Is probate necessary when spouse dies when all titled assets are jointly owned?

[forummm]

My dad is about to die and has no will. He's still married to my mom. All titled assets are either jointly owned (house, car, checking account) or he's signed the Transfer on Death affidavit (a trailer). He has some credit cards in his name that will just get paid off. And a checking account in his name which will have nothing in it. It's a community property state (AZ). He has nothing else of meaningful value. There are assorted possessions that were purchased during the marriage and are thus community property. And neither my mom nor I are aware of any creditors besides the mortgage and credit cards.

Is it necessary for my mom to go through probate? Would it be wise to do so even if not necessary?

I heard something about putting a notice in a newspaper so that potential creditors can find the dead person's estate. Is this something she needs to do?

[seattlecyclone]

My condolences. I think this is something that can vary from state to state. Paying a local estate attorney for an hour of their time to walk you through the necessary steps seems like a worthwhile expense.

[forummm]

From these sources it seems like probate probably won't be needed in her case since he doesn't have any separate property, and everything is titled either jointly or TOD. But if some money is still in his separate checking account (for business) then she'd need to do a small estate affidavit for that account. I will try to have that account emptied before he goes, once the final business payments get made.

https://www.bivenslaw.com/probate/when-is-probate-required-in-arizona/
https://www.jacksonwhitelaw.com/probate/blog/when-is-probate-required/
https://www.findlaw.com/state/arizona-law/arizona-probate-laws.html
https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/arizona-probate-an-overview.html

[Paul der Krake]

Right, unless you have reasons to suspect that there may be some hidden creditors, there is no point in advertising his death (unless this is something that's important to you or him).

We are in a similar situation: joint accounts and each other as beneficiaries for everything. No will needed. If we both die, the intestate defaults are just fine as far as we're concerned.