Arizona Laws 14-3401. Formal testacy proceedings; nature; when commenced
A. A formal testacy proceeding is litigation to determine whether a decedent left a valid will. A formal testacy proceeding may be commenced by an interested person filing a petition as described in section 14-3402, subsection A in which he requests that the court, after notice and hearing, enter an order probating a will, or a petition to set aside an informal probate of a will or to prevent informal probate of a will which is the subject of a pending application, or a petition in accordance with section 14-3402, subsection B for an order that the decedent died intestate.
Terms Used In Arizona Laws 14-3401
- Application: means a written request to the registrar for an order of informal probate or appointment under chapter 3, article 3 of this title. See Arizona Laws 14-1201
- Court: means the superior court. See Arizona Laws 14-1201
- Decedent: A deceased person.
- Interested person: includes any trustee, heir, devisee, child, spouse, creditor, beneficiary, person holding a power of appointment and other person who has a property right in or claim against a trust estate or the estate of a decedent, ward or protected person. See Arizona Laws 14-1201
- Intestate: Dying without leaving a will.
- Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
- 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
- Probate: Proving a will
- Proceeding: includes action at law and suit in equity. See Arizona Laws 14-1201
- 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
- Special administrator: means a personal representative as described by sections 14-3614 through 14-3618. See Arizona Laws 14-1201
- Testacy proceeding: means a proceeding to establish a will or determine intestacy. See Arizona Laws 14-1201
- Will: includes a codicil and any testamentary instrument that merely appoints an executor, revokes or revises another will, nominates a guardian or expressly excludes or limits the right of an individual or class to succeed to property of the decedent passing by intestate succession. See Arizona Laws 14-1201
B. A petition may seek formal probate of a will without regard to whether the same or a conflicting will has been informally probated. A formal testacy proceeding may involve a request for appointment of a personal representative.
C. During the pendency of a formal testacy proceeding, the registrar shall not act upon any application for informal probate of any will of the decedent or any application for informal appointment of a personal representative of the decedent.
D. Unless a petition in a formal testacy proceeding also requests confirmation of the previous informal appointment, a previously appointed personal representative, after receipt of notice of the commencement of a formal probate proceeding, must refrain from exercising his power to make any further distribution of the estate during the pendency of the formal proceeding. A petitioner who seeks the appointment of a different personal representative in a formal proceeding also may request an order restraining the acting personal representative from exercising any of the powers of his office and requesting the appointment of a special administrator. In the absence of a request or if the request is denied, the commencement of a formal proceeding has no effect on the powers and duties of a previously appointed personal representative other than those relating to distribution.