Utah Living Trust

Introduction

Key Things to Know

1. 1

   Utah's elective-share trap: unlike states with no elective share at all, Utah kept the Uniform Probate Code's augmented-estate system. Under Utah Code Sections 75-2-202 through 75-2-209, a surviving spouse can elect to reach property you transferred into this revocable trust. Funding the trust does not cut a spouse out of that claim.

2. 2

   Whether your homestead exemption survives when you deed your residence into this trust is unresolved. Utah Code Section 78B-5-503 sets the exemption but contains no language addressing a residence held in trust, and no Utah statute or reported decision was found resolving the question either way. Ask a Utah attorney before funding a homestead property into the trust.

3. 3

   This ordinary revocable trust gives you zero creditor protection while you are alive. Utah Code Section 75B-2-505 subjects revocable trust assets to your creditors regardless of spendthrift terms. Real protection requires a separate, irrevocable Asset Protection Trust under Utah Code Sections 75B-1-301 to 75B-1-307, with at least one Utah-resident or Utah-trust-company trustee and a fraudulent-transfer look-back of two years, or 120 days if you give the creditor notice.

4. 4

   No notary or witness is required to create a Utah trust. Utah Code Section 75B-2-402 requires only settlor capacity, measured by the same standard as for a will, indicated intent, a definite beneficiary, and a trustee with duties to perform. The deed that funds real property into the trust must still be acknowledged before a notary and recorded under Utah Code title 57, chapter 3.

5. 5

   Utah imposes no real estate transfer tax, documentary stamp tax, or conveyance excise of any kind; Utah Code title 59 contains no such chapter. Unlike some states, no Utah statute requires the deed conveying property to your trustee to disclose your beneficiaries' names or addresses. The only state-level cost of funding real property into the trust is the flat county recorder fee set under Utah Code Section 17-21-18.5.

6. 6

   Utah uses a 1,000-year vesting period in place of the common-law rule against perpetuities or the 90-year Uniform Statutory Rule. Under Utah Code Section 75-2-1203, an interest under this trust is valid if it vests or terminates within 1,000 years of creation, putting Utah in the same long-duration tier as South Dakota, Nevada, Alaska, Delaware, and Wyoming for dynasty-style trusts.

7. 7

   Utah has no state estate tax and no state inheritance tax. Its Inheritance Tax Act, dormant since the federal credit it relied on was phased out after 2004, was formally repealed by House Bill 77 in the 2026 General Session, effective May 6, 2026. Separately, Utah Code Section 75B-2-1013 lets your trustee hand a bank or title company a certification of trust instead of the full instrument, and a recipient who demands more in bad faith is liable for the trustee's resulting costs and attorney fees.

Utah Requirements for Living Trust

• Utah Warranty Deed Funding; No Transfer Tax; No Beneficiary Disclosure

  A deed conveying Utah real property to the trustee, commonly a statutory warranty deed under Utah Code Section 57-1-12, must be acknowledged and recorded under Utah Code title 57, chapter 3. Utah imposes no real estate transfer tax (Title 59 has no such chapter) and no statute requires disclosing the trust's beneficiaries on the deed. Only the flat county recorder fee under Section 17-21-18.5 applies.

• Utah Homestead Exemption; Trust Interaction Unresolved

  Utah Code Section 78B-5-503 sets a homestead exemption base of $42,000 single, $84,000 married, adjusted for inflation each January 1 by the State Auditor; confirm the current figure. No Utah statute or reported decision addresses whether the exemption survives a transfer of the residence into a revocable trust. Consult a Utah attorney before funding a homestead into the trust.

• Utah Elective Share Reaches the Augmented Estate

  Utah Code Sections 75-2-202 through 75-2-209 retain the Uniform Probate Code elective-share system. A surviving spouse may elect to take a share of the decedent's augmented estate, which by statute can include property transferred into a revocable trust. Funding this trust does not defeat a surviving spouse's elective-share rights.

• Utah Asset Protection Trust as a Separate Irrevocable Election

  Utah Code Section 75B-2-505 exposes this revocable trust's assets to the settlor's creditors during life regardless of spendthrift terms. Real protection requires a separate, irrevocable Asset Protection Trust under Utah Code Sections 75B-1-301 to 75B-1-307, with at least one Utah-resident or Utah-trust-company trustee and a two-year, or 120-day noticed, fraudulent-transfer look-back.

• Utah Certificate of Trust

  Utah Code Section 75B-2-1013 lets the trustee furnish a certification of trust in place of the full instrument to a bank, title company, or other third party, without disclosing dispositive terms. A recipient who demands more in bad faith is liable for the trustee's resulting costs and attorney fees.

• Utah 1,000-Year Perpetuities Period

  Utah Code Section 75-2-1203 validates a nonvested property interest if it vests or terminates within 1,000 years of creation, replacing the common-law rule against perpetuities and the 90-year Uniform Statutory Rule. This supports long-duration, multi-generation trust planning under Utah law.

• Utah No State Estate or Inheritance Tax

  Utah imposes no state estate tax. Its Inheritance Tax Act, dormant since 2004, was formally repealed by House Bill 77 in the 2026 General Session, effective May 6, 2026 and applicable beginning January 1, 2026. A Utah living trust provides no state-death-tax benefit because none has applied for two decades.