What Happens When You Do Not Have an Arizona Will?

An Arizona will is an important document that allows you to outline your final wishes, requests, and how you want your estate divided up. This consideration allows you to protect your estate, dependents, and take the burden off your family because it saves them from having to sort everything out in their time of grief. So, what happens if you pass without having an Arizona will? Read on and find out.

When You Die Without an Arizona Will

If you die without an Arizona will in place, it will be up to the state and probate court to decide how your estate, including wealth and assets, are divided up. Since Arizona is a community property state, your community property will be given to your spouse. Other property will divided up according to various state laws and guidelines. For the most part, your estate will divided up amongst your children and spouse, unless you do not have children – then it will likely all go to your spouse. However, your spouse and children will not necessarily be entitled to your entire estate if you have no Arizona will outlined, and your property could even go to previous partners, relatives, and bill collectors. In other circumstances where you do not have a spouse and/or children, there is no telling where your property and wealth will end up if you do not have an Arizona will.

The Cost of Not Having an Arizona Will

When a person dies without having a clear Arizona will in place, their estate is undeniably in jeopardy. Even if the results are favorable, if your estate goes into court, you can expect that there will be legal fees – fees that your heirs will be responsible for. Additionally, your estate may be subjected to collection by bill collectors or settlements against you. When everything is said and done, all of your wealth and financial assets may be dissolved before anyone is able to act as a beneficiary.

When’s the Best Time to Start and Arizona Will

Many people believe that they need to wait until they have valuable assets and a certain amount of wealth for an Arizona will to be necessary – that is not entirely true. While assets are important to cover, the purpose of an Arizona will goes beyond that. Your living will allows you to outline things like medical requests concerning end of life care or if you are incapacitated in some way. The best time to establish an Arizona will is as soon as possible!

Need Help?

If you are not sure as to what legal document you currently have contact one of our professionals to help you with your estate planning. They will make sure you have all of your grounds covered and have the right legal documents that best suite your wants and needs.