Question

My husband and I purchased our property in Cottonwood, AZ. 20 years ago, that we currently live in. We still own a property in Colorado we rent out and have a little guest house we stay at in the summer months and take care of our Colorado property we purchased together.  Since we recently retired, we wanted to make sure our two grown children inherit the properties if we should pass away. 

To avoid probate we decided to create 2 Beneficiary Deeds, naming our two adult children as the Grantee Beneficiaries and recording each deed in the county where the property is located.

We thought that they will avoid probate, taxes and when we pass away, they will just need to record a death certificate. Unfortunately my husband just passed away, and I am still living in my Cottonwood home. Now what? 

Answer

 In Arizona, when a married couple records a beneficiary deed and one spouse passes away, the surviving spouse typically becomes the full owner of the property, and the transfer to the children does not yet take place. 

According to A.R.S. § 33-405, the specific outcome depends on how the couple held the title (the "vesting") at the time of the first death: 

Community Property with Right of Survivorship (CPWROS) or Joint Tenancy: If the property was held with a right of survivorship, the deceased husband's interest transfers automatically to the wife by law.

The beneficiary deed only becomes effective upon the death of the last surviving owner (the wife). She should record the death certificate in the county the property is located in.