over all claims except expenses of administration.
Family allowance. The surviving spouse and qualifying children may claim a reasonable family allowance for maintenance during administration under A.R.S. 14-2404. It has priority over all claims except expenses of administration and the homestead allowance.

These allowances are set apart before general creditors are paid, and they are generally charged against whatever the spouse or children take by will, nonprobate transfer, or intestacy unless the governing instrument says otherwise. For how these protections stack, see the Arizona surviving spouse rights guide and the Arizona exempt property guide.

Executor Personal Liability

This is the section a personal representative needs to read carefully.

Under A.R.S. 14-3807, you pay allowed claims after the earlier of the claim-bar limits expires, in the A.R.S. 14-3805 priority order, and only after you provide for the homestead, exempt property, and family allowances, for claims presented but not yet allowed or under appeal, and for unbarred claims that might still come in. You may pay a clearly valid, unbarred claim earlier, but doing so is a personal risk.

You become personally liable to another allowed claimant who is harmed if you pay a claim before the claim bar has run and fail to require the payee to give adequate security for a refund, or if your negligence or willful fault deprives a higher-priority claimant of priority. Common ways personal representatives get hurt:

Paying a Class 6 credit card early, then discovering a Class 3 federal tax liability the estate can no longer cover.
Distributing to beneficiaries before the four-month or known-creditor windows close, then receiving a valid claim with nothing left to pay it.
Paying lower-priority bills before the homestead, exempt property, and family allowances and higher-priority claims are provided for.

The safe practice is to wait for the claim windows to run, set aside the allowances, pay in order, and hold distributions until the picture is complete. When claims are large, disputed, or the estate may be insolvent, talk to an Arizona attorney before you pay anyone.

Practical Steps for Executors

Step 1: Prepare the inventory first. Know what the estate is worth before you evaluate claims. Under A.R.S. 14-3706, the inventory and appraisement are generally prepared within 90 days of your appointment. See the Arizona personal representative duties guide.

Step 2: Publish notice and start the clock. A personal representative publishes notice once a week for three successive weeks, which starts the four-month claim bar, and mails known creditors so their deadline begins directly. See the Arizona creditor claims guide.

Step 3: Set aside the allowances. Provide for the homestead allowance, exempt property, and family allowance before you pay general creditors.

Step 4: Do not pay Class 6 debts early. Wait for the claim windows to run and for taxes to be confirmed before paying general unsecured debts. Higher-priority claims can still surface.

Step 5: Pay in order and document everything. Keep a written record of each payment, the class it belongs to, and when each claim window expired. That record protects you if anyone later questions your decisions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the family have to pay the deceased's debts out of their own money?

No. In Arizona, debts belong to the estate, not to surviving relatives individually. A family member is responsible only for a debt they personally co-signed or held jointly, and community property questions can affect a surviving spouse.

Are secured debts like a mortgage paid first under the priority list?

The six-class order in A.R.S. 14-3805 applies to claims against general estate funds. A mortgage or car loan is tied to specific collateral, and the lender keeps its rights against that property. The claim windows do not stop a proceeding to enforce a mortgage, pledge, or other lien on estate property, so a secured lender can look to its collateral independent of the class list.

What if the estate cannot pay every creditor in a class?

The creditors in that class share what remains pro rata, each receiving the same percentage of the amount owed. No creditor in a class is paid ahead of the others in the same class.

Can I be held personally responsible for paying in the wrong order?

Yes. Under A.R.S. 14-3807, paying a claim early without securing a refund, or paying in a way that strips a higher-priority claimant of priority through your negligence or willful fault, makes you personally liable to the claimant who is harmed. Pay in the A.R.S. 14-3805 order and hold distributions until the claim bars run.

Sources

Sources:

Title: A.R.S. 14-3805, Classification of claims. Publisher: Arizona Legislature (azleg.gov). Accessed 2026-07-01. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://www.azleg.gov/ars/14/03805.htm
Title: A.R.S. 14-3807, Payment of claims. Publisher: Arizona Legislature (azleg.gov). Accessed 2026-07-01. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://www.azleg.gov/ars/14/03807.htm
Title: A.R.S. 14-3801, Notice to creditors. Publisher: Arizona Legislature (azleg.gov). Accessed 2026-07-01. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://www.azleg.gov/ars/14/03801.htm
Title: A.R.S. 14-2402, Homestead allowance. Publisher: Arizona Legislature (azleg.gov). Accessed 2026-07-01. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://www.azleg.gov/ars/14/02402.htm
Title: A.R.S. 14-2403, Exempt property; value; priority. Publisher: Arizona Legislature (azleg.gov). Accessed 2026-07-01. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://www.azleg.gov/ars/14/02403.htm
Title: A.R.S. 14-2404, Family allowance. Publisher: Arizona Legislature (azleg.gov). Accessed 2026-07-01. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://www.azleg.gov/ars/14/02404.htm

This guide is general information about Arizona debt payment priority in probate. The classification and payment order turn on the specific assets, claims, and family, so confirm the details with the county Superior Court or a licensed Arizona attorney before you act. It is not legal advice.