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Utah timeline

Utah probate timeline: the 30-day wait and creditor deadlines

The simplified route starts 30 days after death.

That clock is one condition among several, and it is not the whole estate timeline. The deadlines that carry the most risk are creditor deadlines, and in Utah they are set out below against the event each one runs from.

Sources reviewed August 9, 2026. Latest primary-source re-fetch September 15, 2026.

The one date this page can source

The collection of personal property by affidavit route requires 30 days to elapse from the date of death. This is a precondition: the affidavit or petition cannot be presented before it runs, regardless of how straightforward the estate is.

(1) Thirty days after the death of a decedent, any person indebted to the decedent or having possession of tangible personal property, including an instrument evidencing a debt, obligation, stock, or chose in action, belonging to the decedent shall pay the indebtedness or deliver the tangible personal property, or instrument evidencing a debt, obligation, stock, or chose in action to a person claiming to be the successor of the decedent, upon being presented with an affidavit made by or on behalf of the successor stating that: (a) the value of the entire estate subject to administration, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $100,000; (b) 30 days have elapsed since the death of the decedent; (c) no application or petition for the appointment of a personal representative is pending or has been granted in any jurisdiction; and (d) the claiming successor is entitledUtah Code § 75-3-1201 — Utah Legislature; Effective 5/7/2025.

Creditor deadlines

Utah does not run one creditor clock. Separate periods start from separate events, and the date that actually bars a claim is the one the applicable period produces. They are listed here against the event that starts each, because a period attached to the wrong starting event is how a deadline gets missed by weeks.

From publication of notice to creditors
Three months after the date of first publication.
From actual notice to a known creditor
Later of 90 days from published notice or 60 days from mailing or delivery.
From appointment of the representative
Appointment permits publication but does not itself supply the modeled claim-bar interval.
Outer limit, running from death
One year after death for predeath claims, subject to statutory exceptions.

How these combine. Utah has separate bars: three months from first publication, the later of 90 days from published notice or 60 days from actual notice for a notified creditor, and an outer one-year-from-death bar for predeath claims. A single days value would collapse different triggers.

(1) (a) A personal representative, upon appointment, may publish a notice to creditors announcing the personal representative's appointment and address and notifying creditors of the estate to present their claims within three months after the date of the first publication of the notice or be forever barred. (b) The notice described in Subsection (1)(a) shall be published: (i) once a week for three successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county; and (ii) in accordance with Section 45-1-101 for three weeks. (2) A personal representative may give written notice by mail or other delivery to any creditor, notifying the creditor to present his claim within 90 days from the published notice if given as provided in Subsection (1) above or within 60 days from the mailing or other delivery of the notice, whichever is later, or be forever barred.Utah Code § 75-3-801 — Utah Legislature; Amended by Chapter 364, 2013 General Session.

Publishing notice starts a period after which most claims are barred. Missing a required notice can extend the estate’s exposure and, in some circumstances, the personal exposure of the person administering it. Confirm the dates that apply to this estate with the District Court before relying on them, because a specific case can carry deadlines these general provisions do not reach.

Utah timeline decision map

What must be established before the Utah clock matters

The Utah waiting period is only one condition. Use this map to separate the route clock from creditor deadlines, asset scope, court costs, and the documents needed to move from screening to filing.

QuestionRecorded Utah answerCarry into the case
What route is being screened?Collection of personal property by affidavitConfirm that the will, prior appointment, family facts, and asset titles fit this route.
What property and basis count?probate property within the rule's stated scope; net of enforceable liens and encumbrances.Keep real property, liens, beneficiary transfers, and survivorship transfers classified separately.
What is the amount screen?$100,000Use the counted property, not a bank-balance shortcut.
What is the time or deadline record?30 days after death; Utah has separate bars: three months from first publication, the later of 90 days from published notice or 60 days from actual notice for a notified creditor, and an outer one-year-from-death bar for predeath claims. A single days value would collapse different triggers.Keep the event that starts each clock with the date; do not combine separate periods into one number.
What does the cost record establish?$375 is the recorded statewide amount.Ask the District Court about local surcharges, copies, publication, bond, and later filings.
What does compensation use?A personal representative is entitled to reasonable compensation. If an interested person objects, the court evaluates the quality, quantity, and value of services and the circumstances. A will provision may be renounced before qualification; the statute states no percentage schedule or separate extraordinary-services rate. The relevant base is the estate accounting.Keep the will, task log, receipts, and accounting base together; extraordinary work is separate.

Clock ledger

Do not compress the Utah deadlines into one date

The Utah record names separate triggers. The description beside each trigger is the source-bound statement to carry into the estate calendar; the interaction rule explains which period controls when more than one applies.

Clock starts withRecorded periodSource
Publication of noticeThree months after the date of first publication.Utah Code § 75-3-801
Actual notice to a known creditorLater of 90 days from published notice or 60 days from mailing or delivery.Utah Code § 75-3-801
Appointment of the representativeAppointment permits publication but does not itself supply the modeled claim-bar interval.Utah Code § 75-3-801
Outer limit from deathOne year after death for predeath claims, subject to statutory exceptions.Utah Code § 75-3-801

How the periods combine: Utah has separate bars: three months from first publication, the later of 90 days from published notice or 60 days from actual notice for a notified creditor, and an outer one-year-from-death bar for predeath claims. A single days value would collapse different triggers.

Case-file context

Keep the Utah answer with its neighboring conditions

A route answer is easier to use when the facts that can change it stay in the same record. These are the reviewed Utah descriptions adjacent to this page\'s main question; they are not a substitute for the source quotations or the receiving court\'s instructions.

Route context

Utah uses a 30-day successor affidavit for a net estate capped at $100,000 and handles probate petitions in District Court. The affidavit transfers personal property, while the threshold counts the entire estate subject to administration.

After 30 days, a successor may use an affidavit when the entire estate subject to administration, wherever located and less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $100,000. No personal-representative application may be pending or granted. The affidavit collects personal property; real property still counts in the threshold and is not transferred by this affidavit.

Cost context

A probate petition that invokes District Court jurisdiction and is not governed by another fee subsection uses the $375 general civil-petition fee. The cited version is effective May 6, 2026 and expressly superseded January 1, 2027.

$375 is the recorded statewide amount.

Compensation context

A personal representative is entitled to reasonable compensation. If an interested person objects, the court evaluates the quality, quantity, and value of services and the circumstances. A will provision may be renounced before qualification; the statute states no percentage schedule or separate extraordinary-services rate.

A personal representative is entitled to reasonable compensation. If an interested person objects, the court evaluates the quality, quantity, and value of services and the circumstances. A will provision may be renounced before qualification; the statute states no percentage schedule or separate extraordinary-services rate. The relevant base is the estate accounting.

Court-material note: The Utah Judiciary publishes a statewide probate self-help section with a dedicated Small estates page and a downloadable motor-vehicle small-estate affidavit form (both linked above). The general Utah Code § 75-3-1201 collection-by-affidavit route is driven by statutory content rather than a single universal blank, so the successor's own sworn affidavit meets the statute; the District Court clerk in the county of residence confirms local filing requirements.

Arithmetic illustration

See the Utah amount screen without mistaking it for a result

The recorded Utah ceiling is $100,000, and it is tested against probate property within the rule's stated scope, on a basis this site records as net of enforceable liens and encumbrances. Counted that way, $75,000 sits below the Utah figure and $125,000 sits above it. Both are comparisons to a published number rather than legal outcomes: two estates holding the same total can land on opposite sides of this line, because what Utah counts and how it values it are decided before the comparison is made.

Illustrative counted amountComparison to the Utah ceilingWhat it does not decide
$75,000Below $100,000Title, liens, waiting period, appointment, or creditor duties
$125,000Above $100,000Whether another statutory route or court process applies

Next evidence to collect

Calendar the verified gate, preserve the unresolved questions, and confirm the county filing path before distributing property.

  1. Record the date of death, the county, and the exact proceeding or affidavit being considered.
  2. Classify each asset by title, beneficiary, trust, real-property status, and the value basis shown above.
  3. Open the official court material below and keep its form or schedule with the estate record.
  4. Do not distribute property until the route, creditor position, and required approvals are resolved.

Official material

The Utah Judiciary publishes a statewide probate self-help section with a dedicated Small estates page and a downloadable motor-vehicle small-estate affidavit form (both linked above). The general Utah Code § 75-3-1201 collection-by-affidavit route is driven by statutory content rather than a single universal blank, so the successor's own sworn affidavit meets the statute; the District Court clerk in the county of residence confirms local filing requirements.

Source trail

Records used by this Utah map

The general sequence

The order in which an estate is actually worked — secure property, confirm title and beneficiary designations, identify the court route, notify and account, then close — is the same everywhere and carries no citation, so it is set out once rather than repeated on each state’s page. Read it inthe executor’s first week, and seehow long probate takes for how the phases stretch in practice.

What is jurisdiction-specific is above: the Utah periods, the event each one runs from, and the source each was read in.

Use this as a starting point.

This is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Probate law varies by state and county and changes over time. Verify the current rule with the court or a licensed attorney in the relevant state.

Continue in Utah