If you die without a will in Arizona, you did not avoid making a plan - the legislature made one for you decades ago. It is called intestate succession, it lives in state statute, and it distributes everything you own by formula, with zero regard for what you would have wanted.
The formula, in plain language
- Married, and every child is also your spouse's child (or no children): your spouse inherits everything.
- Married with a child from another relationship: this is the one that shocks people. Under A.R.S. § 14-2102, your spouse receives only half of your separate property - and none of your half of the community property. Your children take the rest. In a blended family, the surviving spouse can lose the house they live in a share of.
- Not married: children first; if none, parents; if none, siblings; and on outward through the family tree.
- No findable relatives: the estate escheats - meaning the State of Arizona keeps it.
What the formula ignores
Everything that actually matters to most families: an unmarried partner of twenty years (inherits nothing), a stepchild you raised (nothing), the child you're estranged from versus the one who cared for you (identical shares), the charity you promised, who should raise minor children, and who should be trusted to manage the money. The formula also does nothing to avoid probate itself - an intestate estate still goes through the full court process, often slower, because there is no will naming a personal representative.
One more surprise: a will alone does not fix most of this
A will lets you replace the state's formula with your own wishes - but it does not skip probate. A will is instructions for the probate court, not a way around it. Skipping the court process takes beneficiary designations, survivorship ownership, a beneficiary deed on the house, or a living trust.
Sources
- A.R.S. § 14-2102 (intestate share of surviving spouse) (checked 2026-07-26)
- Published Arizona attorney fee guides (on file; ranges current as of 2025-2026)
Educational information only, not legal advice. Intestate shares depend on each family's exact facts - the statute is the authority.