Hello there! My name is Keith Knochel, and I am the owner of Knochel Law Firm. At the Knochel Law Office, we have been practicing law since 1982. We love our beautiful desert towns and the wonderful people who live here.
Our corporate offices are right here in Bullhead City, Arizona. We also have satellite offices just down the road in Kingman, Arizona, and Lake Havasu, Arizona. We help our neighbors with many different types of legal problems. We practice Divorce and Family Law, Personal Injury Law, Criminal Law, Business and Commercial Law, Elder Law, Real Estate Law, and Wills, Estates and Probate. Because we handle so many different areas of the law, we see how everything connects. We know how a problem with a house can turn into a family fight. We want to stop that before it happens.
Losing someone you love is the hardest thing in the world. When a parent passes away, you are sad. You are grieving. Your mind is filled with memories. The very last thing you want to do is deal with confusing legal papers. But suddenly, you find out that you have inherited their house. You might think, “Great, the house is mine now. I can just sell it or move in.”
But the law does not work like that. There is a giant hidden wall between you and the house. That wall is called “Probate.”
In this blog post, we are going to talk about a very important topic: “What Arizona Residents Need to Know About Inheriting a House — and the Probate Process.” We will share facts that very few people are talking about. We will make it simple. We want to keep your family’s money safe. If you want to find out more about how we can help your family right now, you can visit us at our law office website.
Key Takeaways
Before we jump into the deep details, here are the main things you need to remember from this article:
- A Will does not skip court. Having a piece of paper that says “I leave my house to my kids” still means you have to go through the probate court system.
- Probate costs a lot of money. Families can lose between 3% and 7% of the total value of the house just paying for court fees and costs.
- It takes a long time. You cannot sell the inherited house right away. The court process takes many months.
- Trusts make a huge difference. People who use a trust leave behind much more money than people who do not.
- You still have to pay the mortgage. The bank still wants their money every month, even if the person who signed the loan has passed away.
- You need local help. You should not try to do this alone. OUR lawyers know the local judges and the local rules.
What Exactly Is the Court System Doing in What Arizona Residents Need to Know About Inheriting a House — and the Probate Process?
Let’s start at the very beginning. What is “Probate”?
Probate is the official court process of giving away someone’s stuff after they die. Think of the judge as a giant referee. When someone passes away, the judge has to make sure their debts are paid. Then, the judge makes sure the leftover things go to the right people.
If your mom owned a house in Bullhead City, her name is on a piece of paper called a “Deed.” The deed is stored at the county office. When she passes away, she cannot sign her name to give the house to you. Only a living person can sign a deed. So, how does her name come off the paper, and your name go on?
A judge has to do it. The judge has to sign a special court order.
This sounds easy, but it is not. You have to file a big stack of papers. You have to put an ad in the newspaper to tell everyone she died. You have to wait for credit card companies or hospitals to ask for any money she owed them. Only after all of that is done will the judge finally let you have the house.
If you are looking for the “best real estate agents near me” to sell the house quickly, you have to tell them to wait. You cannot legally sell the house until the probate court says you are the true owner. If you need help starting this court case, our team is ready to assist. You can easily click to learn more about our probate help at Knochel Law Firm.
Why Is the Cost So High in What Arizona Residents Need to Know About Inheriting a House — and the Probate Process?
Here is a statistic that very few people are talking about. According to financial experts at Finance Strategists, the total cost of going through the probate court can drain away 3% to 7% of the entire estate’s value.
Let’s do some simple math. The housing market in Arizona has gone up a lot. If your parents’ house is worth $400,000, losing 5% of that means you are paying $20,000 just to get the house! That is money that should go into your pocket. Instead, it goes to court filing fees, newspaper ads, appraisal companies, and accountants.
Why does it cost so much? Because there are so many steps.
First, there is a fee just to open the door to the court. Then, if the house has a lot of old furniture or a car in the garage, you might have to pay an expert to tell the court how much those things are worth. If your parents had any old debts, those debts must be paid out of the house money before you get a single penny.
Also, it takes time. The average simple probate in Arizona takes about six to nine months. If family members start fighting over who gets the house, it can take over a year. During that whole year, the house is just sitting there empty. You still have to pay the property taxes. You still have to pay the electric bill to keep the air conditioning running so the pipes do not burst. You still have to pay someone to pull the weeds. All of these bills eat away at your inheritance.
When you want to find the “best financial planners near me” to help you invest your new money, they will tell you the same thing: skipping the probate court saves a massive amount of cash. We can help you navigate these costs. You can ask us a question anytime by visiting our website.
Doesn’t a Regular Will Protect Me in What Arizona Residents Need to Know About Inheriting a House — and the Probate Process?
This is the biggest myth in all of the law. People think, “My dad had a Will. We don’t have to go to court!”
That is completely wrong.
A Will is just a piece of paper. It is a letter to the judge. The Will says, “Dear Judge, when I die, please give my house to my son.” But you still have to go to the judge! The judge still has to read the letter. The judge still has to make sure the letter is real and not a fake. The judge still has to make sure all the old debts are paid.
So, if a Will still forces you to go to court, what is the point of having one? A Will is very important because it stops the state from making the rules. If you die without a Will, the government of Arizona gets to decide who gets your house. They use a strict list. If you have a blended family, like children from an old marriage and a new wife, the government’s list can cause a terrible family fight. A Will puts you in control. But it does not skip the court.
Here is another sad fact. A study by Caring.com showed that over 65% of Americans do not even have a simple Will. This leaves a giant mess for their kids.
Because we practice Wills, Estates, and Probate, we see these messes every week. We want to help you fix the mess, or better yet, avoid it completely. You can read about how we write safe, clear Wills at our law firm page.
How Do the Very Wealthy Avoid What Arizona Residents Need to Know About Inheriting a House — and the Probate Process?
Now we are getting to the good stuff. If going to court is so expensive and takes so long, how do smart people avoid it?
They use special legal tools. They plan ahead.
Here is an amazing statistic from the Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances from 2022. The average inheritance for a person whose parents did not use a trust was around $69,000. But the average inheritance for a person whose parents DID use a trust was over $4 million!
Why is the number so much higher? Because a trust completely skips the probate court.
A “Revocable Living Trust” is like a magic legal box. While you are alive, you put your house inside the box. You control the box. You can sell the house, paint the house, or rent the house. But when you pass away, the box does not die. The box just opens up, and your chosen child reaches in and takes the house.
Because the box never dies, you never have to ask a judge for permission to move the house. You skip the court fees. You skip the newspaper ads. You skip the long waiting times.
There is also another amazing tool we use in Arizona. It is called a “Beneficiary Deed.”
An Arizona Beneficiary Deed is a special paper you record with the county while you are alive and healthy. It says, “I own this house. But the exact second my heart stops beating, the house instantly belongs to my daughter.” When you pass away, your daughter just takes your death certificate to the county office. That is it. The house is hers. No judge, no waiting, no expensive court bills.
These tools act like a fast-pass at a busy theme park. They let your family walk right past the long, stressful line at the courthouse. OUR lawyers know exactly how to set up a Trust or a Beneficiary Deed. We do this every single day.
What Happens to the Mortgage in What Arizona Residents Need to Know About Inheriting a House — and the Probate Process?
Many times, a parent passes away, and they still owe money to the bank for the house. They still have a mortgage.
Children often panic when they find this out. They think, “Oh no! The bank is going to take the house! I have to pay off the whole loan tomorrow!”
Take a deep breath. There is a federal law that protects you. It is called the Garn-St. Germain Depository Institutions Act. That is a very long name for a very good rule. This rule says that if you inherit a house from a family member, the bank cannot force you to pay off the entire loan all at once just because the original owner died.
You are allowed to keep the mortgage going. You just have to keep making the monthly payments.
But you must act fast. If your dad passes away and you do not tell the bank, and you stop paying the monthly bill, the bank will start charging late fees. Eventually, they will try to take the house back. This is called a foreclosure.
When you inherit a house with a loan, you have three choices:
- Sell the house: You can ask the probate court for permission to sell the house. You use the buyer’s money to pay off the bank, and you keep the leftover cash.
- Keep the house and pay: You can move into the house or rent it out. You just keep sending the bank the normal monthly check.
- Refinance the loan: You can get a brand new loan in your own name to pay off your dad’s old loan.
If you are looking for the “best banks near me” to help you get a new loan, you need to make sure the legal title to the house is clean first. A bank will not give you a new loan if the house is still stuck in the middle of a probate court case.
We can help you talk to the mortgage company. We can show them the proper legal papers so they know you are the new rightful owner. You can learn more about how we help with Real Estate Law by visiting our real estate page.
What If I Live in a Different State?
Bullhead City, Kingman, and Lake Havasu are famous for our “Snowbirds.” These are wonderful people who live in cold places like Washington or Minnesota during the summer, but come to live in our warm desert during the winter.
Many snowbirds buy a second home here. This causes a massive legal headache when they pass away.
Let’s pretend a man named Bob lives in Michigan, but he owns a winter house in Bullhead City. When Bob passes away, his kids open a probate court case in Michigan. The Michigan judge handles Bob’s bank accounts and his Michigan house.
But the Michigan judge has absolutely zero power over the dirt in Arizona! Arizona law rules Arizona dirt.
So, Bob’s kids have to hire a lawyer in Michigan AND a lawyer in Arizona. They have to open a second probate court case right here in Mohave County just to deal with the winter house. This is called “Ancillary Probate.” It means “extra court.”
This is terrible. It means paying two lawyers, paying two filing fees, and waiting twice as long. If your parents live in another state but own a house near the Colorado River, they must have an Arizona legal plan for that specific house. An out-of-state Will is not enough to stop the double-court nightmare.
How Can OUR Lawyers Protect Your Family?
When you are grieving the loss of a parent, the world feels heavy. You should not have to spend your nights reading thick law books or trying to figure out how to fill out complicated court forms. If you make a mistake on a court form, the judge will reject it, and you have to start all over again.
That is our job. At the Knochel Law Office, we lift that heavy burden off your shoulders.
We sit down with you. We listen to your story. We look at the deed to the house. We look at the bank statements. Then, we make a clear map of what to do next. We stand up for you in court. We talk to the angry creditors. We handle the paperwork so you can focus on your family.
Because we have our corporate office right here in Bullhead City, and satellite offices in Kingman and Lake Havasu, we know the local judges. We know how the local court clerks like the papers to be stacked. This local knowledge saves you time and stress.
We are Experienced, Expertise-based, Authoritative, and Trustworthy. Since 1982, we have held the hands of thousands of families going through this exact same thing. You do not have to do this alone.
8 Most Common Questions About Arizona Probate and Inheriting a House
When folks walk into our offices, they usually have a notebook full of questions. To help you right now, here are the 8 most common questions we answer about inheriting a house in our area, in plain and simple English.
1. Does every single house have to go through probate in Arizona?
No! If the house was placed inside a Living Trust before the person died, it skips probate completely. If the person recorded an Arizona Beneficiary Deed before they died, it skips probate completely. Also, if the house was owned by a married couple as “Joint Tenants with Right of Survivorship,” and only one spouse dies, the living spouse automatically gets the whole house without going to court.
2. Can I just change the locks and move into my dad’s house right after he dies?
You can secure the house to make sure nobody steals anything, but you do not legally own the house yet. If there are other brothers or sisters, they have an equal right to the house until the judge decides who gets what. You also cannot throw away your dad’s valuable things, because those things belong to the “estate” and might need to be sold to pay his old debts.
3. What is an “Executor” or “Personal Representative”?
In Arizona, we usually use the term “Personal Representative.” This is the person chosen by the judge to be the boss of the estate. If your mom had a Will, she probably named who she wanted to be the boss. The Personal Representative’s job is to gather all the money, pay all the final bills, sell the house if needed, and give the leftover money to the heirs.
4. How much does a probate lawyer cost in Bullhead City?
The cost depends entirely on how messy the situation is. If everyone gets along, there are no crazy debts, and it is a simple house, it costs much less. If brothers and sisters are screaming at each other and fighting over who gets the house, the lawyer has to spend many hours in court, which costs more money. At our firm, we always try to find the most efficient and cost-effective path for your family.
5. My sister is living in the inherited house and refuses to pay rent or leave. What do I do?
This is a very common and very stressful problem. If the house is stuck in probate, the Personal Representative has the legal power to manage the house. If your sister is damaging the value of the house or refusing to let it be sold, the Personal Representative can ask the judge to legally evict her. Because we also practice Real Estate Law and Family Law, we know exactly how to handle these tough family standoffs.
6. Do I have to pay taxes on the house I inherit?
In most cases, you do not have to pay an “inheritance tax.” Arizona does not have a state inheritance tax. Also, the federal government only taxes massive estates that are worth many millions of dollars. However, when you sell the house later, you might have to pay a “capital gains” tax on the profit you make. The good news is that the IRS gives you a special rule called a “step-up in basis,” which usually saves you a ton of money on taxes when you sell an inherited house.
7. What if the house is underwater (owes more than it is worth)?
If your parent owed $300,000 on a house that is only worth $200,000, you are not personally forced to pay that extra $100,000 out of your own pocket. The debt belongs to the estate, not to you. In this case, the Personal Representative might just let the bank take the house back in a foreclosure, or try to do a “short sale.” You should never use your own personal money to pay a dead person’s debts without talking to a lawyer first!
8. Does the Knochel Law Firm help families in Lake Havasu and Kingman too?
Absolutely! Even though our main corporate office is located in Bullhead City, we have fully staffed satellite offices in Kingman, Arizona, and Lake Havasu, Arizona. We practice law all over Mohave County. We are always nearby when you need us, and we are ready to help your family protect your home.
Inheriting a house should be a blessing from your parents, not a curse that drains your wallet and ruins your sleep.
If you find yourself facing the scary wall of the probate court, do not try to climb it by yourself. Let OUR lawyers guide you through the gates. We know the rules, we know the judges, and we know how to protect what is rightfully yours. If you are ready to get your family’s affairs in order, or if you need help with a house right now, please reach out to us
