how is a holigraphic will handled under AZ probate laws and procedures

Holographic wills are permitted in Arizona. The signature and material provisions of the will must be handwritten. If the handwritten will designated the beneficiaries and the allocation of assets, then it may be valid without mentioning specific assets. For example, "I give my assets to my children equally" is adequate to handle the estate. All probate assets, after payment of expenses and debts, would be split equally. The personal representative could allocate the assets in the PR's discretion.

If the handwritten will fails to clarify how the estate should be allocated, then I doubt the court would accept it.

There is no requirement that a will specify the particular items that a decedent owned.

The answer to your question really depends on what the purported Will actually states. You need to take this to at least two probate attorneys to get their advice. The reason I say two is that you may get two different answers on a situation like this. It sounds like the Will says something like "After I die, I want everything I own to go to Adam, Bill and Connie." If that is the case, then the Will PROBABLY (but not necessarily) means it is to be divided three ways. If there is an ambiguity like this, it can be explained using extrinsic evidence such as statements by the decedent. (There is a Dead Man's Statute that often keeps statements by the deceased person from coming into evidence, but the court still has discretion regarding this issue.)

If the Will only disposes of some things (like the real estate), then you have a partially testate and partially intestate estate. In other words, the Will controls when it comes to the real estate, but all of the other property passes according to the Arizona probate code.

In short, you need to talk to some probate attorneys.

I hope this helps. This answer is intended to be general in nature because you did not provide sufficient information to be able to give a definitive answer.

Paul E. Deloughery (Scottsdale, AZ) For more information about probate, go to www.delougherylaw.com or www.azprobate.blogspot.com.