Updated September 4, 2026. Quick answer: in Utah, an estate can use collection of personal property by affidavit when the qualifying value is $100,000 or less. Real property does not pass that way: the statute covers only payment of debts and delivery of tangible personal property or an instrument evidencing a debt, obligation, stock, or chose in action, plus title transfer of up to four boats, motor vehicles, trailers, or semitrailers.
What this guide covers
Whether probate is required in Utah turns on two questions: does the estate qualify for a small-estate shortcut, and does that shortcut reach whatever real property is involved. This page answers both for Utah, with the statute cited, and then covers what full probate costs if the shortcut does not apply.
The affidavit route, and its limit
Utah’s route: collection of personal property by affidavit, under Utah Code § 75-3-1201 (amended by Chapter 123, 2025 General Session).
$100,000 value of the entire estate subject to administration, less liens and encumbrances.
the value of the entire estate subject to administration, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $100,000;
Source: Utah Code § 75-3-1201 (amended by Chapter 123, 2025 General Session)
The real-estate problem
What the text says: the route does NOT reach real property. Section 75-3-1201 applies the value test to the entire estate wherever located, but the affidavit collects only tangible personal property, instruments evidencing a debt, obligation, stock, or chose in action, and certain vehicles, not real property.
What probate costs in Utah if it is required
Utah’s probate fees and attorney-compensation rules are their own topic, worked through in full on Utah probate cost.
If a trust fits your situation in Utah
In Utah the statute does not clearly settle whether the small-estate route reaches real property, which is itself a reason not to lean on it for a house; a funded revocable living trust removes the ambiguity, and LawDepot builds a state-specific one.
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The order to work through it
List what Utah residents typically own and how each item is titled. Remove everything with a living named beneficiary, a surviving joint owner, or a trust already holding it. If what remains is $100,000 or less, collection of personal property by affidavit is the route to look at. If real property remains in sole name, this affidavit does not collect it.
The general rule: when probate is required. Thresholds elsewhere: small estate limits by state. Utah’s own small-estate mechanics: Utah small estate affidavit.
Statutory text read at Utah’s own legislature or official code publisher. General information, not legal advice; fee statutes and thresholds change and a court retains the final say on what qualifies.
General information drawn from state statutes and official court materials, not legal advice. Whether probate is required is STATE law and differs in every state; thresholds, what the small-estate route reaches, and probate costs all change, and every figure here is sourced and dated. We are not a law firm and this is not legal advice.