Where the estate is opened.
Only if the statute's conditions are met. Read the section below.
See the tax section for the exemption or the repeal.
Living trust or probate
A revocable living trust holds assets you title in the trustee's name. You can serve as trustee while you are able.
At death, the successor trustee handles those assets. Property you leave in your own name can still go through the probate court. A pour-over will sends leftover assets into the trust, and those leftover assets may pass through probate first.
The probate path
In Utah, the estate is opened in the District Court.
The Utah Courts informal-probate page says a probate case may be filed in the district court of the county where the decedent lived at the time of death, or in the district court of the county where the decedent owned property, citing Utah Code 75-3-201. Informal probate asks the court to appoint a personal representative without a hearing and is usually used when all interested parties agree. Formal probate asks for appointment with a hearing, usually because there is disagreement. The applicant files an application, the filing fee, and a Utah District Court Cover Sheet for Probate Actions. If the court appoints the applicant, it signs letters of administration if there is no will or letters testamentary if there is a will.
Source: Utah Courts, Informal Probate
Fees
In Utah, probate compensation is a statutory commission.
Utah Code section 75-3-718 says a personal representative and an attorney are entitled to reasonable compensation for their services. If a petition seeks approval of that compensation and no interested person objects, reasonable compensation shall be the compensation sought in the petition. If an interested person objects, the court determines reasonable compensation for the personal representative based on the quality, quantity, and value of the services and the circumstances, and determines reasonable compensation for the attorney. There is no percentage schedule.
Source: Utah Code section 75-3-718, Compensation of personal representative and attorney
Small estate
Utah's small-estate figure on this page is $100,000 when the statute's conditions are met.
Utah Code section 75-3-1201, effective May 7, 2025, says that 30 days after death a holder of tangible personal property, including an instrument evidencing a debt, obligation, stock, or chose in action, shall pay or deliver it to a claiming successor on an affidavit. The affidavit must state that the value of the entire estate subject to administration, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $100,000; that 30 days have elapsed; that no application or petition for appointment of a personal representative is pending or has been granted in any jurisdiction; and that the claiming successor is entitled to payment or delivery. For not more than four boats, motor vehicles, trailers, or semitrailers, the affidavit instead states that the value of the entire estate subject to administration, other than those vehicles, does not exceed $100,000. Shares of stock in a water company transferred under section 73-1-10 or Title 70A, Chapter 8, are not eligible for transfer under this part.
Source: Utah Code section 75-3-1201, Collection of personal property by affidavit
Estate or inheritance tax
Utah has no current estate tax on the page linked below.
The Utah State Tax Commission says Utah's estate tax system is a pick-up tax based on the federal credit for state death taxes, that federal changes eliminated Utah's inheritance tax after December 31, 2004, and that there is no longer a basis for the Utah inheritance tax. It says Utah inheritance tax returns do not need to be filed.
Source: Utah State Tax Commission, Inheritance Tax
Questions
The answers use the same statute and court pages as the sections above.
Does a living trust avoid probate in Utah?
A revocable living trust holds the assets you title in the trustee's name. The successor trustee handles those assets. Property still titled in your own name can be a probate matter. A pour-over will can send leftover assets into the trust, and those leftover assets may still pass through probate first.
What is the small-estate procedure in Utah?
Utah Code section 75-3-1201, effective May 7, 2025, says that 30 days after death a holder of tangible personal property, including an instrument evidencing a debt, obligation, stock, or chose in action, shall pay or deliver it to a claiming successor on an affidavit. The affidavit must state that the value of the entire estate subject to administration, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $100,000; that 30 days have elapsed; that no application or petition for appointment of a personal representative is pending or has been granted in any jurisdiction; and that the claiming successor is entitled to payment or delivery. For not more than four boats, motor vehicles, trailers, or semitrailers, the affidavit instead states that the value of the entire estate subject to administration, other than those vehicles, does not exceed $100,000. Shares of stock in a water company transferred under section 73-1-10 or Title 70A, Chapter 8, are not eligible for transfer under this part.
How are probate fees set in Utah?
Utah Code section 75-3-718 says a personal representative and an attorney are entitled to reasonable compensation for their services. If a petition seeks approval of that compensation and no interested person objects, reasonable compensation shall be the compensation sought in the petition. If an interested person objects, the court determines reasonable compensation for the personal representative based on the quality, quantity, and value of the services and the circumstances, and determines reasonable compensation for the attorney. There is no percentage schedule.
Does Utah tax an estate or an inheritance?
The Utah State Tax Commission says Utah's estate tax system is a pick-up tax based on the federal credit for state death taxes, that federal changes eliminated Utah's inheritance tax after December 31, 2004, and that there is no longer a basis for the Utah inheritance tax. It says Utah inheritance tax returns do not need to be filed.
Sources
These are the statute and court pages used above.