Arizona and Maricopa County dates behind a rush request
A rush request starts with somebody else's date. For the services on this site, these are the dates set by Arizona law, the county's offices and, for estate tax, the IRS:
- Probate inventory: 90 days. A personal representative has 90 days after appointment to prepare the inventory at date-of-death values (A.R.S. § 14-3706). Under the probate rules (Rule 50), the clock starts when letters are first issued, and the court can order a different schedule. An appraiser is optional under § 14-3707, so ask the estate's attorney whether the inventory needs a report by then. In this county the Probate and Mental Health Department of the Superior Court oversees decedents' estates. More on probate valuations.
- Divorce: dates set in the case. No statute sets a valuation date for a divorce, so the deadline is whatever the case before the Family Department, a settlement deadline or a mediation session calls for. Ask your attorney for both the delivery deadline and the effective date. Our divorce appraisals page explains how the date gets chosen.
- Property tax: 60 days, then 25. A petition for review is due within 60 days after the Assessor mails the notice of valuation (§ 42-16051); an appeal from the Assessor's decision to the Arizona State Board of Equalization is due within 25 days after that decision is mailed (§ 42-16056). The appeal steps are set out on our residential appraisals page.
- Federal estate tax return: 9 months. For an estate that must file, Form 706 is due 9 months after the date of death, and an extension of time can be requested (Form 706 instructions). Filing is required only above the year's threshold ($15,000,000 for 2026 deaths, where the decedent was a U.S. citizen or resident) or when an executor files to elect portability. Our IRS step-up appraisals and estate appraisals pages cover the tax side.
- Small-estate affidavit: a wait, not a deadline. A successor may not file a real property affidavit until six months after the death (§ 14-3971(E)), and the affidavit relies on the assessment-roll full cash value, so it is not by itself a reason for a rush appraisal.
Other deadlines come from contracts rather than statutes: a refinance rate lock, a purchase contract, a planned listing date. Bring the document that sets the date.
Faster delivery, same effective date
A rush moves the delivery date; it does not move the date the value must reflect. A probate report is still dated to the death even when the inventory is due next week, and a divorce report may need a value as of the service date or another date your attorney names. Give both dates on the first call: the effective date, and the day you need the report in hand.
Check the controlling date with your attorney or adviser
Court dates can move by order, and Rule 50 itself lets the court set a different inventory deadline; property-tax deadlines run from the day a notice or decision was mailed. Confirm the date with your attorney or tax adviser before relying on a delivery estimate.
To speed up the first call, have ready
- The paper that sets the deadline: letters of appointment, the notice of valuation, a hearing notice or a lender's lock confirmation.
- The effective date, and the names of the report's intended users.
- Access: who holds the keys or gate code, and which days work.
- The parcel number from the Maricopa County Assessor.
The Arizona sections on this page were written with AI assistance for Eagle Home Appraisal Phoenix.