Probate Notice to Creditors and Claim Deadlines in Arizona

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Publish when the representative is appointed

Arizona starts the published-notice duty at appointment unless notice has already been given. A.R.S. § 14-3801 requires one publication each week for three successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county.

The notice announces the appointment, gives the representative's address, and warns creditors to present claims within four months after first publication or be forever barred. Section 14-3801 does not state a separate affidavit or proof-of-publication filing requirement.

Send written notice to known creditors

The representative must send written notice by mail or other delivery to all known creditors. The writing identifies the appointment and tells the creditor to present by the later of four months after published notice or 60 days after the mailing or other delivery. It may be the published notice or a similar notice.

The section speaks to known creditors. It does not state a separate reasonably-ascertainable standard or prescribe a correspondence, records, or inquiry checklist. Subsection (C) also says the representative is not liable to a creditor or successor merely for giving or failing to give this notice.

Use one of the two presentation routes

A.R.S. § 14-3804 permits a creditor to deliver or mail the representative a written claim. The writing states the claim's basis, the claimant's name and address, and the amount. A not-yet-due claim gives its due date; a contingent or unliquidated claim explains the uncertainty; and a secured claim describes the security. Presentation occurs when the representative receives it.

Alternatively, the claimant may timely commence a proceeding against the representative in a court that has jurisdiction. A proceeding already pending against the decedent at death does not require separate claim presentation.

Apply both the notice clock and the outside formula

For a creditor reached only by publication, the ordinary short deadline is four months after first publication. A known creditor given written notice receives the later of that publication date or 60 days after mailing or other delivery.

A.R.S. § 14-3803 bars a predeath claim by the earlier applicable boundary: the notice deadline or two years after death plus the time remaining in a notice period that has begun. An ordinary limitation or nonclaim statute can bar the claim earlier, and a claim already barred at the decedent's domicile before Arizona notice is also barred here.

Preserve only the extensions and exceptions the statutes state

A.R.S. § 14-3802 prevents revival of a claim already barred at death. For a solvent estate, the representative may waive a limitations defense only with the consent of every successor whose interest would be affected. Other limitations measured from an event besides death and creditor advertising are suspended for four months after death and then resume; proper presentation counts as commencing a proceeding for limitations purposes.

The statutes state no general late-presentation or no-asset branch. Section 14-3804 does allow a narrow extension of the 60-day period for suing after disallowance when a claim is not presently due, contingent, or unliquidated, but no extension may exceed the applicable statute of limitations.

A.R.S. § 14-3803 preserves a proceeding to enforce a mortgage, pledge, or other lien against estate property. It also preserves a liability proceeding only up to applicable insurance protection, plus collection of the specified representative, attorney, or accountant compensation and expense claims.

What trips people up

Known-creditor notice does not always create a fresh 60-day period. The creditor gets the later of 60 days after direct notice and the four-month publication period.

The written-claim route goes to the personal representative. Section 14-3804 does not list filing a generic claim only with the probate clerk as a separate presentation method.

The two-year formula is an outside boundary, not the ordinary deadline. A completed publication or direct-notice period can bar the claim earlier, and an ordinary statute of limitations can expire earlier still.

The insurance exception preserves only insurance-limited recovery. It does not turn the insurer into a source for recovery above the available protection.

Common questions

How often must Arizona publish the creditor notice?

Once a week for three successive weeks in a county newspaper of general circulation.

Does the creditor have to file a claim with the probate court?

Not under the written-claim route stated in § 14-3804. The creditor delivers or mails the detailed writing to the representative. The alternative is timely commencing a court proceeding against the representative.

What if a lawsuit was already pending when the decedent died?

Section 14-3804 says no separate presentation is required for matters claimed in a proceeding that was pending against the decedent at death.

Does missing probate presentation destroy a mortgage or other lien?

No. Section 14-3803 expressly preserves a proceeding to enforce a mortgage, pledge, or other lien on estate property.

Statutes and sources

• Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 14-3801 — publication, known-creditor notice, short deadlines, contents, and representative-liability provision. Official Arizona Legislature section: https://www.azleg.gov/ars/14/03801.htm (accessed 2026-08-12).
• Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 14-3802 — existing limitations, waiver, four-month suspension, and effect of proper presentation. Official Arizona Legislature section: https://www.azleg.gov/ars/14/03802.htm (accessed 2026-08-12).
• Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 14-3803 — predeath and postdeath claim bars, outside formula, liens, insurance, and professional-claim exceptions. Official Arizona Legislature section: https://www.azleg.gov/ars/14/03803.htm (accessed 2026-08-12).
• Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 14-3804 — written-claim contents and receipt, proceeding route, pending actions, and narrow post-disallowance extension. Official Arizona Legislature section: https://www.azleg.gov/ars/14/03804.htm (accessed 2026-08-12).