Arizona Probate Services for Out-of-State Clients
If you’ve been named as an executor by someone in Arizona and you live out of state, you will be faced with probating the estate when that person passes away. You may rightly wonder how you will shoulder that responsibility and whether you will need to spend considerable time here to do so. Fortunately, with the aid of an experienced attorney, you can accomplish the necessary tasks long distance, often without having to travel.
There is nothing to prevent a non-Arizona resident from serving as personal representative — that is, an executive or administrator — for a deceased person here. At my firm, a significant part of my practice is devoted to helping out-of-state representatives manage their probate duties here with a minimum of inconvenience.
Probate is the court process of settling a deceased person’s estate. One of the first things that will happen is that the probate court reviews and validate the deceased person’s will that has named you as executor. I can secure your court appointment as executor by making the appropriate application, usually without your personal appearance. The court then issues “letters testamentary,” which formally authorize you to take the actions necessary to settle the estate.
From there, I advise you on all steps in the process and make sure they are carried out. I can help you attend not only to legal requirements but also to the practical tasks of wrapping up an estate. For example, I can assist with:
- Obtaining a surety bond to protect estate beneficiaries and creditors
- Establishing a bank account for the estate
- Sending and receiving correspondence in the estate’s behalf
- Locating the decedent’s property and transferring it to the estate
- Making valuations of estate property
- Having the decedent’s home inventoried, cleaned and sold
- Distributing estate property according to your loved one’s instructions
- Ensuring that the estate’s tax payments and other financial obligations are met
- Preparing and filing a final estate accounting
I work with local appraisers, CPAs, financial professionals, insurance professionals and anyone else whose expertise may be helpful in carrying out probate effectively.
Throughout the process, we can stay in touch using video conferencing and I can share documents with you using secure online tools. There will be documents for you to sign, but depending on the law of the state where you live, you may be able to sign them online or bring them to a notary public in your area.
By retaining Jeffrey P. Hall, PLLC as your counsel, you can minimize or possibly eliminate the need to travel to Arizona for probate of your loved one’s estate. I offer a free initial consultation, so it won’t cost you anything to learn more about how to handle the responsibilities of serving as an executor from long distance. Call 480-409-5174 or contact me online anytime. I have offices in Phoenix, Chandler and Peoria.
