Settling an Estate in Utah
Reviewed by DocDraft Legal Team · Utah · Last updated August 27, 2026
Utah has no probate court, no surrogate, and no orphans' court. An estate is opened 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, under Utah Code 75-3-201. The Utah Courts state the eligibility test in two parts rather than one: probate is required if the estate includes real property of any value, land, a house, a condominium, or mineral rights, and separately if the other assets, not counting cars, are worth more than $100,000. That real property trigger is the part families miss, because a paid off house pulls the estate into court no matter how small the rest of it is. Utah also brackets the case at both ends. An informal probate may not be filed until 120 hours have passed since the death under Utah Code 75-3-307, and it must be filed within three years of the death under Utah Code 75-3-107.
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When does a Utah estate have to go through probate?
The Utah Courts state that probate is required if the estate includes real property of any value, meaning land, a house, a condominium, or mineral rights, and separately if the estate holds assets other than land, not counting cars, worth more than $100,000. Survivorship property, beneficiary designated accounts, and trust assets stay outside it.
Where is a Utah probate case filed?
In the district court. Utah maintains no separate probate court, so the case is 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, under Utah Code 75-3-201. The clerk of that district court holds the file.
How large can a Utah estate be and still use a small estate affidavit?
Under Utah Code 75-3-1201 the entire value of the estate must be under $100,000, there must be no real property, at least 30 days must have passed since the death, and no application for appointment of a personal representative may have been filed. The affidavit cannot transfer title to land or a house.
How long does a Utah probate take, and is there a deadline to start one?
Uncontested Utah estates commonly run several months to about a year. Two fixed dates bracket the case. An informal probate may not be filed until 120 hours have passed since the death under Utah Code 75-3-307, and under Utah Code 75-3-107 the case must be filed within three years of the date of death.
Real property of any value pulls a Utah estate into the district court
Utah screens estates on two independent tests, and only one of them is a dollar figure. The Utah Courts put it plainly: probate is required if the estate includes real property of any value, land, a house, a condominium, or mineral rights, and it is also required if the estate holds assets other than land, not counting cars, whose net worth is more than $100,000. A modest Utah estate consisting mostly of a small house is therefore a probate estate, while an estate of $90,000 in bank accounts and household goods is not. The shortcut is the affidavit in Utah Code 75-3-1201, which lets a successor collect personal property directly from the bank or other holder where the entire value of the estate is under $100,000, there is no real property, at least 30 days have passed since the death, and no application for appointment of a personal representative has been filed. Vehicles have their own lane. The Utah Courts describe a separate affidavit, presented to the Utah Division of Motor Vehicles rather than to a court, that can claim title to up to four boats, motor vehicles, trailers, or semi-trailers registered under Utah law, so a family whose remaining problem is a truck and a boat trailer may never see a courthouse. Everything else runs through the district court of the county where the decedent lived, or the county where the decedent owned property, under Utah Code 75-3-201. Utah also fixes both ends of the window: no informal probate may be filed until 120 hours have passed since the death under Utah Code 75-3-307, and Utah Code 75-3-107 requires the case to be filed within three years of the death, after which the family has to pursue a determination of heirs instead of an ordinary probate. Publication to creditors is optional in Utah rather than mandatory. Utah Code 75-3-801 permits the personal representative to publish notice, and the Utah Courts advise doing so where the representative does not know about all of the decedent's debts, with the claim bar in Utah Code 75-3-803 running from that notice. A surviving Utah spouse is protected by the elective share and family protection provisions of Utah Code Title 75, Chapter 2, rather than by any automatic marital ownership of half the assets, and the shares that apply when there is no will are set by Utah Code 75-2-101 and the sections that follow.
Relevant Laws
Utah Code Title 75, Chapter 3 (Venue, appointment, and administration)
Utah's administration provisions. Utah Code 75-3-201 fixes venue in the district court of the county where the decedent lived at the time of death or where the decedent owned property, Utah Code 75-3-307 bars filing an informal probate until 120 hours have passed since the death, and Utah Code 75-3-203 sets the priority order for who may be appointed personal representative. Informal probate is used where the interested parties agree; formal probate is used where the appointment or the administration is disputed.
Utah Code 75-3-1201 (Collection of personal property by affidavit)
Utah's small estate route. Per the Utah Courts, a small estate affidavit may be used where the entire value of the estate is under $100,000, there is no real property, at least 30 days have passed since the death, and no application for appointment of a personal representative has been filed. The affidavit cannot be used to transfer title to real property such as land or a house. The successor signs before a notary and presents it to the bank or other holder rather than to the court.
Utah Code 75-3-801 and 75-3-803 (Notice to creditors and the claim bar)
Utah Code 75-3-801 permits the personal representative to publish notice to creditors but does not require it, and the Utah Courts advise publishing where the representative does not know about all of the decedent's debts. Where notice is published, Utah Code 75-3-801(1) requires creditors to present claims within three months after the date of first publication or be forever barred, and the notice runs once a week for three consecutive weeks. A creditor given written notice under 75-3-801(2) has the later of 90 days from the published notice or 60 days from the mailing. Utah Code 75-3-803 bars all claims at the earlier of those periods or one year after the decedent's death, so an estate that never publishes is still cut off at the one year mark.
Utah Code 75-3-107 (Three year limit on commencing a probate)
A probate case must be filed within three years of the date of the decedent's death, and the Utah Courts direct families who have passed that mark to a different process for a determination of heirs. Utah's intestate shares, which apply where there is no will, are set by Utah Code 75-2-101 and the sections that follow.
Regional Variances
Utah probate track table
No real property, entire estate under $100,000
Affidavit under Utah Code 75-3-1201, available once 30 days have passed since the death and only where no application for appointment of a personal representative has been filed. The affidavit is signed before a notary and given to the bank or other holder of the asset, so there is no court filing, no letters, no bond, and no accounting cycle.
Up to four registered vehicles, boats, trailers, or semi-trailers
A separate affidavit route described by the Utah Courts, presented to the Utah Division of Motor Vehicles rather than to a district court, to claim title to up to four boats, motor vehicles, trailers, or semi-trailers registered under Utah law. Cars are also left out of the asset count that decides whether probate is needed at all.
Any real property, at any value
Probate in the district court. The Utah Courts state that probate is required if the estate includes real property of any value, including land, a house, a condominium, or mineral rights. There is no dollar floor on this trigger, so a small house in a sole name produces a court case where an equivalent value in bank accounts would not.
Assets other than land, excluding cars, worth more than $100,000
Probate in the district court on the value test rather than the real property test. Where the parties agree on who should serve, the case proceeds as an informal probate; where the appointment of the personal representative or the handling of the estate is disputed, it proceeds as a formal probate with a hearing before a district court judge.
More than three years since the death
Utah Code 75-3-107 requires the case to be filed within three years of the date of death. Past that point the Utah Courts direct the parties to a different process for a determination of heirs and recommend consulting a lawyer, so the ordinary probate route and its forms are no longer available.
Utah deadlines, venue, and mechanics
Earliest and latest filing dates
Utah brackets the case at both ends. Utah Code 75-3-307 blocks an informal probate filing until 120 hours, five days, have passed since the death, and Utah Code 75-3-107 closes the window three years after the death. Few states impose both a floor and a ceiling on when the case may be opened.
Creditor claims
Publication is optional. Utah Code 75-3-801 provides that the personal representative may publish notice to creditors, and the Utah Courts note it is not required, though it is advisable where the representative does not know about all of the decedent's debts. Where the representative does publish, Utah Code 75-3-801(1) gives creditors three months from the date of first publication, with the notice running once a week for three consecutive weeks; a creditor given written notice gets the later of 90 days from publication or 60 days from mailing under 75-3-801(2). Utah Code 75-3-803 caps everything at the earlier of that period or one year after the date of death, so declining to publish does not extend exposure indefinitely.
Venue
Utah Code 75-3-201 allows the case to 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. Utah has no separate probate division, so the same district court bench that hears civil cases hears the estate.
Personal representative duties
The Utah Courts describe the appointed representative as responsible for contacting heirs and creditors, collecting and taking inventory of the estate, determining and paying taxes, selling property where necessary to pay taxes or debts, and distributing the remaining proceeds to the heirs. The representative may also bring court claims on behalf of the estate.
Spousal entitlement
Utah is not a community property state, so nothing passes to a surviving spouse automatically by operation of marital ownership. A spouse's protection comes instead from the elective share and family protection provisions in Utah Code Title 75, Chapter 2, and from the intestate shares in Utah Code 75-2-101 and the sections that follow where there is no will.
Suggested Compliance Checklist
Ask first whether the decedent owned any Utah real property
Week 1 days after startingSearch the county recorder's records for land, a house, a condominium, or mineral rights held in the decedent's sole name. The Utah Courts treat real property of any value as requiring probate, independent of the $100,000 test that applies to everything else, so this single question decides whether the estate can be handled by affidavit or has to be opened in the district court.
Prepare the Utah small estate affidavit once 30 days have passed
Day 30 or later days after startingUtah Code 75-3-1201 requires that the entire value of the estate be under $100,000, that there be no real property, that at least 30 days have passed since the death, and that no application for appointment of a personal representative has been filed. The successor signs before a notary and gives the affidavit to the bank or other third party holding the asset.
File in the district court after 120 hours and well within three years
After 5 days, before 3 years days after startingUtah Code 75-3-307 blocks an informal probate filing until 120 hours have passed since the death, and Utah Code 75-3-107 requires the case to be filed within three years of the death. File in the district court of the county where the decedent lived at the time of death or where the decedent owned property, under Utah Code 75-3-201.
Collect and inventory the estate after appointment
Early in the administration days after startingThe Utah Courts list collecting and taking inventory of the estate among the personal representative's core duties, alongside contacting heirs and creditors and determining and paying taxes. Record date of death values and any encumbrance for each asset, and get appraisals for real property and closely held business interests, since those values drive both the tax reporting and the eventual distribution.
Decide on creditor notice and hold distributions until claims are barred
Before any distribution days after startingUtah Code 75-3-801 makes publication optional, so weigh the cost of publishing against leaving the estate exposed where the decedent's debts are not fully known. The claim bar in Utah Code 75-3-803 runs from the notice. Confirm the current claim period before releasing anything, because a representative who distributes early may have to make the estate whole personally.
| Task | Description | Document | Days after starting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ask first whether the decedent owned any Utah real property | Search the county recorder's records for land, a house, a condominium, or mineral rights held in the decedent's sole name. The Utah Courts treat real property of any value as requiring probate, independent of the $100,000 test that applies to everything else, so this single question decides whether the estate can be handled by affidavit or has to be opened in the district court. | - | Week 1 |
| Prepare the Utah small estate affidavit once 30 days have passed | Utah Code 75-3-1201 requires that the entire value of the estate be under $100,000, that there be no real property, that at least 30 days have passed since the death, and that no application for appointment of a personal representative has been filed. The successor signs before a notary and gives the affidavit to the bank or other third party holding the asset. | small-estate-affidavit | Day 30 or later |
| File in the district court after 120 hours and well within three years | Utah Code 75-3-307 blocks an informal probate filing until 120 hours have passed since the death, and Utah Code 75-3-107 requires the case to be filed within three years of the death. File in the district court of the county where the decedent lived at the time of death or where the decedent owned property, under Utah Code 75-3-201. | - | After 5 days, before 3 years |
| Collect and inventory the estate after appointment | The Utah Courts list collecting and taking inventory of the estate among the personal representative's core duties, alongside contacting heirs and creditors and determining and paying taxes. Record date of death values and any encumbrance for each asset, and get appraisals for real property and closely held business interests, since those values drive both the tax reporting and the eventual distribution. | asset-inventory | Early in the administration |
| Decide on creditor notice and hold distributions until claims are barred | Utah Code 75-3-801 makes publication optional, so weigh the cost of publishing against leaving the estate exposed where the decedent's debts are not fully known. The claim bar in Utah Code 75-3-803 runs from the notice. Confirm the current claim period before releasing anything, because a representative who distributes early may have to make the estate whole personally. | - | Before any distribution |
Frequently Asked Questions
Utah Code 75-3-307 provides that an informal probate case may not be filed with the court until 120 hours, five days, have passed since the decedent's death. The waiting period gives the survivorship and simultaneous death rules time to resolve who actually outlived whom, which determines who inherits and who has priority to serve as personal representative. A filing made too early is premature.
Utah Code 75-3-107 requires a probate case to be filed within three years of the date of the decedent's death. The Utah Courts advise that where more than three years have passed, the parties need to follow a different process for a determination of heirs and should consult a lawyer. Waiting out the three years is not a way to avoid dealing with the estate, and it removes the ordinary route.
Utah keeps a separate affidavit for titled vehicles. The Utah Courts describe an affidavit that can claim title to up to four boats, motor vehicles, trailers, or semi-trailers registered under Utah law, presented to the Utah Division of Motor Vehicles rather than filed with a court. Cars are also excluded from the asset count in the Utah Courts' description of when probate becomes necessary.
No. Utah Code 75-3-801 permits publication rather than requiring it, and the Utah Courts note the representative may wish to publish where they do not know about all of the decedent's debts. That choice carries risk. The claim bar in Utah Code 75-3-803 runs from the notice, so an estate that never publishes never starts that period, though 75-3-803 still bars all claims one year after the date of death, and a representative who distributes early can be answerable for a claim that surfaces afterward.
Utah Code 75-3-201 gives a choice. 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. Families often file where the decedent lived, since that is where the records and the witnesses are, but real property in another Utah county supports filing there instead.
Other Utah guides
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