Emery 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 limit 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, not a gross measure of personal property, so a $400,000 house carrying a $350,000 mortgage contributes $50,000 to the total. The affidavit collects PERSONAL property only and cannot transfer title to land or a house, even though real property counts toward the measure. No application or petition for appointment of a personal representative may be pending or granted in any jurisdiction.

Qualifies:

$100,000

Attorney:

not required by law, though many families use one

There is NO court filing fee because the affidavit is not filed with a court at all: the Utah State Courts small-estates page states that a small estate affidavit "is not filed with the court" and that the successor signs it before a notary and gives it to the third party holding the asset. Two Utah-specific riders in § 75-3-1201: the Motor Vehicle Division shall transfer title to not more than FOUR boats, motor vehicles, trailers or semitrailers, and for that transfer the affidavit instead states that the value of the entire estate OTHER than those vehicles, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $100,000 (§ 75-3-1201(3)); and 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 (§ 75-3-1201(4)). Two official Utah sources differ on real property: the courts' self-help page lists "there is no real property" as a requirement, while § 75-3-1201(1)(a) counts real property in the measure and only limits what the affidavit can COLLECT. The statute is the authority; treat the courts' page as practical guidance and verify with the institution holding the asset. The $100,000 figure is a fixed statutory amount: it is not indexed to inflation (Utah Code § 75-1-110 lists the indexed amounts and § 75-3-1201 is not among them) and it is not banded by year of death.

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 to it, without giving notice to creditors, and close the estate by filing a closing statement under Utah Code § 75-3-1204. This is a cheap way to CLOSE an estate, not a cheap way to open one: a personal representative has already been appointed and the $375 filing fee has already been paid.

Qualifies:

NO DOLLAR FIGURE EXISTS. The route is available when 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 decedent's last illness.

Attorney:

not required by law, though many families use one

Do not model Utah as "a $100,000 state". That silently deletes this second statutory route. The sum is not computable to a single number: two of its components are fixed for a given YEAR OF DEATH and indexed to inflation under Utah Code § 75-1-110 (for a death in 2026 the homestead allowance is $33,700 under § 75-2-402 and exempt property is $22,500 under § 75-2-403, giving a floor of at least $56,200), the family allowance is "a reasonable allowance" with no entitlement figure, and administration costs, funeral expenses and last-illness medical expenses are inherently variable. The dollar figures PRINTED in §§ 75-2-402 and 75-2-403 are the 2010 base amounts, not current law. Eligibility must be worked out on the actual inventory with the court.

Utah is a Uniform Probate Code state, so it runs 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 a written application, with no hearing. A FORMAL testacy or appointment 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. Under Utah Code § 75-3-107 no informal probate and no formal testacy or appointment proceeding may be started more than THREE YEARS after the decedent's death, except in the cases the section lists, and a contest of an informally probated will may be commenced within the later of 12 months from the informal probate or three years from death. Verify bond, notice and scheduling requirements with the court.

Qualifies:

No dollar threshold. This is the ordinary route for a Utah decedent's estate.

Filing fee:

$375

source

Attorney:

not required by law, though many families use one

The single statewide filing fee is $375 under Utah Code § 78A-2-301(1)(a). It is the same for informal and formal probate because § 78A-2-301 has no probate-specific subsection, so a probate petition falls in (1)(a). There are no per-county probate filing fees in Utah.

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.