Probate exists for assets that have no other way to find their next owner. Give every asset a route, and there is nothing for the court to do. Arizona provides five routes - most cost little or nothing to set up.
1. Beneficiary designations (free)
Retirement accounts and life insurance already have them. Banks add payable-on-death (POD) designations and brokerages add transfer-on-death (TOD) registrations for free - usually one form. These override your will, which cuts both ways: they skip probate, and they also pay out to an ex-spouse you forgot to remove. Keeping them current is the whole game.
2. The beneficiary deed for your home (cheap)
Arizona is one of the states with a recorded deed that transfers your home on death, outside probate, while you keep full ownership and control during life. Revocable anytime. For many Arizona families this single document removes the largest asset from the court's reach. Full guide: the Arizona beneficiary deed.
3. Survivorship ownership (built into how you hold title)
Property held as joint tenants with right of survivorship - or, for married couples, community property with right of survivorship - passes automatically to the surviving owner. Married couples in Arizona usually want the community-property version for its tax treatment. The limit: survivorship only defers probate to whoever dies last, so it pairs with one of the other routes rather than replacing them.
4. The small-estate affidavit (after the fact)
Not planning, but rescue: if what is left in the estate is at or under $200,000 in personal property and $300,000 in Arizona real estate, heirs can collect it with affidavits instead of opening probate. Details and waiting periods: the small-estate affidavit guide.
5. The revocable living trust (the complete answer)
A living trust holds title to your assets while you keep full control as trustee. On death, your successor trustee distributes everything privately, in weeks, with no court involvement - and it handles what the cheap routes cannot: minor children, staged inheritances, incapacity while you are alive, and property in multiple states. Typical one-time cost in Arizona: $1,500 to $3,000. The catch nobody mentions: a trust only works for assets actually retitled into it - an unfunded trust is an expensive stack of paper.
Which routes fit your situation?
Run your numbers through the probate cost calculator to see what doing nothing would cost, then compare it against the routes above. For most Arizona homeowners the honest answer is a combination: designations kept current, a beneficiary deed or trust for the house, and survivorship titling between spouses.
Sources
- A.R.S. ยง 14-3971 (small estate collection by affidavit) (checked 2026-07-26)
- Published Arizona attorney fee guides (on file; ranges current as of 2025-2026)
Educational information only, not legal advice. Titling and designation changes have tax and legal consequences - confirm your specific situation with a licensed professional.