If you are handling a loved one’s estate in Arizona, the question comes up fast: can you go ahead and sell the house, or do you have to wait?
To keep the process clean and avoid unnecessary risk, you need to understand how probate works, when you’re allowed to sell and what happens if you move too quickly. Here’s everything you need to know to make smart, informed decisions about real estate during probate.
What authority does probate give an Arizona executor?
Probate doesn’t just start the moment someone passes. The court must officially appoint you as the personal representative of the estate before you can act. Once that happens, you’ll receive a document called Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration, which gives you the legal power to access bank accounts, handle property and yes, oversee a sale. Until you have that paperwork in hand, you can’t sign contracts, list the home or make decisions about the estate’s real property.
When can property be marketed and sold?
After you receive your appointment, you can sell real property held in a decedent’s estate. Under Arizona law, a duly appointed Personal Representative has authority to sell real property without court approval. In certain cases, the Personal Representative’s authority can be limited by the court, and he or she must seek court approval in order to sell real property, but those situations are not typical.
What exceptions allow a sale before probate?
You don’t always have to go through probate. If the property includes survivorship rights, the surviving owner takes full ownership the moment the other dies. If the home sits in a trust or a transfer-on-death deed names a beneficiary, that person receives the title directly. In either case, you can move forward with the sale without waiting for court approval. Also, as of September 26, 2025, if the value of the decedent’s equity interest in the real property is under $300,000, then the successors in interest can collect the real estate interest without going through probate.