Trustee Notice to Beneficiaries Requirements in Arizona

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Arizona uses two 60-day clocks

A.R.S. § 14-10813(B)(2) starts the first clock when the trustee accepts the trusteeship. Within 60 days, the trustee notifies qualified beneficiaries of the acceptance and gives the trustee's name, address, and telephone number.

Subsection (B)(3) starts a separate 60 days when the trustee acquires knowledge that an irrevocable trust was created or that a formerly revocable trust became irrevocable, whether because the settlor died or otherwise. That notice states the trust's existence, identifies the settlor or settlors, gives the same trustee contact information, and states rights to request relevant portions of the trust instrument and a trustee's report.

The trust instrument may change the ordinary notices

A.R.S. § 14-10105 generally lets trust terms prevail over the Trust Code. Its mandatory-rule list protects a qualified beneficiary's request rights for an irrevocable trust, but it does not protect § 14-10813(B)(2)–(3)'s ordinary initial notices. Those two notices are therefore statutory defaults that the trust terms may vary.

The mandatory list separately protects § 14-10110(B). For a qualifying charitable trust created on or after January 1, 2009 and administered principally in Arizona, the trustee sends the attorney general relevant charitable-purpose portions within 60 days after creation and acceptance/contact notice within 60 days after accepting.

The instrument-copy right reaches relevant portions

The irrevocability notice states a right to request a copy of the relevant portions of the trust instrument. Under § 14-10813(B)(1), the trustee promptly supplies the portions necessary to describe the requesting beneficiary's interest.

That is not a statutory promise of the complete instrument and every amendment. The mandatory floor in § 14-10105(B)(8) is similarly framed around reports and other information reasonably related to administration for a qualified beneficiary of an irrevocable trust.

Delivery and waiver are functional

A.R.S. § 14-10109 requires a method reasonably suitable under the circumstances and likely to result in receipt. Its examples are first-class mail, personal delivery, delivery to the last known residence or business, and a properly directed electronic message. No publication substitute is required for a person whose identity or location is unknown and not reasonably ascertainable.

The person entitled to a notice or document may waive it. Section 14-10813(D) also lets a beneficiary waive reports or other information and later withdraw the waiver for future items. Neither section requires a signed writing.

What trips people up

• The two notices have different contents. Trustee contact information appears in both, but trust existence, settlor identity, and request rights belong to the creation-or-irrevocability notice.
• Acceptance has its own statutory meaning. Section 14-10701 looks first to the trust's method; otherwise delivery of property, exercise of powers or duties, or another indication can establish acceptance.
• The legacy clauses are event-specific. The acceptance notice covers trustees accepting on or after January 1, 2009. The other notice covers irrevocable trusts created, and revocable trusts becoming irrevocable, on or after that date.
• A satisfied specific gift creates an unusual split. A person whose only trust entitlement was a specific distribution already made or satisfied remains included for the acceptance notice, but § 14-10813(F) excludes that status for the other information and report rules.
• No signature package is prescribed. The statutes do not require an oath, trustee certification, notarization, certified mail, return receipt, or proof-of- service form for the initial notices.

Common questions

Who is a qualified beneficiary?

A.R.S. § 14-10103(14) uses three horizons: a current distributee or permissible distributee, a person who would take if the current interests ended, and a person who would take if the trust terminated on the determination date.

Who receives duties while a trust remains revocable?

Under § 14-10603(A), beneficiary rights remain subject to the settlor's control and the trustee's duties are owed exclusively to the settlor while the settlor can revoke the trust. A currently exercisable withdrawal-power holder has the same rights for the property subject to that power.

Does every qualified beneficiary automatically receive annual reports?

No. Section 14-10813(C) automatically sends reports to distributees and permissible distributees. Other beneficiaries receive them when they request them. The initial irrevocability notice states the right to a report but does not make every qualified beneficiary an automatic annual recipient.

Do representation rules apply?

Yes. A.R.S. § 14-10301 makes the title's specified representation sections apply to Trust Code trusts. The representative's authority and any conflict rules must be checked before treating notice to one person as notice to another.

Statutes and sources

• A.R.S. § 14-10103(14) — qualified-beneficiary definition. Official Arizona Revised Statutes (accessed 2026-07-31).
• A.R.S. § 14-10105(A)-(B)(8), (14) — trust-term control and mandatory request and attorney-general notice rules. Official Arizona Revised Statutes (accessed 2026-07-31).
• A.R.S. § 14-10109(A)-(D) — delivery, unknown recipient, waiver, and separate judicial-notice route. Official Arizona Revised Statutes (accessed 2026-07-31).
• A.R.S. § 14-10110(A)-(C) — special qualified-beneficiary rights and mandatory attorney-general charitable-trust notices. Official Arizona Revised Statutes (accessed 2026-07-31).
• A.R.S. § 14-10301 — representation provisions applicable to trusts. Official Arizona Revised Statutes (accessed 2026-07-31).
• A.R.S. § 14-10603(A)-(B) — revocable-settlor control and withdrawal-power rule. Official Arizona Revised Statutes (accessed 2026-07-31).
• A.R.S. § 14-10701(A)-(C) — acceptance, rejection, and acts that do not accept. Official Arizona Revised Statutes (accessed 2026-07-31).
• A.R.S. § 14-10813(A)-(F) — two initial notices, contents, report and waiver rules, legacy dates, and satisfied-specific-distribution exclusion. Official Arizona Revised Statutes (accessed 2026-07-31).