Updated September 4, 2026. Quick answer: Utah’s Transfer on Death Deed law (Utah Code sections 75-6-401 to 75-6-419) took effect May 8, 2018 under H.B. 94. Utah’s standout requirement is that signing or revoking the deed takes the same mental capacity as making a will, a higher bar than an ordinary deed, and the deed cannot name an unnamed group like my children as a class.
Deeding a home to a family member while you are alive? What Utah requires, from its own documents: Utah quitclaim deed requirements.
The securities and vehicle version of the same decision is covered here: transfer-on-death registration in Utah.
Utah transfer on death deed form: what the statute requires
Each line is a short extract quoted from the Utah statute itself; the section has the exceptions.
- Signing and formalities. Utah Code § 75-6-409(1): “…the essential elements and formalities of a properly recordable inter vivos deed…”
- Revocation. Utah Code § 75-6-406: “…revocable even if the deed or another instrument contains a contrary provision…”
- Statutory form. Utah Code § 75-6-416(1): “…use the following form to create a transfer on death deed…”
- Capacity. Utah Code § 75-6-408: “…is the same as that required to make a will…”
What the estate would cost without one is a separate question: Utah probate costs.
Same capacity as making a will
The capacity required to make or revoke a transfer on death deed is the same as that required to make a will.
Source: Utah Code Ann. section 75-6-408
This is a materially higher bar than for an ordinary deed, and it means a challenge to a Utah TOD deed is argued on will-contest grounds.
No naming a group as beneficiary
A class gift may not be made by a transfer on death deed.
Source: Utah Code Ann. section 75-6-405(2)
Every beneficiary has to be named individually; a phrase like my children as an undefined group is not allowed the way it can be in a will.
Revocable no matter what the deed says
A transfer on death deed is revocable even if the deed or another instrument contains a contrary provision.
Source: Utah Code Ann. section 75-6-406
An owner cannot make the deed irrevocable by writing that intention into it.
If the beneficiary dies first, the gift lapses
The interest of a designated beneficiary is contingent on the designated beneficiary surviving the transferor. Notwithstanding Section 75-2-706, the interest of a designated beneficiary that fails to survive the transferor lapses.
Source: Utah Code Ann. section 75-6-413(1)(b)
Utah’s substitute-gift rule for nonprobate beneficiary designations, section 75-2-706, is expressly turned off for TOD deeds, so a predeceasing beneficiary’s share does not automatically pass to their own descendants unless the deed itself provides otherwise.
What a transfer on death deed does not do
- Moves one parcel, not an estate.
- Does not take effect until death, so the owner keeps full control.
- Does not clear debts; the estate can still reach the property if probate assets fall short.
- Does not allow naming an unnamed class of beneficiaries.
Honest gaps
All four facts confirmed verbatim from the current official Utah Code text at le.utah.gov. The May 8, 2018 effective date is confirmed directly from the enrolled text of 2018 H.B. 94 rather than the secondary source the original dataset relied on; the dataset’s citation of a 2016 H.B. 60 predecessor was checked and found to be unrelated transportation legislation.
Utah recognizes this deed
LawDepot builds a Utah transfer on death deed. Recording it before death, in the county where the property sits, is what makes it effective; the sections above name the state’s own requirements.
Create a transfer on death deed
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Source note. Read from https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title75/Chapter6/C75-6-S408_2018050820180508.html ; https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title75/Chapter6/C75-6-S405_2018050820180508.html ; https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title75/Chapter6/C75-6-S406_2018050820180508.html ; https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title75/Chapter6/C75-6-S413_2021050520210505.html ; https://le.utah.gov/~2018/bills/hbillenr/HB0094.htm on 2026-09-04.
Related: transfer on death deeds by state · how it compares with a living trust · what it actually avoids.
General information drawn from state statutes and official state or court forms, not legal advice. These instruments are governed by the law of the state where the property sits, and formalities differ from state to state; execution, witnessing and recording requirements are the parts that void a document when they are missed. Your own state’s current statute governs. We are not a law firm and this is not legal advice.
The same deed in other states: Alaska, Arkansas, Hawaii, Indiana and Maryland.