When Is Probate Required to Transfer Title to Real Estate?
An Arizona probate may be required to legally transfer title to an asset from the decedent to the people or entities legally entitled to inherit the asset. One of the most common reasons a probate is necessary is to transfer the title of Arizona real estate. If a person dies owning real property that does not pass automatically by operation of law, a probate may be required to appoint a personal representative with the power to sign a deed that conveys the property from the estate to the decedent’s heir or heirs. Arizona real estate transfers automatically by law after the death of an owner if the title was held as joint tenancy or as community property with right of survivorship or if the owner recorded a valid beneficiary deed. See Example 6 above. Without a probate and a properly prepared and recorded deed signed by the personal representative, the title to the real estate is clouded and probably not marketable because no title insurance company would insure the title.
