What This Statute Says
Many Arizona obligations are not written down. Family loans, handshake agreements, and informal accounts all fall into this section's three-year deadline. The statute also covers stated or open accounts other than mutual current accounts between merchants.
There shall be commenced and prosecuted within three years after the cause of action accrues, and not afterward, the following actions:
A.R.S. § 12-543When This Statute Comes Into Play
Estate scenarios:
- An estate must decide whether to pay back an old undocumented loan to a relative.
- A creditor sues an estate on an open account that has aged.
- A family member asserts a claim based on an oral agreement that was never reduced to writing.
What This Means for Arizona Families
Family loans are everywhere in Arizona estate administration. A parent lends a child money for a down payment. A sibling fronts cash for a business that never quite works out. When the lender dies, the unfinished loan becomes an estate question. This section sets the deadline for enforcing it, but only if it cannot be proven up as a written contract.
If you serve as a personal representative and an oral loan surfaces, look first at whether it is documented in any way. Even a casual text message or a contemporaneous email can convert the claim into a six-year written contract under A.R.S. 12-548. Our FAQ on whether a spouse is responsible for the decedent's debts covers the broader question of who owes the money. An Arizona probate attorney can sort the timing and identify whether the three-year or six-year period applies. The personal representative who pays a stale oral claim without evaluating the deadline risks personal exposure to the beneficiaries.