Arizona Real Estate Notebook

A brief history of community property with right of survivorship in Arizona.

In the 1990s, the Arizona Legislature passed a law that authorized ownership of real property by a husband and wife as “community property with right of survivorship.” The traditional forms of ownership by a husband and wife of real property in Arizona had been as “husband and wife” or as “joint tenancy with right of survivorship.”

The disadvantage of ownership as husband and wife was that probate was normally required, and the disadvantage of ownership as joint tenancy with right of survivorship was that there were adverse tax consequences for individuals with significant assets. These disadvantages were eliminated if property was held as community property with right of survivorship, and therefore this form of ownership has become the popular form of ownership by a husband and wife of real property in Arizona.