Hiring a Estate Administration Attorney in Arizona

Estate administration in Arizona typically runs 4–6 months for simple estates and 9–18 months for complex ones. The minimum timeline is largely set by the creditor claim period (4 months), during which the executor can't safely distribute assets. Living trusts bypass this entirely because they don't go through probate. The Arizona estate settlement plan walks through the steps.

Arizona allows executors "reasonable compensation," typically 2%–4% of the estateA.R.S. § 14-3719 (reasonable compensation; no statutory percentage)Verified Jul 15, 2026. Executors can also waive their fee entirely or accept a reduced amount. When the executor is a family member who is also a beneficiary, waiving the fee is common because beneficiary distributions aren't taxed as income while executor fees are. See the Arizona executor fee calculator.

Estate planning attorneys in Arizona average $391 per hourClio Legal Trends Report 2025Verified Jan 1, 2025 for wills and estates work. Flat-fee packages run roughly $1,173–$2,346 for a simple individual will and $3,760–$5,640 for a basic revocable trust. Online and DIY services cost $30–$300 for the same documents — see the will cost calculator for a side-by-side comparison.

Arizona has a generous small-estate threshold of $200,000. Estates under that line can use the Collection of Personal Property by Affidavit procedure, which is a form rather than a court case — most families can handle it without an attorney. For estates above the threshold, formal probate generally benefits from counsel because of the procedural overhead, even when nothing is contested. The Arizona probate calculator estimates total costs based on estate value.

In Arizona, the situations where retaining counsel is typically worth the cost are: blended families with children from prior relationships (community property rules can produce surprising outcomes); ownership of a business, rental property, or significant investment assets; special-needs dependents who need a special-needs trust to preserve benefits; substantial property held in multiple states. If none of these describe your situation, the simpler online and DIY tools are often enough.