Probate
Whether you need probate in Utah after a death, and how to handle small estates and informal probate.
Utah Estate Planning Checklist: The Documents Every Adult Should Have, Even With Little Money
A basic Utah estate plan is a will or beneficiary designations, a financial power of attorney, a health care directive, and a deed or account designations for your main assets.
What Does a Successor Trustee Have to Do in Utah? Notices, Duties, Pay, and Liability
A Utah successor trustee must notify qualified beneficiaries within 60 days, administer the trust prudently and loyally, keep records, and may be paid reasonable compensation.
Utah Advance Health Care Directive: The 2026 Law, Who Can Decide for You, and How to Sign
Utah replaced its health care directive rules effective January 1, 2026: you can name an agent, give instructions, and use the state's optional form, with one adult witness.
How to Create a Revocable Living Trust in Utah: Requirements, Funding, and Limits
To create a Utah living trust you need capacity, intent, a definite beneficiary, duties for the trustee, and you must transfer assets into it; a revocable trust still doesn't shield assets from your creditors.
How to Change or Revoke a Will in Utah: Codicils, New Wills, and What Not to Do
In Utah you revoke a will by signing a later will that revokes it or by destroying it with intent; a later will that fully disposes of your estate replaces the old one.
Small Estate Affidavit in Utah: Collecting a Loved One's Property Without Probate
If a Utah estate is $100,000 or less and 30 days have passed, successors can collect money and personal property with a sworn affidavit instead of opening probate.
Can You Disinherit a Spouse in Utah? The Elective Share, Allowances, and Waivers
In Utah a surviving spouse can elect to take one-third of the augmented estate and receive set allowances, unless the spouse validly waived those rights in writing.
How Much Does Probate Cost in Utah? Court Fees, Attorney and Executor Pay, and Ways to Spend Less
Utah has no fixed probate fee schedule: attorneys and personal representatives are paid reasonable compensation, and a small estate affidavit avoids a court case for estates under $100,000.
Utah Transfer on Death Deed: How to Leave Your Home to Someone Without Probate
A Utah transfer on death deed lets you name who gets your real estate at your death without probate, as long as it is recorded before you die and you can still change it.
Utah Probate Timeline: How Long Does It Take
Four to six months is the realistic floor for a straightforward Utah probate — set by a mandatory four-month creditor claim period that can't be shortened, no matter how simple the estate is.
Digital Assets in a Utah Estate Plan
Utah's Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act lets you control who can access your online accounts after death — but only if you actually use an online tool or your estate documents to say so.
Does Utah Have an Estate Tax?
Utah has no state estate tax and no inheritance tax at all — the federal estate tax exemption for 2026 is $15 million per person, so most Utah estates owe nothing at either level.
Powers of Attorney in Utah: Durable, Medical, and Financial
Utah combines a medical power of attorney and living will into one Advance Health Care Directive — and a financial power of attorney is a separate document entirely.
Contested Probate in Utah: When Formal Probate Is Required
When a Utah estate can't proceed through the streamlined informal probate process — a will contest, a custody-of-the-will dispute, or an unresolved priority question — and formal, judge-supervised probate becomes necessary.
Wills vs. Trusts in Utah: Which Do You Need
A will generally still requires probate; a properly funded trust generally avoids it — the practical, procedural difference that matters most when comparing the two.
Creditor Claims Against a Utah Estate
Creditors generally have a limited window to make a claim against a Utah estate — miss it, and the debt may go unpaid; a personal representative who ignores this process risks personal liability.
Utah Will Requirements: What Makes a Will Legally Valid
Utah's requirements for a valid will — including the handwritten holographic will exception, and why a self-proving affidavit is worth the extra notary visit.
Utah Intestate Succession: Who Inherits Without a Will
How Utah decides who inherits when someone dies without a will — including the specific $75,000 spousal threshold that surprises a lot of blended families.
Utah Personal Representative Duties: What You're Legally Required to Do
Serving as a Utah personal representative is a real fiduciary role with real legal liability — here's what you're actually required to do, and what happens if you get it wrong.
Utah Informal Probate: Step-by-Step Process
How Utah's informal probate process works, from filing the application through closing the estate — Utah's most common path when a full probate is needed.
Do You Need Probate in Utah? (Small Estate Affidavit Guide)
Whether a Utah estate actually requires probate — and how the small estate affidavit lets many families skip it entirely, without ever filing anything with the court.