Duchesne County District Court Guide

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 an affidavit. The $100,000 figure is measured on the value of the ENTIRE estate subject to administration, wherever located, LESS liens and encumbrances. That is a NET measure of the whole estate rather than a gross measure of personal property, so a Duchesne County home worth $400,000 carrying a $350,000 mortgage contributes $50,000 to the total. The affidavit collects PERSONAL property and cannot transfer real estate, even though real estate counts toward the measure. Utah's affidavit is NOT filed with the court, so there is no filing fee and no clerk involved: the successor completes it, signs it before a notary and gives it to the bank or other third party holding the asset.

• 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
• The affidavit is signed before a notary and given to the person or institution holding the asset, not filed with the court

Qualifies:

$100,000

Typical duration:

1-2 months

Attorney:

not required by law, though many families use one

Two Utah-specific carve-outs. Vehicles ride on top of the measure: under Utah Code § 75-3-1201(3) the Motor Vehicle Division will transfer title to not more than four boats, motor vehicles, trailers or semitrailers, and for that transfer the affidavit states that the value of the entire estate OTHER than those vehicles, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $100,000. The DMV form is TC-569C, Survivorship Affidavit, and the DMV adds a condition the statute does not state, that the vehicle carry no active lienholder. Separately, shares of stock in a water company transferred under Utah Code § 73-1-10 or Title 70A Chapter 8 are NOT eligible for transfer under this part (Utah Code § 75-3-1201(4)), which is a disqualifier for that asset class rather than a value question and matters in rural Utah counties where water shares are commonly held. The $100,000 figure is a fixed statutory amount: it is not indexed to inflation and not banded by date of death, because Utah Code § 75-1-110 does not list Utah Code § 75-3-1201 among the amounts it adjusts.

Where the inventory and appraisal show that the estate does not exceed that sum, the personal representative may immediately disburse and distribute the estate to the persons entitled to it, without giving notice to creditors, and close the estate with a closing statement under Utah Code § 75-3-1204. It is a way of CLOSING an estate cheaply rather than of opening one cheaply: a personal representative has already been appointed and the $375 has already been paid, so no additional fee applies.

• 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 ordered otherwise

Qualifies:

No dollar figure exists. The test is whether the value of the entire estate, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed the SUM of the homestead allowance, exempt property, the family allowance, the costs and expenses of administration, reasonable funeral expenses and the reasonable and necessary medical and hospital expenses of the last illness.

Typical duration:

4-8 months

Attorney:

not required by law, though many families use one

Modelling Utah as simply a $100,000 state deletes this route. Utah Code § 75-3-1203 states no dollar amount and the sum it describes is not computable to a single number, because administration costs, funeral expenses and last-illness medical expenses vary by estate. Two of its components are fixed for a given YEAR OF DEATH and are indexed to inflation under Utah Code § 75-1-110, so the floor moves every year while the Utah Code § 75-3-1201 affidavit figure of $100,000 does not. The dollar figures printed in Utah Code § 75-2-402 and 75-2-403 are the 2010 base amounts, not current law. Read the Utah state-level small-estate data for the current indexed figures and the year-of-death table published by the Administrative Office of the Courts.

Utah is a Uniform Probate Code state and runs SEVERAL real tracks rather than one, all of them in the Duchesne County - District Court. 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 the 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, the estate is complicated, or an interested person demands a hearing. SUPERVISED administration keeps the personal representative under the continuing authority of the court, which must approve the distribution. The filing fee is $375 on any of them under Utah Code § 78A-2-301(1)(a). Venue is Duchesne County where the decedent was domiciled here at death, or where a decedent domiciled outside Utah owned property here (Utah Code § 75-3-201). No informal or formal testacy proceeding may be commenced more than three years after the death, subject to the exceptions in Utah Code § 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 § 78A-2-301(1)(a)) or apply for a fee waiver under Utah Code § 78A-2-302
• On an informal appointment the clerk notifies the heirs and devisees and the registrar acts after 10 days from that notice
• Prepare an inventory within three months after appointment (Utah Code § 75-3-705); filing it with the court is optional in Utah
• Publish a notice to creditors only if the estate wants the three-month claim bar (Utah Code § 75-3-801); publication is optional in Utah
• Close by verified closing statement no earlier than four months after the original appointment (Utah Code § 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 contest of an informally probated will may be commenced within the later of 12 months from the informal probate and three years from the death (Utah Code § 75-3-107). Separately, filing a PROBATE DOCUMENT OF ANOTHER STATE with a Utah court of record costs $35 under Utah Code § 78A-2-301(1)(m); that is the ancillary route for a decedent domiciled elsewhere who left property in Duchesne County, and it is not the fee to open a Utah probate.

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.