Wills and Living Wills

questions & answers

Question: My parents have passed away and in their Trust and Wills I am listed as their representative. What do I have to do in order to sell their properties?

Answer: Trusts and Wills often require legal advice--especially if the decedents' properties were of a high financial value, when more than one person is entitled to share in the properties or when the legal documents are complex. To find an attorney please follow this link. A "Personal Representative" is nominated under a Will to handle the decedents' properties ("estate") through Probate Court proceedings. (The Personal Representative is not the recipient of the estate assets, although he/she may be entitled to assets when distributed, if the Will so specifies.) The Personal Representative must be approved by the Probate Court, after completing an application. A Personal Representative's duties include completing and filing the estate's income tax returns; notifying creditors; taking inventory of and appraising the assets of the estate; paying appropriate creditors, taxes and administrative expenses; and preparing a final accounting and distributing the balance of the estate to the devisees. In Arizona, "Small Estates" can be exempt from probate if personal property is under $75,000 and total real property is less than $100,000 See your county Superior Court for forms such as an Affidavit of Succession to Real Property. ARS 14-3971(b), The person responsible for a Trust is a "Trustee" and is appointed in the Trust documents. Property held in a "Living Trust" automatically transfers to the "Beneficiary" without going through the Probate Courts. Sometimes Living Trusts are legally connected to a "Pour-over Will" which is relevant only if the decedent left property not addressed in the Living Trust.