Every Arizona probate inventory needs a figure for the house. An appraisal is one way to stand behind it.
Once a Gilbert estate is opened, its personal representative must assign the home a value as of the date of death. This page sets out what Arizona law actually requires, where a formal appraisal fits, and what to collect before you call.
Ask for a probate appraisal quote · Phone (480) 573-7263
Must an Arizona estate have the house appraised?
No, not as a rule. A.R.S. § 14-3706(A) gives the personal representative 90 days after appointment to prepare an inventory. Each entry shows the item's fair market value on the date of death, labels it community or separate property, and notes any encumbrance, such as the mortgage on a house.
Hiring an appraiser is a choice. Section 14-3707 says the personal representative "may employ a qualified and disinterested appraiser" when an asset's value "may be subject to reasonable doubt," and the inventory then names that appraiser, with an address, next to whatever was appraised. The value is mandatory; the appraisal is not.
Until a house actually sells, its value is an estimate, which is why a personal representative may want an appraisal behind the inventory number. The decision belongs to the personal representative, working with the estate's lawyer.
Who sees the inventory
There are two routes under § 14-3706(B): file the inventory with the court, or skip filing and mail or hand copies to the heirs or devisees. Probate Rule 50, as adopted in the Arizona Supreme Court's 2019 order, starts the 90-day count when letters are first issued; on the mail-out route, the personal representative must file proof of whom the inventory went to. A filed inventory goes to interested persons who ask for a copy; an unfiled one goes to the heirs or devisees. Either way the figure can be seen and questioned, which is a good reason to have it documented.
Arizona notes for a Gilbert home
- Community or separate. Each inventory line carries this label, and the federal basis rules on our IRS step-up page turn on the same distinction.
- Small estates. Where nobody has been appointed personal representative and the statute's remaining conditions are satisfied, a successor may file a real property affidavit once six months have passed since the death, provided the decedent's Arizona real estate, after subtracting liens, totals $300,000 or less (§ 14-3971(E)). The statute measures that limit with the assessment roll's full cash value for the year of death, so no appraisal is involved.
- Corrections. Values can be revisited. If an item was missed or an original figure turns out to be wrong or misleading, § 14-3708 has the representative prepare a supplementary inventory or appraisement, again at date-of-death market value.
Where a Gilbert estate is heard
A.R.S. § 14-3201 places a first probate case in the county of the decedent's domicile at death. Gilbert sits in Maricopa County, whose Superior Court runs a Probate and Mental Health Department that oversees decedents' estates, guardianships and conservatorships.
The same court's Law Library Resource Center posts a packet of inventory instructions with the form. For every parcel of real estate, the form asks whether the fair market value is "based on appraisal," and the instructions put inventories and appraisements on the list of confidential filings.
Three things the probate value turns on
When
The inventory speaks as of the date of death. A sale or a buyout among heirs months later can call for another date. One narrow Arizona rule also uses a later date: if a family allowance, homestead allowance or fixed-sum gift is satisfied with property rather than cash, § 14-3906 values that property at distribution.
Condition at death
Cleanup, repairs or a remodel after the death change the house. Records from before that work show what the inventory value must describe.
Who reads it
A personal representative, the heirs, the estate's lawyer and a CPA may each lean on the number for different reasons. List the intended users at the outset.
Appraising to a date already past
Appraising to the date of death is retrospective work: the report gives a value for a past effective date, built from the sales and market conditions of that period, not from today's asking prices. If the home has changed since, share dated photos, old listing details, inspection reports and invoices. The appraiser judges what that evidence can support and spells out the remaining assumptions in the report.
Public numbers are where research starts, not where it ends. The Maricopa County Assessor's parcel viewer finds the parcel by address, owner or parcel number. The full cash value on the roll is a property tax figure fixed as the statutes prescribe, with a valuation date of January 1 of the year before the tax year (§ 42-11001). Neither that figure nor a town-wide median nor an online estimate values a single house on a single past day.
Tax questions belong with your adviser
Arizona imposes no estate, inheritance or gift tax. The federal government imposes no inheritance tax at all; its estate tax is charged to the estate and only above a threshold the IRS publishes yearly. For a U.S. citizen or resident who dies in 2026, $15,000,000 is that line. Heirs generally take the date-of-death fair market value as their basis (IRS); a different, alternate valuation date is possible only through the executor's election on a filed Form 706. Your lawyer or tax adviser decides which filings the estate needs. No appraisal can promise a tax outcome or guarantee that a court or agency will accept it.
What to gather
| Bring this | It helps us |
|---|---|
| Street address and kind of home | Locate the house and its market |
| Date of death, plus the date your letters were issued | Fix the effective date and see how much of the 90-day window remains |
| Everyone who will rely on the report | Name the intended users before the engagement |
| The estate lawyer's instructions | Match the reporting to the inventory or court need |
| How the house looked at death, and what has changed | Separate the original condition from cleanup or remodeling |
| Keys, lockbox or a contact for entry | Schedule the inspection and delivery |
From first call to report
- Frame the job. House, effective date, readers and deadline are agreed, along with a written scope, before any work.
- Document the home. Access is arranged, and your records about its condition at death and any later work are collected.
- Analyze the period. Comparable sales and market conditions near the date of death are studied and reconciled, with the reasoning set out in the report.
- Check it over. Confirm the stated date, use, users, assumptions and limiting conditions; factual mistakes go to the appraiser for correction.
Probate appraisal fees and timing
No probate fee schedule is published. Ask for a written scope, fee and delivery estimate; it should reflect the house, the date of death and your inventory deadline. Confirm availability before counting on it. Older effective dates, unusual properties and difficult access can all add time.
An inheritance handled outside probate is covered on our estate appraisals page, and basis questions on the IRS step-up appraisals page. Every request type is listed on Gilbert appraisal services.
Ready to request a probate appraisal?
Tell us where the house is in Gilbert, when the owner died and who will rely on the report.
Ask for a probate appraisal quote · Phone (480) 573-7263
Eagle Home Appraisal Gilbert used AI assistance to draft and source-check this page. It describes Arizona probate valuation in general terms; it is not a value for any home and not a legal or tax opinion.