Advanced Estate Planning in Utah

A revocable living trust is the foundation of most estate plans, but it is not always sufficient. For clients with significant assets, professional liability exposure, a family member with a disability, a highly appreciated asset about to be sold, or charitable goals that could be structured to provide a tax benefit, advanced planning strategies offer protection and outcomes that a basic plan cannot.

Cutler Riley designs and drafts these structures for Utah families and individuals, with flat-fee pricing quoted before any work begins.

If you are not sure whether advanced planning applies to your situation, the free consultation is the right starting point. We will review your circumstances and tell you plainly whether any of these strategies make sense for you — and if they do not, we will say so.

Advanced Estate Planning Services and Pricing

Utah Domestic Asset Protection Trust (UDAPT) — $3,000

A Utah Domestic Asset Protection Trust allows you to transfer assets into an irrevocable trust for your own benefit while protecting those assets from future creditors and lawsuits. Utah is one of a limited number of states with a domestic asset protection trust statute (Utah Code Section 25-6-502), which provides a well-established legal framework for this type of protection. As a discretionary beneficiary of your own trust, you retain access to distributions at the trustee's discretion while the assets sit outside the reach of future creditors.

UDAPTs are particularly well-suited for business owners, physicians, attorneys, and other professionals with meaningful liability exposure who want to protect accumulated wealth without giving up access to it entirely.

Learn more about Utah Domestic Asset Protection Trusts.

Mortgage Qualification Distribution Trust — $1,000

Mortgage lenders qualify borrowers based on documented income. For clients who hold significant assets but have limited W-2 or business income, qualifying for a mortgage can be difficult even when the underlying financial picture is strong. A Mortgage Qualification Distribution Trust addresses this by converting existing assets into a structured, documented stream of monthly distributions that lenders recognize as income for underwriting purposes.

You fund the trust yourself and direct the trustee to make consistent monthly distributions. Those payments are documented and submitted to the lender as qualifying income. This is a straightforward planning structure with a specific practical purpose: helping asset-rich clients qualify for financing they would otherwise be denied.

See how a trust can help you qualify for a home loan

First-Party Special Needs Trust (SNT) — $1,750

A First-Party Special Needs Trust holds assets belonging to an individual with a disability and allows those assets to be used for supplemental needs without disqualifying the beneficiary from means-tested government benefits such as SSI and Medicaid. It is called a first-party trust because it is funded with the beneficiary's own assets, typically from a personal injury settlement, an inheritance, or accumulated savings.

Trust funds can be used for goods and services that government benefits do not cover — transportation, education, recreation, and other quality-of-life expenses — without counting against the asset thresholds that govern benefit eligibility. Federal law governing first-party special needs trusts is found at 42 U.S.C. Section 1396p(d)(4)(A).

Explore the benefits of a Special Needs Trust.

Special Power of Appointment Trust (SPAT) — $3,000

A Special Power of Appointment Trust provides asset protection similar to a UDAPT but through a different legal mechanism, making it useful in situations where a UDAPT is not available. A UDAPT requires that the assets transferred into it be free of existing creditor claims at the time of transfer and that the grantor meet Utah's residency and qualification requirements. Clients who own significant property in other states, who have existing creditor exposure that would disqualify a transfer into a UDAPT, or who have other planning constraints may be better served by a SPAT structure.

A SPAT protects assets from future creditors while preserving planning flexibility, including the ability to shift beneficial interests among a class of beneficiaries through the exercise of a special power of appointment.

Click here to learn more about SPATs.

Structured Installment Sale Planning — $2,500 - $10,000

A Structured Installment Sale is not a trust but a structured transaction used in connection with the sale of a business, real estate, or other appreciated asset. It uses the installment sale rules under IRC Section 453 to spread capital gains recognition over time rather than triggering the full tax liability in the year of sale.

In a standard sale, a large gain is recognized and taxed immediately, even if the seller does not need or want the full proceeds at once. In a Structured Installment Sale, the buyer pays the full purchase price at closing, but instead of receiving a lump sum, the seller directs a portion of the proceeds to an independent assignment company or trust that funds a structured annuity or payment plan. The seller then receives scheduled payments over time, recognizing and paying tax on each payment as it is received rather than all at once. The result is a smoother tax liability, a predictable income stream, and — because the deferred portion continues to compound before being taxed — a larger amount ultimately retained.

Fees are structured as follows:

• Minimum fee: $2,500 (for sales at or below $250,000)

• Standard fee: 1% of sales price (for sales between $250,000 and $1,000,000)

• Maximum fee: $10,000 (for sales above $1,000,000)

Read more about how a Structured Installment Sale works.

Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT) — $3,000

A Charitable Remainder Trust allows you to contribute a highly appreciated asset — real estate, securities, a business interest — to an irrevocable trust, avoid recognizing capital gains on the sale of that asset at the trust level, and receive a stream of income for life or for a fixed term of years. At the end of the trust term, the remaining assets pass to one or more charitable beneficiaries you designate.

Because the trust itself is tax-exempt, it can sell the contributed asset and reinvest the full proceeds without triggering capital gains tax at the time of sale. That larger reinvestment base generates more income than a taxable sale and reinvestment would produce. The donor also receives an immediate charitable income tax deduction in the year of contribution, based on the present value of the charitable remainder interest.

CRTs are most useful for donors with a highly appreciated, low-basis asset who want to diversify, generate income, and make a meaningful charitable gift without absorbing the full capital gains cost of a taxable sale.

Read more about how a Charitable Remainder Trust works.

Spousal Lifetime Access Trust (SLAT) — $5,000

The primary planning purpose of a SLAT is estate tax reduction. Assets transferred into a SLAT, and all future appreciation on those assets, are excluded from the grantor's taxable estate. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act permanently set the federal estate and gift tax exemption at $15 million per individual beginning January 1, 2026, indexed for inflation annually with no expiration date. For clients with estates that may approach or exceed that threshold, a SLAT locks in the exemption at the time of the gift and removes future appreciation from the taxable estate permanently.

The tradeoff is irrevocability. Once assets are transferred into a SLAT they cannot be reclaimed by the grantor directly. If the marriage ends, the grantor's indirect access to those assets through the spouse ends with it. Proper SLAT design accounts for these risks through careful beneficiary and distribution provisions.

Explore the benefits of a Spousal Lifetime Access Trust.

Get Started

Advanced estate planning is not one-size-fits-all. The right strategy depends on your asset picture, your family circumstances, and your goals — and in some cases the right answer is that you do not need advanced planning yet. The free consultation is the place to have that conversation.