Full question:
My husband died at the age of 63. We are residents of Arizona. We had 3 children in our marriage. Though he was married before, he never had any children in that marriage. He has not left a will and last testament which provides for the division of assets. His ex-wife is now trying to seek a claim with respect to his property. Does the law in Arizona permit such claim?
- Category: Wills and Estates
- Subcategory: Intestacy
- Date:
- State: Arizona
Answer:
In Arizona, in the event of a decedent dying without a will, the surviving spouse gets complete estate if the issues of the decedent are from the same surviving spouse. The law that enumerates this can be found in A.R.S. § 14-2102 which reads:“The following part of the intestate estate, as to both separate property and the one-half of community property that belongs to the decedent, passes to the surviving spouse:
1. If there is no surviving issue or if there are surviving issue all of whom are issue of the surviving spouse also, the entire intestate estate.
2. If there are surviving issue one or more of whom are not issue of the surviving spouse, one-half of the intestate separate property and no interest in the one-half of the community property that belonged to the decedent.”
If there were any marriages prior to the one with surviving spouse, only the children from that marriage are entitled to get a share of the intestate property. In the case at hand, all the issues are from the same surviving spouse and there are no issues from the first marriage. Therefore, per the provision in A.R.S. § 14-2102, the whole estate of the decedent shall go to the surviving spouse. The spouse prior to the surviving spouse shall have no claim in the intestate property.
This content is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Legal statutes mentioned reflect the law at the time the content was written and may no longer be current. Always verify the latest version of the law before relying on it.
