Tag Archives: Utah Probate

Safeguarding your Utah Estate Plan: What are the Dangers?

This post is the first in a series of posts that suggest various approaches for protecting one’s estate plan from the illicit conduct of successor trustees, family members and others, in order to ensure that the estate plan will be … Continue reading

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Estate of Valcarce

In Estate of Valcarce, 301 P. 3d 1031 (Utah App. 2013), the Utah court of appeals affirmed the district court order admitting to probate an unsigned copy of the decedent’s 1991 will. Two of the decedent’s brothers had submitted the … Continue reading

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Ancillary Probate in Utah

If a probate of a decedent’s estate is needed, it will be opened in the state in which the decedent resided at the time of his or her death.  However, if the decedent owned real property in another state, an … Continue reading

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Avoiding Probate in Utah

As a general principle, there are four ways to avoid probate in Utah: (1)  An asset that is held in the decedent’s revocable trust is not subject to probate. (2)  An asset that is held in joint tenancy is not … Continue reading

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Do I Need a Revocable Trust in Utah?

A revocable trust is used to avoid probate.  As described in the preceding blog post, probate in Utah is not as cumbersome as it is in some other states.  In Utah, a petition for informal probate can be approved by … Continue reading

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Probate in Utah

Probate is a court-supervised process by which a decedent’s assets are distributed to the persons who are entitled to them (both estate beneficiaries and creditors of the decedent), and by which those persons obtain clean title to the property. Historically, … Continue reading

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What a Revocable Trust Does – and Does Not Do

There are really just two reasons to have a revocable trust instead of a traditional will.  First, a fully-funded revocable trust eliminates the need for a probate of one’s assets upon death.  Second, a fully-funded revocable trust eliminates the need … Continue reading

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Estate of Strand, 2012 UT App. 144

In Estate of Strand (Nupetco Associates, LLC v. Dimeo), 2012 UT App. 144, the Second District Court of Appeals held that the probate court had the authority to appoint a personal representative for the estate even though more than three … Continue reading

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