Utah Family Allowance

Utah gives a surviving spouse and certain children three separate claims on a decedent's estate, and all three are paid ahead of the estate's creditors. For a death in 2026 they are a homestead allowance of $33,700 under Utah Code 75-2-402, an exempt property allowance of $22,500 under 75-2-403, and a family allowance under 75-2-404 that carries no fixed amount at all.

Every dollar figure printed inside Title 75 Chapter 2 is a 2010 base number. Utah Code 75-1-110 indexes the amounts in 75-2-402, 75-2-403 and 75-2-405 to the Consumer Price Index by the year the decedent died, and the Administrative Office of the Courts publishes the adjusted list each January. A page that tells you the Utah homestead allowance is $22,500 is quoting the law as it stood for someone who died in 2010. Utah probate runs in the district court, in all 29 counties, and venue for the first proceeding sits in the county where the decedent was domiciled at death under 75-3-201(1)(a), so there is no separate probate court to track down first. This page is general information about Utah law rather than advice about one estate, so confirm your own figures with the district court holding the file or with a licensed Utah attorney.

Every Figure Moves With the Year of Death

This is the fact most published summaries of Utah law miss, and it changes real money.

Utah Code 75-1-110 takes the dollar amounts in 75-2-102, 75-2-202(2), 75-2-402, 75-2-403 and 75-2-405 and adjusts them against a 2009 reference base, using the Consumer Price Index annual average for the calendar year immediately before the year of death. An increase is rounded down to the next multiple of $100 and a decrease is rounded up. The amounts apply to a decedent who died in or after 2010 and are adjusted for a decedent who died after 2011. Section 75-1-110(2) adds one derived rule: for 75-2-405 the periodic installment amount is the lump sum divided by 12.

Section 75-1-110(3) puts the publishing duty on the Administrative Office of the Courts, which has to issue a cumulative list before February 1 each year. That list is live on the Utah Courts site under the title Estate Consumer Price Index. The page never uses the words homestead or allowance, which is why searching for them does not find it.

Two things follow from that table. Read your figures off the year the person died, not the year you are working the estate: a death in 2022 carries $28,400 and $18,900, and it keeps carrying them for as long as the estate stays open. And watch the collision in the middle of the table. The 2026 exempt property figure, $22,500, is the same number as the 2010 homestead allowance. A document that mixes the two eras reads as internally consistent, so label every amount with the year of death rather than trusting that the numbers look right together.

The Homestead Allowance

Utah Code 75-2-402 gives the surviving spouse a homestead allowance. Where there is no surviving spouse, each minor child and each dependent child of the decedent takes the allowance divided by the number of minor and dependent children.

Despite the name, this allowance does not set the house aside. It is a cash-value entitlement out of the estate. It also sits apart from the Utah homestead exemption in 78B-5-503, which shields the home a living debtor occupies from that debtor's own creditors. That one runs on a separate clock and a separate publisher: 78B-5-503(2)(e) has the state auditor recalculate it against the Consumer Price Index and publish the new amounts by January 1, where the probate allowances come from the courts by February 1. Two Utah rules share the word homestead and they answer different questions.

The allowance is exempt from and has priority over all claims of the estate. Unless the will or another governing instrument provides otherwise, it is charged against any benefit or share passing to that spouse or child by the will, by intestate succession, by way of elective share, and by way of the nonprobate transfers defined in 75-2-205 and 75-2-206.

Exempt Property

Utah Code 75-2-403 gives the surviving spouse a further entitlement on top of the homestead allowance: a value, measured in excess of any security interests, in household furniture, automobiles, furnishings, appliances and personal effects. Where there is no surviving spouse, the decedent's children take the same value jointly.

Two mechanics inside that sentence matter more than the headline number.

1. The measure is equity, after any loan. A car worth $19,000 with $14,000 still owing on it contributes $5,000 toward the allowance, because the section counts value in excess of the security interests in the property selected.
2. A short estate is topped up in cash. If encumbered chattels are selected and their equity plus other exempt property comes to less than the allowance, or the estate simply does not hold that much qualifying property, the spouse or children take other assets of the estate to make up the difference.

Rights to exempt property, and to the assets needed to cover a shortfall, have priority over all claims against the estate. The make-up right is the weakest of the three, though. It abates as far as necessary so the homestead allowance and the family allowance are paid first.

The Utah exempt property allowance guide takes this one apart on its own: the amount for every year of death back to 2010, who selects the property, why a specific gift in the will is protected from it, and what changes when a surviving spouse elects against the will.

The Family Allowance Carries No Entitlement Figure

Utah Code 75-2-404 is the support provision, and it is written without a dollar amount on purpose. The surviving spouse, the minor children the decedent was obligated to support, and children who were in fact being supported by the decedent take a reasonable allowance in money out of the estate for their maintenance during the period of administration. That allowance may not continue longer than one year if the estate is inadequate to discharge allowed claims.

Payment can be a lump sum or periodic installments. It goes to the surviving spouse, if living, for the use of the spouse and the minor and dependent children. If there is no spouse it goes to the children, or to whoever has their care and custody. Where a minor or dependent child is not living with the surviving spouse, the allowance can be split between the child, or the child's guardian or custodian, and the spouse as their needs appear. The death of a person entitled to a family allowance ends the right to allowances not yet paid.

The number that does exist belongs to 75-2-405(1), and it is a cap on the personal representative rather than a limit on the family. The personal representative may determine the family allowance in a lump sum, or in monthly installments for one year, without going to court. For a death in 2026 those ceilings are $40,500 and $3,375 a month, against the $27,000 and $2,250 the section prints. Anything above the ceiling needs a court order, and the personal representative or any interested person who disagrees with a selection, a determination, a payment, a proposed payment or a failure to act may petition the district court, which can set a family allowance other than the one the personal representative determined or could have determined.

A family with a genuine need above $40,500 can still ask for more. The real ceiling is whatever a Utah district court finds reasonable.

Priority Against Creditors, and Among Themselves

All three allowances outrank ordinary estate debt, and they also rank against each other. Here is the order the three sections produce when the money runs out.

1. Homestead allowance. Exempt from and prior to all claims of the estate (75-2-402).
2. Family allowance. Exempt from and prior to all claims except the homestead allowance (75-2-404).
3. Exempt property. Prior to all claims against the estate, except that the right to other assets covering a shortfall abates so the two allowances above are paid earlier (75-2-403).

Credit card balances, personal loans and most medical bills sit behind all of that. When the estate cannot pay everything, Utah Code 75-3-805 then sorts the claims themselves into six classes: reasonable funeral expenses first, then costs and expenses of administration, then debts and taxes with preference under federal law, then reasonable and necessary medical and hospital expenses of the last illness, then debts and taxes preferred under other Utah law, then everything else. Utah putting funeral expenses ahead of administration costs reverses the order most out-of-state guidance repeats, and the Utah creditor claims guide walks the whole payment sequence.

How the Allowances Are Charged Against a Share

This is where families are most often surprised. Each of the three sections carries the same clause: unless the will or governing instrument provides otherwise, the allowance is chargeable against any benefit or share passing to the recipient by the will, by intestate succession, by way of elective share, and by way of a nonprobate transfer defined in 75-2-205 and 75-2-206.

A spouse who is already the sole beneficiary of the estate does not end up with the allowances plus the whole estate. The allowances change the timing and the creditor protection of that money rather than its size. Where they matter is an insolvent estate, an estate where the spouse takes a partial share, or an estate that will take a year to settle while the household still has bills.

Utah Code 75-2-202(3) applies the same logic to the elective share. If the right of election is exercised by or for a surviving spouse, the homestead allowance, exempt property and family allowance are charged against, and are not in addition to, the elective share and supplemental elective share amounts. That is worth modelling before electing, because the flat one-third elective share under 75-2-202(1) can be worth less than the will plus the allowances. The Utah surviving spouse rights guide covers the election, the deadline and the augmented estate.

Who Picks the Property, and What Cannot Be Taken

Utah Code 75-2-405 sets the mechanics. The surviving spouse, the guardians of minor children, or children who are adults may select property of the estate as the homestead allowance and as exempt property. The personal representative may make the selection instead where those people are unable or fail to act within a reasonable time, or where a minor child has no guardian, and may execute an instrument or deed of distribution to establish ownership of what was taken.

One limit protects the will. If the estate is otherwise sufficient, property that is the subject of a specific devise may not be used to satisfy the homestead allowance or exempt property. A car left by name to a named child is reached only when there is nothing else to reach.

Practical steps for a personal representative settling this:

1. Fix the year of death first, then pull that row of the Estate Consumer Price Index list. Everything else depends on it.
2. Value the selected property at date of death and net out the liens. Exempt property is an equity measure, so record the payoff on any financed car or appliance.
3. Write down who is eligible and why. Dependency and support status decide who shares a family allowance, and a child living apart from the spouse can take part of it directly.
4. Pay the family allowance within the 75-2-405(1) ceiling, or petition first. Paying above it without an order is the mistake that draws an objection.
5. Document the selection. An instrument or deed of distribution is what later shows the transfer was an allowance rather than a distribution. The Utah executor duties guide sets this beside the rest of the job.

Utah Sets No Claim Window, and One Hard Outer Limit

Part 4 of Title 75 Chapter 2 contains no deadline for asking. That is a real difference from states that impose a six-month clock after the first published notice to creditors, and a Utah spouse reading out-of-state material often believes a window has closed when none exists.

The outer limit comes from probate procedure. Utah Code 75-3-107(1) bars an informal probate or formal testacy proceeding more than three years after the death, with narrow exceptions. Where a court appoints a personal representative after that limit under its continuing jurisdiction, 75-3-107(4)(b) says a homestead allowance, exempt property, a family allowance, a support allowance, an elective share and any claim other than expenses of administration may not be presented against the estate. Past three years the allowances are gone even though the estate can still be administered. The Utah probate timeline puts that date beside the rest of the calendar.

Which State's Law Applies

Utah Code 75-2-401 answers this in one sentence. Part 4 applies to the estate of a decedent who dies domiciled in Utah. Rights to a homestead allowance, exempt property and a family allowance for a decedent who dies domiciled elsewhere are governed by the law of the decedent's domicile at death.

Owning a cabin in Summit County or a rental in Washington County does not import the Utah allowances for a decedent who lived in Idaho or California. Their domicile decides. The reverse is true too: a Utah domiciliary's estate carries these allowances even where much of the property sits out of state.

The Allowances Set the Summary Administration Floor

The three allowances are also the front half of Utah's cheapest way to close an estate. Utah Code 75-3-1203 lets a personal representative disburse and distribute without notice to creditors, then file a closing statement under 75-3-1204, when it appears from the inventory and appraisal 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.

Two parts of that sum are fixed once the year of death is known. For a 2026 death, $33,700 plus $22,500 puts a floor of $56,200 under the test before anything else is counted, and the family allowance, the funeral bill, the administration costs and the last-illness medical bills all push it higher. No single dollar figure describes this route, which is exactly why it gets confused with the separate $100,000 small estate affidavit under 75-3-1201. The Utah small estate routes guide keeps the two apart.

When to Call a Utah Attorney

Most allowance claims are handled by the personal representative without a hearing. Bring in a licensed Utah attorney when the estate cannot pay its allowed claims, when the family needs more than the 75-2-405(1) ceiling, when a surviving spouse is weighing an elective share against the will, when a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement may have waived any of these rights, or when a child not living with the surviving spouse needs a share paid directly. Those are the situations where the order of payment, and the choice between electing and taking under the will, decide who receives what.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much is the Utah family allowance?

Utah Code 75-2-404 sets no fixed amount. It gives the surviving spouse and the children the decedent supported a reasonable allowance in money out of the estate for maintenance during administration. What carries a number is 75-2-405(1), which caps what the personal representative may pay without a court order at a lump sum or at monthly installments for one year. For a death in 2026 that cap is $40,500 as a lump sum or $3,375 a month. A larger allowance takes a court order, and any interested person may petition the district court for one.

How much is the Utah homestead allowance in 2026?

$33,700 for a decedent who died in 2026. Utah Code 75-2-402 prints $22,500, but that is the 2010 base amount. Utah Code 75-1-110 indexes the figure to the Consumer Price Index by the year of the decedent's death, and the Administrative Office of the Courts publishes the adjusted list before February 1 each year on its Estate Consumer Price Index page. Read the amount off the year the person died, not the year you are settling the estate.

Are the Utah allowances paid before creditors?

Yes, and they rank in a set order. The homestead allowance is exempt from and has priority over all claims of the estate under 75-2-402. The family allowance has priority over all claims except the homestead allowance under 75-2-404. Exempt property has priority over all claims against the estate under 75-2-403, but the right to other assets that make up a shortfall in exempt property gives way so the homestead allowance and family allowance are paid first.

Can a surviving spouse claim all three Utah allowances?

Yes. The homestead allowance, exempt property and the family allowance are three separate rights and a surviving spouse can take all three. Each one is charged against whatever else passes to that spouse by the will, by intestate succession, by elective share or by a nonprobate transfer under 75-2-205 and 75-2-206, unless the will or governing instrument says otherwise. And under 75-2-202(3), a spouse who elects against the will has all three charged against the elective share instead of added to it.

Is there a deadline to claim a Utah family allowance?

Part 4 of Title 75 Chapter 2 sets no claim window, which is a real difference from states that impose a six-month deadline. The outer limit comes from 75-3-107. No informal probate or formal testacy proceeding may start more than three years after the death, and where the court appoints a personal representative after that limit, 75-3-107(4)(b) blocks a homestead allowance, exempt property, a family allowance, a support allowance and an elective share from being presented against the estate.

What if the decedent lived outside Utah but owned Utah property?

Utah Code 75-2-401 says Part 4 applies to the estate of a decedent who dies domiciled in Utah. For a decedent who dies domiciled somewhere else, rights to a homestead allowance, exempt property and a family allowance are governed by the law of that domicile at death. Utah real property alone does not bring the Utah allowances with it.

Do the allowances mean the estate qualifies for summary administration?

They set the floor for it. Utah Code 75-3-1203 lets a personal representative close an estate without notice to creditors when the value of the entire estate, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed the homestead allowance, exempt property, the family allowance, costs and expenses of administration, reasonable funeral expenses and last-illness medical and hospital expenses. Two of those are fixed for a given year of death, so a 2026 death starts at $56,200, and the rest varies with the estate. There is no single dollar figure for this route.

Related Guides

• Utah Exempt Property Allowance - the 75-2-403 allowance on its own, year by year
• Utah Surviving Spouse Rights - the elective share, the allowances and the intestate share together
• Utah Small Estate Routes - the $100,000 affidavit and the summary administrative procedure
• Utah Intestate Succession - who inherits when there is no will
• Utah Executor Duties - who selects, values and pays the allowances
• Utah Creditor Claims - the payment order the allowances sit ahead of
• Utah Probate Timeline - the three-year limit that ends the allowances
• Utah Probate Guide - how a Utah estate is opened in the district court

Sources:

• Title: Utah Code Section 75-2-402, Homestead allowance. Publisher: Utah State Legislature. Publication Date: Amended by Chapter 93, 2010 General Session, accessed 2026-08-28. URL: https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title75/Chapter2/C75-2-S402_1800010118000101.html
• Title: Utah Code Section 75-2-403, Exempt property. Publisher: Utah State Legislature. Publication Date: Amended by Chapter 93, 2010 General Session, accessed 2026-08-28. URL: https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title75/Chapter2/C75-2-S403_1800010118000101.html
• Title: Utah Code Section 75-2-404, Family allowance. Publisher: Utah State Legislature. Publication Date: Repealed and Re-enacted by Chapter 39, 1998 General Session, accessed 2026-08-28. URL: https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title75/Chapter2/C75-2-S404_1800010118000101.html
• Title: Utah Code Section 75-2-405, Source, determination, and documentation. Publisher: Utah State Legislature. Publication Date: Amended by Chapter 93, 2010 General Session, accessed 2026-08-28. URL: https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title75/Chapter2/C75-2-S405_1800010118000101.html
• Title: Utah Code Section 75-1-110, Cost of living adjustment of certain dollar amounts. Publisher: Utah State Legislature. Publication Date: Enacted by Chapter 93, 2010 General Session, accessed 2026-08-28. URL: https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title75/Chapter1/C75-1-S110_1800010118000101.html
• Title: Estate Consumer Price Index, the cumulative list of cost-of-living-adjusted dollar amounts published under Utah Code 75-1-110(3). Publisher: Utah State Courts, Administrative Office of the Courts. Publication Date: Page last modified 2026-01-15, accessed 2026-08-28. URL: https://www.utcourts.gov/en/about/miscellaneous/legal-community/price.html
• Title: Utah Code Section 75-2-401, Exempt property and allowances, Applicable law. Publisher: Utah State Legislature. Publication Date: Repealed and Re-enacted by Chapter 39, 1998 General Session, accessed 2026-08-28. URL: https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title75/Chapter2/C75-2-S401_1800010118000101.html
• Title: Utah Code Section 75-2-202, Elective share, Supplemental elective share amount, Effect of election on statutory benefits, Nondomicilary. Publisher: Utah State Legislature. Publication Date: Amended by Chapter 93, 2010 General Session, accessed 2026-08-28. URL: https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title75/Chapter2/C75-2-S202_1800010118000101.html
• Title: Utah Code Section 75-3-107, Probate and testacy proceedings, Ultimate time limit, Presumption and order of intestacy. Publisher: Utah State Legislature. Publication Date: Effective 5/8/2018, Amended by Chapter 244, 2018 General Session, accessed 2026-08-28. URL: https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title75/Chapter3/C75-3-S107_2018050820180508.html
• Title: Utah Code Section 75-3-805, Classification of claims. Publisher: Utah State Legislature. Publication Date: Effective 5/3/2023, Amended by Chapter 330, 2023 General Session, accessed 2026-08-28. URL: https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title75/Chapter3/C75-3-S805_2023050320230503.html
• Title: Utah Code Section 75-3-1203, Small estates, Summary administrative procedure. Publisher: Utah State Legislature. Publication Date: Enacted by Chapter 150, 1975 General Session, accessed 2026-08-28. URL: https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title75/Chapter3/C75-3-S1203_1800010118000101.html
• Title: Utah Code Section 75-3-201, Venue for first and subsequent estate proceedings, Location of property. Publisher: Utah State Legislature. Publication Date: Enacted by Chapter 150, 1975 General Session, accessed 2026-08-28. URL: https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title75/Chapter3/C75-3-S201_1800010118000101.html
• Title: Utah Code Section 78B-5-503, Homestead exemption, Definitions, Excepted obligations, Water rights and interests, Conveyance, Sale and disposition, Property right for federal tax purposes. Publisher: Utah State Legislature. Publication Date: Effective 5/14/2019, Amended by Chapter 298, 2019 General Session, accessed 2026-08-28. URL: https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title78B/Chapter5/C78B-5-S503_2019051420190514.html

This guide explains the Utah homestead allowance, exempt property allowance and family allowance in general terms. Every figure above is keyed to the decedent's year of death and the Administrative Office of the Courts publishes a new row each January, so confirm the amount for your year with the district court handling the estate or with a licensed Utah attorney. It is not legal advice.