questions & answers

Question: My exhusband and I remained close since our divorce.I spoke to him the day before he died.He stayed in our home and was the only one on the deed etc. He told me the last time we spoke he had mortgage insurance naming me as benificiary. However, he had no wll or named executor so the house is in probate. Most important to me is not the house but my belongings in the house most of which is sentimental. The car I have the title to is gone. Who is it I can call? I don't know who is in control of the house. I hear it is the government but who? I worry about so many things in the home I wish I had.

Answer:

If a probate has been opened in Arizona, the file should be available at the courthouse in the county where the probate was opened. A probate is opened when a person files a Petition saying that there is property that needs to be administered. The Personal Representative (PR) is then appointed by the court. The PR is named in those documents that are filed with the court and the PR is the person in control of the house and belongings. A person can write a letter to the PR asking for his or her own property, however depending on specific circumstances, the property may be subject to the probate. A request can be filed with the court if the PR is distributing property that is not owned by the deceased. When there is no will, the property is distributed under the laws of Arizona (for example, a current spouse, if none, equally to his children, if none to his parents etc).  To learn more about intestate succession (property distribution without a will), see Title 14, Chapter 2 of the Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S.).