Beaver County District Court Guide

Thirty days after the death, a person who owes the decedent a debt or holds the decedent's tangible personal property must pay or deliver it to a claiming successor who presents a compliant affidavit. IT IS NOT FILED WITH A COURT. The Utah State Courts small-estates page says so in terms: the successor fills out the affidavit, signs it in front of a notary, and gives it to the bank or other third party. There is no clerk, no filing fee and no Utah court form number for it. It collects PERSONAL property only and does not convey real property, even though real property counts in the measure. A separate sub-route in Subsection (3) lets the Motor Vehicle Division retitle NOT MORE THAN FOUR boats, motor vehicles, trailers or semitrailers, and for that transfer the affidavit states the value of the entire estate OTHER THAN those vehicles, less liens and encumbrances. 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, which is a genuinely Utah asset class and a disqualifier for that asset rather than a value question.

• 30 days have elapsed since the death (Utah Code Section 75-3-1201(1)(b))
• The value of the entire estate subject to administration, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $100,000 (Section 75-3-1201(1)(a))
• No application or petition for appointment of a personal representative is pending or has been granted in any jurisdiction (Section 75-3-1201(1)(c))
• The claiming successor is entitled to payment or delivery of the property (Section 75-3-1201(1)(d))
• The affidavit is signed before a notary and given to the holder of the property; it is not filed with the court

Qualifies:

$100,000

Typical duration:

1-2 months

Attorney:

not required by law, though many families use one

NO COURT FORM NUMBER IS ASSERTED because Utah publishes none for this affidavit: it is not a court filing. Do not invent one. TWO OFFICIAL UTAH SOURCES DISAGREE ABOUT REAL PROPERTY. The Utah State Courts self-help page lists as a requirement that there be no real property; Section 75-3-1201(1)(a) states only the $100,000 net measure on the entire estate and Subsection (1) reaches tangible personal property, debts and securities. The safe reading, and the one this file takes, is that the affidavit does not convey real property while real property still counts toward the measure. For vehicles the Division of Motor Vehicles uses form TC-569C, Survivorship Affidavit, and additionally requires that there be no active lienholder, a condition that is on the agency page and not in the statute.

Where the inventory and appraisal show that the value of the entire estate, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed the SUM of the homestead allowance, exempt property, the family allowance, costs and expenses of administration, reasonable funeral expenses and reasonable and necessary medical and hospital expenses of the last illness, the personal representative may immediately disburse and distribute the estate to the persons entitled without giving notice to creditors, and close it with a verified closing statement under Section 75-3-1204. This is a way of CLOSING an estate cheaply rather than of opening one: a personal representative is already appointed and the $375 has already been paid.

• A personal representative has been appointed and has prepared the inventory and appraisal
• The value of the entire estate, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed the statutory sum
• The estate is not in supervised administration and the court has not prohibited it
• File a verified closing statement under Utah Code Section 75-3-1204

Qualifies:

NO DOLLAR FIGURE EXISTS. The test is a computed sum, not a number.

Typical duration:

4-8 months

Attorney:

not required by law, though many families use one

MODELLING UTAH AS "A $100,000 STATE" DELETES THIS ROUTE. Two components of the sum are fixed for a given YEAR OF DEATH and indexed to inflation by Utah Code Section 75-1-110: for a death in 2026 the homestead allowance is $33,700 and exempt property is $22,500, a floor of $56,200. The figures printed in Sections 75-2-402 and 75-2-403 are the 2010 base amounts and are not current law. The family allowance, administration costs, funeral expenses and last-illness medical bills are variable, so the total is not computable to a number and must not be published as one. Unlike this sum, the $100,000 affidavit figure is NOT indexed: Section 75-3-1201 is not in the Section 75-1-110 list.

Utah is a Uniform Probate Code state and has several real tracks rather than one. INFORMAL probate of a will and informal appointment of a personal representative are handled by the REGISTRAR of the district court on an application, with no hearing before a judge; the clerk gives written notice to heirs and devisees and the registrar acts after 10 days from that notice. A FORMAL testacy proceeding is litigated before a district judge, on notice, and is used where the will is contested or an interested person demands a hearing. SUPERVISED administration keeps the personal representative under the continuing authority of the court. The filing fee is $375 on any of them (Utah Code Section 78A-2-301(1)(a)). An informal or formal testacy proceeding may not be commenced more than three years after the death, subject to the exceptions in Section 75-3-107.

• File the application or petition with the district court in the county where the decedent was domiciled at death
• Provide the original will, if there is one, and a certified death certificate
• Pay the $375 filing fee (Utah Code Section 78A-2-301(1)(a)) or apply for a fee waiver under Section 78A-2-302
• On informal appointment, the clerk notifies heirs and devisees and the registrar acts after 10 days
• Prepare an inventory within three months after appointment (Utah Code Section 75-3-705); filing it with the court is optional
• Publish a notice to creditors if the estate wants the three-month claim bar (Utah Code Section 75-3-801); publication is optional in Utah
• Close by verified closing statement no earlier than four months after the original appointment (Utah Code Section 75-3-1003)

Qualifies:

No dollar threshold. This is the ordinary Utah route wherever the small estate affidavit does not fit.

Filing fee:

$375

source

Typical duration:

6-12 months

Attorney:

not required by law, though many families use one

The 6 to 12 months is a planning estimate, not a published court statistic. The statutory FLOOR is fixed: a closing statement may not be filed earlier than four months after the original appointment, and a published creditor notice runs three months from first publication.

A formal testacy proceeding is litigated before a district judge. The court fixes a time and place of hearing and the petitioner gives notice to the surviving spouse, children and other heirs, the devisees and executors named in any will probated or offered for probate, and any personal representative whose appointment has not been terminated, plus notice by publication to unknown persons and to known persons whose addresses are unknown.

• File a petition for formal testacy and/or formal appointment
• The court fixes a hearing and the petitioner gives notice under Utah Code § 75-1-401 and § 75-3-403
• Notice by publication to unknown persons and to known persons whose addresses are unknown
• The same inventory, creditor-notice and closing rules then apply

Qualifies:

No dollar threshold. Used where the will is contested, the estate is complicated, or an interested person demands a hearing.

Attorney:

not required by law, though many families use one

Informal probate of a will and informal appointment of a personal representative are handled by the REGISTRAR of the district court on an application, without a hearing before a judge. On receiving the application the clerk mails notice to the heirs and devisees who have not waived it, and the registrar grants the probate or appointment after 10 days from the date of that notice. Where every person entitled to notice has waived it in writing, the registrar may appoint once 120 hours have passed since the death.

• File an application for informal probate of the will and/or informal appointment of a personal representative with the district court in the county of the decedent's domicile
• Provide the original will, if there is one, and a certified death certificate
• The clerk gives written notice to heirs and devisees; the registrar acts after 10 days from the date of that notice
• Publish notice to creditors if the estate wants the three-month claim bar (Utah Code § 75-3-801)
• Prepare an inventory within three months after appointment (Utah Code § 75-3-705)
• Close by verified closing statement no earlier than four months after appointment (Utah Code § 75-3-1003)

Qualifies:

No dollar threshold. The ordinary route for an uncontested Utah estate.

Attorney:

not required by law, though many families use one

Supervised administration keeps the personal representative under the continuing authority of the district court, which must approve distribution. An estate in supervised administration cannot be closed by the ordinary sworn closing statement under Utah Code § 75-3-1003 or by the summary closing statement under § 75-3-1204.

Qualifies:

No dollar threshold. Ordered by the court where continuing supervision is warranted.

Attorney:

not required by law, though many families use one

Thirty days after the death, a person holding the decedent's tangible personal property or owing the decedent a debt must pay or deliver it to a claiming successor who presents a compliant affidavit. The affidavit is NOT filed with the court: the successor completes it, signs before a notary, and gives it to the bank or other holder. Utah publishes no court form for it. The Motor Vehicle Division will retitle up to four boats, motor vehicles, trailers or semitrailers on the Tax Commission's TC-569C Survivorship Affidavit, and for that transfer the $100,000 is measured on the estate OTHER than those vehicles.

• 30 days have elapsed since the death
• The value of the entire estate subject to administration, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $100,000
• No application or petition for appointment of a personal representative is pending or has been granted in any jurisdiction
• The claiming successor is entitled to payment or delivery of the property
• 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

Qualifies:

$100,000 or less, measured as the value of the entire estate subject to administration, wherever located, LESS liens and encumbrances. That is a net measure of the whole estate, so a mortgaged house contributes only its equity. PERSONAL PROPERTY ONLY: the affidavit collects debts, tangible personal property and instruments, and cannot transfer real estate.

Attorney:

not required by law, though many families use one

TWO OFFICIAL UTAH SOURCES DISAGREE about real property. The Utah Courts self-help page lists as a requirement that "there is no real property"; § 75-3-1201(1)(a) states only the $100,000 net measure of the entire estate and disqualifies nothing. See small-estate.json, which records the conflict and follows the statute.

Where the inventory and appraisal show the estate does not exceed that sum, the personal representative may immediately disburse and distribute the estate to the persons entitled without giving notice to creditors, and close by filing a verified statement under Utah Code § 75-3-1204. That closing statement has the same effect as one filed under § 75-3-1003, and the appointment terminates if no proceedings are pending one year after it is filed.

• A personal representative has been appointed and has prepared the inventory and appraisal
• The value of the entire estate, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed the statutory sum
• The estate is not in supervised administration and the court has not prohibited it
• File a verified closing statement stating the nature and value of the assets at distribution, that the estate was fully administered, and that a copy went to all distributees and to known unpaid, unbarred creditors

Qualifies:

NO DOLLAR FIGURE EXISTS. Available where the value of the entire estate, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed the SUM of the homestead allowance, exempt property, the family allowance, costs and expenses of administration, reasonable funeral expenses, and reasonable and necessary medical and hospital expenses of the last illness.

Attorney:

not required by law, though many families use one

Two components of the sum are fixed for a given year of death and indexed under Utah Code § 75-1-110 (for a 2026 death, homestead allowance $33,700 and exempt property $22,500, a floor of $56,200); the family allowance, administration costs, funeral expenses and last-illness medical bills are variable, so the test is NOT reducible to a threshold.