The short answer · 9 min read
A signed Arizona trust governs only what is titled to it (A.R.S. § 14-10401; a deed to the trustee discloses the beneficiaries, § 33-404). While it is revocable, the trustee's duties are owed to you alone (§ 14-10603) and you may amend or revoke it by a signed writing (§ 14-10602); at your death the successor's sixty-day notices begin (§ 14-10813(B)).
Last reviewed against the Arizona Statutes and updated on 2026-10-12.
Funding: a trust governs what is titled to it
A trust is created by a transfer of property to a trustee, by the owner's declaration that the owner holds identifiable property as trustee, or by the exercise of a power of appointment in favor of a trustee (A.R.S. § 14-10401); signing the instrument is not the transfer. Real property reaches the trust by a deed to the trustee that discloses the names and addresses of the beneficiaries and identifies the trust, or refers to a recorded instrument that does (§ 33-404); a recorded beneficiary deed may name the trustee of a trust, revocable or not, as the grantee at your death (§ 33-405). Accounts are retitled; beneficiary designations are reviewed against the plan.
While you are living: your trust, your control
While the trust is revocable by you, the rights of the beneficiaries are subject to your control and the duties of the trustee are owed exclusively to you (A.R.S. § 14-10603(A)); no beneficiary notice or report is due. Unless the terms expressly provide that the trust is irrevocable, you may revoke or amend it, subject to the terms' limits (§ 14-10602(A)); community property in a trust created or funded by both spouses may be revoked by either spouse as to that spouse's share but amended only by both together (§ 14-10602(B)).
Your successor trustee
The instrument names who serves when you stop; a vacancy that must be filled is filled by the person the instrument designates or a person appointed under a power it confers, then by a person the qualified beneficiaries unanimously agree on, then by the court (A.R.S. § 14-10704). The successor accepts by the instrument's method or by acting as trustee (§ 14-10701) and shows institutions a certification of trust — the instrument's date, the settlor, the acting trustee, the powers, revocability, the cotrustees' signing authority and the manner of taking title — rather than the whole instrument (§ 14-11013).
Keeping it current
A trust created by a written instrument may be amended or revoked only by a written instrument you execute (A.R.S. § 14-10407) — by substantial compliance with the instrument's method or, where none is exclusive, by a later will or codicil that expressly refers to the trust or specifically devises its property, or by any other signed writing manifesting clear and convincing evidence of your intent (§ 14-10602(C)). A trustee without actual knowledge of a revocation or amendment is not liable for acting as if none had occurred (§ 14-10602(F)), so each amendment goes to the trustee and the file.
If you can no longer manage it
Your powers to revoke, amend or distribute may be exercised by an agent under a power of attorney only to the extent the terms of the trust expressly authorize it or, where the terms do not prohibit it, to the extent the power of attorney expressly authorizes it; absent that, by a conservator with the approval of the court supervising the conservatorship, or by a guardian with the court's approval where no conservator is appointed (A.R.S. § 14-10602(E)). Health care decisions follow your health care directive and the agent or surrogate the statute names (§ 36-3231), with a living will stating your wishes (§ 36-3262).
What happens at your death
The trust becomes irrevocable. Within sixty days after accepting, your successor notifies the qualified beneficiaries of the acceptance, and within sixty days after learning the trust is irrevocable, of its existence, your identity as settlor, the trustee's contact details and their rights to the relevant portions of the instrument and to a report (A.R.S. § 14-10813(B)); the trustee may distribute under the terms, subject to the one-year or four-month contest period and the conditions the statute states (§ 14-10604); and the trust answers for your creditors' claims, the costs of administering your estate, the funeral expenses and the family's allowances to the extent your probate estate is inadequate (§ 14-10505(A)(3)). Arizona imposes no estate tax.
Where to keep the original
Keep the signed original and every amendment where your successor can find them, with the deeds, the account list and the beneficiary designations, and tell your successor where they are. A certification of trust lets the successor act with institutions without producing the dispositive terms (A.R.S. § 14-11013(D)).
When a licensed Arizona attorney is the right next call
TrusteeClear explains what a signed trust does and does not do; it does not draft or amend an Arizona trust, deed or beneficiary designation, and it does not decide whether an asset is community or separate property. A licensed Arizona attorney of your choosing can prepare those documents and advise on the plan.
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General information about Arizona law, not legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
- Is my Arizona trust funded just because I signed it?
- No. A trust governs only the property transferred to it (A.R.S. § 14-10401); real property reaches it by a deed to the trustee (§ 33-404) and accounts by retitling or designation.
- Can I change my Arizona revocable trust?
- Yes, unless its terms expressly make it irrevocable — by the instrument's method or, where none is exclusive, by a later will or codicil referring to the trust or by another signed writing showing clear and convincing evidence of your intent (A.R.S. § 14-10602); a written trust is amended only in writing (§ 14-10407).
- Does my successor trustee need a court order when I die?
- No; a trust is not subject to continuing judicial supervision unless the court orders it (A.R.S. § 14-10201), and the successor shows institutions a certification of trust (§ 14-11013).
- Can my agent under a power of attorney change my Arizona trust?
- Only to the extent the terms of the trust expressly authorize it or, where the terms do not prohibit it, the power of attorney expressly does (A.R.S. § 14-10602(E)).
General information about Arizona law, not legal advice.