Understanding the Probate Information Form: Filing for Guardianship or Conservatorship in Arizona
Updated: Aug 5
Part of our step-by-step series on seeking guardianship and conservatorship in Arizona. Each installment walks through one of the documents you’ll file with the court so you know what it is, why it matters, and how to handle it correctly.
When you file to become someone’s guardian or conservator in Arizona, the petition is only the beginning. Several supporting documents travel with it, and one of the most important — and most frequently misunderstood — is the Probate Information Form. It’s short, but the court takes it seriously, it’s filed confidentially, and it carries an ongoing obligation that many people don’t realize they’ve taken on.
Here’s what it is and how to get it right.
What the Probate Information Form is
The Probate Information Form is a court document that collects identifying details about three groups of people: the person you’re nominating to serve as guardian or conservator, any co-fiduciary, and the adult who needs protection (often called the proposed ward or protected person). You file it at the same time as your petition or application, and you sign it under penalty of perjury.
Think of it as the court’s roster for your case. Judges, court investigators, and probate staff rely on it to know exactly who is involved, how to reach them, and — in the case of the proposed guardian or conservator — enough background to run the appropriate checks before entrusting someone with authority over another person’s life or finances.
You can download a template of a Probate Information Form here:
What information the form asks for
The form is organized into three sections:
Section A — the nominated guardian or conservator. This is the person (or entity) asking to serve. You’ll provide their name, mailing and physical addresses, phone numbers, and email. The form first asks whether this person or entity is an Arizona Licensed Fiduciary. If so, you write in their license number, and you’re largely done with this section. If not, the form asks for additional personal identifiers — date of birth, Social Security number, and a physical description (height, weight, eye and hair color, and similar details). That extra information exists so the court can perform background and fitness checks on a private individual who hasn’t already been vetted through the state licensing process.
Section B — a co-guardian or co-conservator. Complete this only if two people will serve together, or if the co-fiduciary’s information differs from Section A. It mirrors Section A.
Section C — the person who needs a guardian or conservator. This is the proposed ward or protected person. You’ll provide their name, addresses, contact information, date of birth, and Social Security number.
Because you’re attesting to all of this under penalty of perjury, accuracy matters. If you genuinely don’t know something, complete the form to the best of your knowledge and ability rather than guessing — and be prepared to correct it later (more on that below).
Why it’s a confidential document
Notice what Section A and Section C contain: Social Security numbers, dates of birth, and other sensitive personal identifiers. That’s exactly the kind of information Arizona keeps out of the public court file.
Most probate filings are public records. The Probate Information Form is not. It is filed as a confidential document, which means it isn’t available to the general public and you are not required to hand it to anyone other than the court. Access is limited to a defined group — generally court investigators, probate court administration staff, and the parties of record and their attorneys. No one else can see it without a court order.
This is worth emphasizing to families who are anxious about privacy: filing for guardianship does not put your loved one’s Social Security number into a public database. The confidentiality rules (found in Rule 8 of the Arizona Rules of Probate Procedure) are designed to prevent precisely that.
How to file it: the confidential-document cover sheet and the envelope
Confidential documents can’t simply be stapled to your petition and dropped in the pile. Arizona has a specific filing method, and getting it wrong is one of the most common stumbles for self-represented filers.
The form comes with a confidential-document cover sheet. It carries your case caption and a set of checkboxes identifying which confidential document is inside — the Probate Information Form is one option, alongside a Medical Report, an Inventory/Appraisement, an Accounting, and a Credit Report. You check the box for the Probate Information Form and complete the submitting-party information.
Then comes the part people miss most often:
• Each confidential document goes in its own envelope. Every confidential document — and every copy of a confidential document — must be submitted to the Clerk of the Superior Court in its own separate, un-sealed 9″ x 12″ envelope. You do not combine two confidential documents in one envelope, and you do not seal the envelope yourself; the clerk handles it.
• Label the outside. The required identifying information (your case caption and the nature of the confidential document) goes on the outside of each envelope so the clerk can process it without opening it in public view. The cover sheet is what makes that labeling possible.
• One document, one envelope, every time. If you’re filing the Probate Information Form plus, say, a medical report, that’s two separate confidential documents — and therefore two separate un-sealed envelopes.
Following this method is what actually keeps the document confidential. Confidential information filed the wrong way — mixed into a public document, for example — defeats the purpose and can draw the court’s attention for the wrong reasons.
Your ongoing duty to update the form
This is the obligation people overlook. Filing the Probate Information Form once is not the end of your responsibility.
If you later discover that something on the form was left out or is incorrect, you must file an amended Probate Information Form. You generally have 10 days from the time you learn of the incorrect or missing information to file the correction. Contact information changes — a new address, a new phone number — also need to be reported to the court so its roster stays current.
The takeaway: treat the Probate Information Form as a living document. If circumstances change, don’t wait for the next hearing. Update it.
A few practical tips
• Complete it to the best of your knowledge. Perfect information isn’t required on day one; honest, good-faith effort is. Just remember the duty to amend.
• Double-check the identifiers. A transposed Social Security number or wrong date of birth on the proposed ward can slow down background checks and hearings.
• Keep your own copy in a safe place. Because it isn’t in the public file, you won’t be able to pull it up online later. Keep a personal copy (also called a conformed copy) secured alongside your other case documents.
• Confirm local logistics with the clerk. The confidentiality rules are statewide, but each county’s Clerk of the Superior Court handles filing logistics, and form numbering can vary by county. When in doubt, confirm the current envelope and cover-sheet procedure with the clerk in the county where you’re filing.
Where this fits in your case
The Probate Information Form is a small document doing important work: it tells the court who everyone is while keeping sensitive personal data out of the public eye. File it with your petition, and remember your 10-day duty to amend if anything changes. Handle those three things, and you’ve cleared one of the quiet hurdles that trips up many first-time filers.
In the next installment of this series, we’ll look at another document in the guardianship and conservatorship packet and where it fits in the overall timeline.
This article is provided for general educational purposes and describes Arizona procedure as of publication. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Court rules, forms, and local filing procedures change and vary by county. If you have questions about a specific situation, consult an attorney licensed in Arizona who handles guardianship and conservatorship matters.
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