Arizona Intestate Succession

Arizona intestate succession questions can start with a source-by-source review of spouse shares, heir order, community-property context, representation rules, court forms, and county probate routing. The phrase means the default inheritance rules that can apply when part of a decedent's estate is not disposed of by a will.

Use this guide as source navigation, not legal advice or an inheritance calculator. It is not legal advice. It does not decide who inherits, classify property, calculate a share, prove heirship, tell someone to file, or predict court acceptance. Start with the Arizona probate guide if you need the wider court and probate-process context.

Arizona Intestate Succession At A Glance

Arizona intestacy research usually needs five checks:

1. Was there a valid will, and did it dispose of the property at issue?
2. Is the property part of the probate estate, or does it pass another way?
3. Is there a surviving spouse?
4. Are there descendants, parents, descendants of parents, grandparents, or descendants of grandparents?
5. Does the source path require county probate forms or a Superior Court filing?

A.R.S. 14-2101 is the source to review for the scope of the intestate estate. It says property not disposed of by will passes by intestate succession, except as modified by the will. That source also says a will can limit or exclude a person or class from succeeding to property that passes by intestate succession.

That source check matters because no-will inheritance is not automatically the right frame. Some property may pass under a will. Some may pass through a beneficiary designation, joint ownership, trust, transfer-on-death term, or another nonprobate path. This guide does not decide asset status.

What Intestate Means In Arizona

An intestate question usually starts after someone dies without a will, but the statute is broader than that. A.R.S. 14-2101 refers to any part of the estate not disposed of by will. That can include a person with no will, or a person whose will does not cover a piece of property.

Before asking who inherits, write down:

• the decedent's last Arizona residence
• whether an original will exists
• whether a probate case is open
• the property you are asking about
• how the property is titled
• whether a beneficiary, joint owner, trust, or transfer-on-death term exists
• the family relationships that may matter
• the county Superior Court source

Do not start with a family tree alone. Start with the asset, the will status, and the source that controls the question.

Surviving Spouse Share Source Checks

A.R.S. 14-2102 is the surviving-spouse statute. The statute addresses both separate property and the decedent's one-half of community property.

The source creates two main branches to review:

This table is not a share calculator. It is a statute map. The result can turn on who qualifies as issue, whether property is separate or community property, whether someone is treated as surviving, whether a will changes the outcome, and whether another transfer path applies.

Use extra care with blended families. A spouse-share answer can change when the decedent had descendants who were not also descendants of the surviving spouse. Use the Arizona surviving spouse rights guide for spouse-share and allowance source checks. If that fact pattern may apply, get legal review before distributing property.

Children, Parents, Siblings, And Other Heir Source Checks

A.R.S. 14-2103 is the statute to review for heirs other than the surviving spouse. It applies to any part of the intestate estate that does not pass to the surviving spouse under A.R.S. 14-2102, or to the whole intestate estate if there is no surviving spouse.

The statute lists an order to review:

This guide does not decide whether a person is an heir. It also does not decide adoption, parentage, half-blood, posthumous child, disclaimer, survivorship, or missing-relative questions. Those facts can require more sources than this page covers.

If there are disputes about family relationships, missing relatives, children from another relationship, or adopted relatives, pause before distribution and ask counsel.

Representation And Share Assignment Questions

A.R.S. 14-2106 is the source to review when a statute says property passes by representation. It explains how shares are divided among surviving descendants in the nearest generation and then among descendants of deceased descendants.

Readers often search for phrases like per stirpes or by representation because they want one quick share number. Arizona's source text is not a substitute for legal review in a real family tree. A single missing fact can change the analysis.

Use A.R.S. 14-2106 to frame questions such as:

• Which generation is nearest to the decedent with a surviving descendant?
• Did a deceased descendant leave surviving descendants?
• Does the question involve descendants, descendants of parents, or descendants of grandparents?
• Does another statute treat someone as having predeceased the decedent?
• Does a disclaimer, adoption, parentage, survivorship, or will clause change the source path?

Do not distribute property from a worksheet alone. Tie every answer to the statute, the court record, the family evidence, and any legal advice the estate receives.

When No One Is Qualified To Claim

A.R.S. 14-2105 is the source to review for unclaimed estate questions. It says that if no one is qualified to claim the estate under the article, the intestate estate passes to the state.

Treat this as a final-source check, not a quick conclusion. A no-family assumption can be wrong. Search records, family information, court filings, and counsel guidance before anyone treats an estate as having no qualified claimant.

Court Forms And County Probate Routing

Intestate succession answers often connect to probate administration. If there is no will, someone may need to ask the Superior Court for authority to handle estate property. This guide does not choose the filing.

The Arizona Judicial Branch Probate Forms page says guardians, conservators, or personal representatives may need to file documents and reports with the court, and that some documents may be required by one court while others may be required statewide.

The Arizona Judicial Branch Self-Service Center Probate Court Forms page tells self-represented users that if they have trouble completing forms, they may wish to consult an attorney, and that attorney review can help people who represent themselves.

The Arizona Judicial Branch Superior Court page lists county Superior Court locations and gives the court-source path for local lookup.

Before filing, compare:

• statewide probate form sources
• the county Superior Court source
• any local packet or self-help page
• the court file, if a case is already open
• the family facts and property records
• counsel guidance when heirship or property classification is unclear

The Arizona probate forms route can help organize form navigation once Arizona routes are approved for public release.

When To Use Other Arizona Guides

Use this Arizona intestate succession guide for no-will inheritance source checks.

Use the Arizona probate guide for the wider estate court process, forms, small-estate source checks, fees, and county lookup.

Use the Arizona probate timeline when you need the order of probate work.

Use the Arizona probate deadlines guide when you need timing-source checks for appointment, inventory, creditor notice, claims, small-estate affidavits, or closing.

Use the Arizona personal representative duties guide when you need task families after court authority exists.

Use the Arizona community property after death guide for property-characterization and survivorship title source checks. Future Arizona pages can own deeper adoption and probate-accounting questions. Keeping those topics separate reduces the chance that one broad page overstates the law.

Arizona Intestate Succession Checklist

Use this checklist before relying on any no-will inheritance answer:

1. Confirm whether a valid will exists.
2. Identify the property and how it is titled.
3. Check whether the property passes outside probate.
4. Review A.R.S. 14-2101 for intestate estate scope.
5. Review A.R.S. 14-2102 if there is a surviving spouse.
6. Review A.R.S. 14-2103 for non-spouse heir order.
7. Review A.R.S. 14-2106 if representation language matters.
8. Review A.R.S. 14-2105 only after careful no-claimant research.
9. Check Arizona Judicial Branch probate forms and the county Superior Court source.
10. Ask counsel before distribution if family facts, title, property character, debts, taxes, or court status are unclear.

Next steps. Write down the source behind each inheritance question before anyone transfers property. If the source does not answer the facts, get help before treating the answer as final.

Arizona Intestate Succession FAQ

What is Arizona intestate succession?

Arizona intestate succession is the statutory source path for property not disposed of by will. A.R.S. 14-2101 is the starting statute for that scope question.

Who inherits if an Arizona resident dies without a will?

The answer depends on the probate property, will status, surviving spouse, descendants, parents, descendants of parents, grandparents, descendants of grandparents, and other source facts. Review A.R.S. 14-2102 and A.R.S. 14-2103 before relying on an answer.

How does the surviving spouse share work in Arizona?

A.R.S. 14-2102 controls the surviving-spouse source check. It has different branches depending on whether there are surviving issue and whether those issue are also issue of the surviving spouse.

Why does community property matter for Arizona intestacy?

A.R.S. 14-2102 refers to separate property and the decedent's one-half of community property. Property characterization can affect the source path, so do not calculate a share until the property question is reviewed. Use the Arizona community property after death guide for those asset-characterization checks.

Do probate forms prove who inherits without a will?

No. Probate form pages help with form navigation. They do not prove heirship, classify property, calculate shares, or predict court acceptance.

Does this guide support an Arizona inheritance calculator?

No. Arizona inheritance calculator support remains disabled. This guide gives source navigation only and does not produce personalized inheritance results.

Sources

Sources:

• Title: 14-2101 - Intestate estate; modification by will. Publisher: Arizona Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed. Access date: 2026-06-05. URL: https://www.azleg.gov/ars/14/02101.htm
• Title: 14-2102 - Intestate share of surviving spouse. Publisher: Arizona Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed. Access date: 2026-06-05. URL: https://www.azleg.gov/ars/14/02102.htm
• Title: 14-2103 - Heirs other than surviving spouse; share in estate. Publisher: Arizona Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed. Access date: 2026-06-05. URL: https://www.azleg.gov/ars/14/02103.htm
• Title: 14-2105 - Unclaimed estate; passage to state. Publisher: Arizona Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed. Access date: 2026-06-05. URL: https://www.azleg.gov/ars/14/02105.htm
• Title: 14-2106 - Passing of estate by representation; assigning of shares; definitions. Publisher: Arizona Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed. Access date: 2026-06-05. URL: https://www.azleg.gov/ars/14/02106.htm
• Title: Probate Forms. Publisher: Arizona Judicial Branch. Publication Date: Not listed. Access date: 2026-06-05. URL: https://www.azcourts.gov/probate/Probate-Forms
• Title: Self-Service Center Forms. Publisher: Arizona Judicial Branch. Publication Date: Not listed. Access date: 2026-06-05. URL: https://www.azcourts.gov/selfservicecenter/Forms/Probate-Court-Forms
• Title: Superior Court. Publisher: Arizona Judicial Branch. Publication Date: Not listed. Access date: 2026-06-05. URL: https://www.azcourts.gov/AZ-Courts/Superior-Court/Location-and-Contact-Information