Arizona

Ariz. Rev. Stat. §14-2505: a person generally competent to be a witness may act as a witness to a will, but for a will executed on or after October 1, 2019, a person may not act as a witness if that person is a devisee or is related by blood, marriage, or adoption to a devisee, unless the will is made self-proved under §14-2504 or §14-2519. Devisee here includes a beneficiary of a trust that the will designates to receive a devise. Arizona screens interested witnesses at the door rather than purging their gifts: no statute voids or reduces a devise to a witness.

Adds an Article VII: Community Property Provisions covering classification of community vs. separate property, the surviving spouse's one-half interest, federal IRC §1014(b)(6) double-stepped-up basis, and record-keeping for traced contributions.

NOTICE TO PRINCIPAL: THIS POWER OF ATTORNEY IS AN IMPORTANT LEGAL DOCUMENT. BY SIGNING IT, YOU ARE AUTHORIZING ANOTHER PERSON, KNOWN AS YOUR AGENT, TO ACT FOR YOU. BEFORE YOU SIGN THIS DOCUMENT YOU SHOULD KNOW THESE IMPORTANT FACTS: 1. This Power of Attorney is governed by the Arizona statutes authorizing powers of attorney, including A.R.S. §14-5501 and A.R.S. §14-5506. Arizona does not codify a single statutory short form for durable financial powers of attorney; the principal's acknowledgment and the witness's affidavit prescribed by A.R.S. §14-5501(D)(4) appear at the signature pages. Those affidavits, taken before a notary public and evidenced by the notary's certificate under official seal, are one of the four requirements for creating a valid durable financial power of attorney under A.R.S. §14-5501(D), not an optional step; the statute prescribes them "in substantially the following form," so substantial compliance with the wording is enough. This Notice itself is drafter-supplied (not statutorily prescribed) but tracks the cautionary language Arizona financial institutions and title companies routinely look for on the face of a durable POA before honoring an Agent's signature. 2. Your Agent will be able to act for you with respect to your property and finances. The powers granted by this document are broad and sweeping and may include, depending on the powers you grant, the authority to spend, transfer, or sell your money and property, sign your name, deal with your real estate, change beneficiary designations, and create or change rights of survivorship, all without notice to you and even after you have lost capacity. 3. You should choose an Agent you trust completely. Arizona has not enacted the Uniform Power of Attorney Act, so the general agent duties found in other states are not imposed by A.R.S. §14-5501 or A.R.S. §14-5506. What Arizona does provide is this: under A.R.S. §14-5506(A), an Agent who used intimidation or deception to procure this Power of Attorney or any authority in it is subject to criminal prosecution and to civil penalties under A.R.S. §46-456, and under A.R.S. §14-5506(B) a Power of Attorney executed by an adult who lacked capacity is invalid. If I am a vulnerable adult as Arizona defines that term, A.R.S. §46-456(A) separately requires a person in a position of trust and confidence to me to use my assets solely for my benefit, subject to the exceptions that section lists. In the Agent Acknowledgment in this document, your Agent separately promises to act in your best interest and according to your reasonable expectations to the extent actually known to the Agent, to act in good faith and within the scope of the authority granted, and to keep a record of all receipts, disbursements, and transactions made on your behalf. Those are undertakings your Agent makes in this instrument, not duties Arizona statute imposes. 4. This Power of Attorney does NOT authorize your Agent to make health care decisions for you. Health care decisions are governed by a separate health care power of attorney or advance directive. 5. You may revoke this Power of Attorney at any time while you have the capacity to do so by giving written notice to your Agent and to any third party that has been relying on the Power of Attorney. You should keep this Power of Attorney in a safe place, give a signed copy to your Agent, and tell anyone you choose where it is kept. 6. If there is anything about this Power of Attorney that you do not understand, you should consult an Arizona-licensed attorney before signing.

A.R.S. §36-3221(C): neither a notary nor a witness may be a person designated to make medical decisions on the principal's behalf, or a person directly involved with the provision of health care to the principal at the time the health care power of attorney is executed. Under §36-3221(A)(3) the document may be notarized or witnessed in writing by at least one adult. Under §36-3221(D), where it is witnessed by only one person, that witness also may not be related to the principal by blood, marriage, or adoption and may not be entitled to any part of the principal's estate by will or by operation of law at the time of execution.