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Probate is a court process to appoint a person (called an executor) to administer a deceased person's final affairs (collect assets, pay bills, distribute proceeds to beneficiaries).
An executor is responsible for opening probate.
An executor (or personal representative) is named in a person's will. If there is no will, then Arizona law will dictate who has priority to serve as executor. Generally it is a person named in the will, a surviving spouse, or a surviving child or other family member who will serve as executor.
An executor has a legal duty to collect assets, pay final expenses, and distribute proceeds of an estate to the beneficiaries.
Beneficiaries are commonly designated in a Last Will and Testament. If there is not a valid will, then Arizona law will determine who is a beneficiary (commonly referred to as heirs or next of kin).
A creditor of an estate is a person or entity who the decedent owed money. Creditors can enforce their claim against the estate but can't force a decedent's beneficiaries or heirs to pay the debt. A creditor claim is paid before beneficiaries can inherit. If a creditor claim makes the estate insolvent, the beneficiaries will not be entitled to an inheritance from the estate. Beneficiaries are also not obligated to pay the deficiency or any debt of the decedent.