Someone died in Utah.
Do you need probate?

Utah's four main paths for transferring property at death:

Transfer-on-Death (TOD) Deed — Utah Code §§ 75-6-401 et seq. Utah enacted the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act in 2018. A TOD deed names a specific person (or persons) to receive your real estate at death without probate. You sign, notarize, and record the deed with the county recorder's office before you die. During your lifetime, the beneficiary has no rights to the property — you remain the full owner and can sell, mortgage, or revoke the deed freely. At death, the beneficiary simply records a certified death certificate with the county recorder and the property is theirs.

Three key Utah-specific rules you must know:

1. No class gifts. Utah Code § 75-6-405 prohibits class gifts in TOD deeds. You cannot write "to my children" or "to my heirs." You must name specific individuals by full legal name. This is one of the most common mistakes in DIY Utah TOD deeds.

2. A lapsed beneficiary share may fall into probate. If a named beneficiary dies before you and you haven't designated an alternate, that share may lapse and fall back into your probate estate rather than passing to the deceased beneficiary's children. Always name alternates.

3. TOD deed property is subject to creditor claims for 12 months after death. Under Utah Code § 75-6-412, if the probate estate is insufficient to satisfy creditor claims or statutory allowances (homestead allowance, exempt property), creditors can reach the TOD deed property for up to 12 months after death. TOD deeds aren't creditor-proof — they're just probate-avoidance tools.

Joint Tenancy With Right of Survivorship (JTWROS)

Property co-owned as joint tenants transfers automatically to the surviving co-owner at death. One important Utah rule: a transfer to a husband and wife is presumed to create a joint tenancy with right of survivorship even if the deed doesn't say so (Utah Code § 57-1-5). For other co-owners, the deed must explicitly say "joint tenancy" or "with rights of survivorship" — otherwise tenancy in common is assumed. Record an affidavit of survivorship and the death certificate with the county recorder at death.

Utah does not recognize tenancy by the entirety (only available to married couples in some other states). Utah is also not a community property state.

Revocable Living Trust

A revocable living trust holds all assets during your lifetime. At death, the successor trustee distributes assets per the trust terms — no probate, complete privacy. A trust is especially valuable in Utah when: (1) you own real estate in multiple counties or states; (2) you have a blended family and want to control distribution precisely; (3) you want to provide professional management of assets for minor children or special needs beneficiaries without a court guardianship.

POD and TOD designations on financial accounts

Bank accounts, brokerage accounts, IRAs, 401(k)s, and life insurance with named beneficiaries transfer outside probate entirely. Utah does not allow TOD registration on vehicles (unlike bank accounts). Keep these designations current — an ex-spouse named as POD will inherit the account over whatever a will says.

The affidavit is signed before a notary and presented directly to the institution holding the property (bank, brokerage, etc.) along with a certified death certificate. Do not file it with the court — it is not a court document. The affidavit states that you are entitled to the property by will or intestate succession and that the estate qualifies under the $100,000 threshold. Wait 30 days from death before using it (Utah Code § 75-3-1201).

Death certificates are available from the Utah Office of Vital Records at vitalrecords.utah.gov. Order at least 6 copies — each institution typically requires its own original certified copy.

Regional comparison: Utah's $100,000 threshold compares favorably to all neighboring states. Wyoming: $200,000 (personal property) and $400,000 (total estate, including real estate — July 2025 increase). Nevada: $25,000. Idaho: $100,000 (equal to Utah). Arizona: $75,000. Colorado: $74,000. Nevada: $25,000. South Dakota: $50,000. If your personal property is under $100,000, Utah's affidavit is one of the easiest estate transfer mechanisms in the Mountain West.

Utah's growing real estate market and large family dynamics

Utah is the fastest-growing state in the US and has the nation's highest birth rate. The Wasatch Front (Salt Lake City, Provo, Ogden, St. George) has some of the fastest-appreciating real estate in the country. Large family sizes mean multiple children often need to be named as beneficiaries — and the no-class-gift rule in Utah TOD deeds means each child must be specifically named with a percentage or fractional interest stated.

For vacation property — southern Utah's Red Rock Country (Moab, St. George, Zion area) is a popular recreation destination — many owners hold cabins or investment property in solely their own name. Without a TOD deed or trust, that property goes through probate. If you own Utah vacation property and don't live in Utah, your estate will need ancillary probate in the relevant Utah county even if your primary probate is handled in another state. The ancillary probate filing fee is only $35 — but it still requires a Utah attorney's involvement.

For properties with multiple heirs who disagree about keeping vs. selling, the personal representative can petition the District Court to order a partition sale (Utah Code § 75-3-911). Partition sales can be emotionally difficult but are sometimes the only equitable solution when heirs can't agree.

The one-third elective share (§ 75-2-202)

If a Utah decedent tries to disinherit their spouse — or simply leaves them less than the statute guarantees — the surviving spouse may file a right of election to take an elective-share amount equal to one-third of the augmented estate (Utah Code § 75-2-202(1)). The "augmented estate" is a broad pool that reaches beyond the probate estate to include many non-probate transfers, so a spouse cannot be cut out by shifting assets into TOD accounts, joint tenancies, or revocable trusts. Utah's one-third fraction is distinctive: it is a flat one-third rather than the sliding, marriage-length-based percentage used by some Uniform Probate Code states.

Supplemental elective-share floor. If the elective share and certain other benefits total less than $75,000, the spouse is entitled to a supplemental elective-share amount bringing them up to $75,000, payable from the probate estate and from recipients of non-probate transfers in statutory priority (§ 75-2-202(2)).

Election charges the allowances. If the spouse exercises the right of election, the homestead allowance, exempt property, and family allowance are charged against — not added to — the elective-share amount (§ 75-2-202(3)). For a non-domiciliary decedent, the surviving spouse's right to elect against Utah property is governed by the law of the decedent's domicile (§ 75-2-202(4)).

The three family allowances (paid before creditors)

Publication is optional — a genuine Utah distinction. Unlike most states, Utah's personal representative is not required to publish a Notice to Creditors in a newspaper. This saves money but leaves the estate open to creditor claims for longer. The practical recommendation: publish anyway. The $100–$200 cost is worth the 3-month claim bar it triggers (Utah Code § 75-3-803). Mailing notice to known creditors bars their claims within 3 months of mailing, even without general publication — so a combined strategy of direct mail notice (no cost) plus publication (low cost) is most protective.

Married couple deed presumed JTWROS. Under Utah Code § 57-1-5, a deed conveying property to a husband and wife is presumed to create a joint tenancy with right of survivorship — even if the deed doesn't explicitly say so. This is more favorable than states where "tenancy in common" is the default for all co-owners. For other co-owners (siblings, business partners), tenancy in common is the default unless the deed says otherwise.

No tenancy by the entirety. Utah does not recognize tenancy by the entirety (a special joint tenancy form available only to married couples in some states that provides additional creditor protection). A Utah married couple holds title as joint tenants with right of survivorship — similar effect for probate avoidance but without the extra creditor protection of tenancy by the entirety.

Holographic wills are valid. Under Utah Code § 75-2-502, a will where the signature and material provisions are in the testator's own handwriting is valid without witnesses. The material provisions must be entirely handwritten — typed text with handwritten additions generally doesn't qualify. Court interpreting a handwritten letter as a will will look at whether the document clearly reflects testamentary intent (disposing of property at death).

No-contest clauses are enforced with a "probable cause" safety valve. Utah Code § 75-2-515 enforces no-contest clauses in wills — if a beneficiary challenges the will and loses, the clause can disinherit them. However, if the challenger had "probable cause" to bring the challenge, the no-contest clause is unenforceable against them. This gives Utah a middle-ground approach: strategic challenges are penalized; genuinely well-founded challenges are protected.

Utah has state income tax — file Form TC-40. Unlike Wyoming, Nevada, or South Dakota (no income tax), Utah imposes state income tax. The decedent's final Utah state income tax return (Form TC-40) must be filed for the year of death at tax.utah.gov. This doesn't apply to the estate's value (there's no estate income tax), but it does apply to the decedent's earned income up to their death date.

120-hour survivorship requirement. To inherit under Utah intestate law or under most wills, a beneficiary must survive the decedent by at least 120 hours (5 days). This prevents double probate in cases of simultaneous deaths in accidents.

Creditors have a 45-day window to apply for personal representative appointment. If no family member or interested person applies to be personal representative within 45 days of death, any creditor of the estate can apply (Utah Code § 75-3-203). This is unusual — in most states, creditors cannot seek appointment as personal representative. In practice this rarely happens but matters for estates where family members are unaware of the death or the probate need.