Arizona Laws 14-3105. Proceedings affecting devolution and administration; jurisdiction of subject matter
A. Persons interested in decedents’ estates may apply to the registrar for determination in the informal proceedings provided in this chapter and may petition the court for orders in formal proceedings within the court’s jurisdiction including but not limited to those described in this article.
Terms Used In Arizona Laws 14-3105
- Action: includes any matter or proceeding in a court, civil or criminal. See Arizona Laws 1-215
- Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
- Court: means the superior court. See Arizona Laws 14-1201
- Decedent: A deceased person.
- Formal proceedings: means proceedings that are conducted before a judge with notice to interested persons. See Arizona Laws 14-1201
- including: means not limited to and is not a term of exclusion. See Arizona Laws 1-215
- Informal proceedings: means those proceedings conducted without notice to interested persons by an officer of the court acting as a registrar for probate of a will or appointment of a personal representative. See Arizona Laws 14-1201
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Personal representative: includes an executor, an administrator, a successor personal representative, a special administrator and persons who perform substantially the same function under the law governing their status. See Arizona Laws 14-1201
- Petition: means a written request to the court for an order after notice. See Arizona Laws 14-1201
- Proceeding: includes action at law and suit in equity. See Arizona Laws 14-1201
- Property: includes both real and personal property. See Arizona Laws 1-215
- Registrar: means the official of the court who is designated to perform the functions of registrar as provided in section 14-1307. See Arizona Laws 14-1201
- Successors: means persons, other than creditors, who are entitled to property of a decedent under a will or this title. See Arizona Laws 14-1201
B. The court may hear and determine any matter affecting the administration and distribution of decedents’ estates after notice to interested persons in conformity with section 14-1401 and only in a formal proceeding. Persons notified are bound though less than all interested persons may have been given notice.
C. The court has general jurisdiction that it may exercise in a formal proceeding in any other action or proceeding concerning succession or to which an estate, through a personal representative, may be a party, including:
1. Actions to determine title or to quiet title to property alleged to belong to the estate.
2. Actions for personal injury and wrongful death.
3. Actions to quiet title of property that belongs to the estate.
4. Actions against third parties to recover estate assets.
5. Any action or proceeding in which property distributed by a personal representative or its value is sought to be subjected to rights of creditors or successors of the decedent.