Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Arizona

No "reading of the Will" is required by law. When someone passes away, a probate case is usually opened and the Will is filed at that time, and it is public record. In addition, anyone with an interest in the estate, is supposed to receive notice and a copy of the Will. If your father-in-law put all of his property in a trust, then there would be no reason to open a probate case, and distribution of the assets of the trust would be done according to the terms of the Trust agreement.

You should retain counsel to represent you and consider opening a probate case so that you can find out what the facts are and see if there is a will or a trust or both. Or, in the alternative, you could file an action in probate court to force your mother-in-law to account for everything in the trust and to see what has happened to your Dad's separate property and/or his share of the Trust. Under the new Trust Code, adopted this year, your daughters and husband probably should have been notified of the trust provisions and their interest in the Trust estate.