Estate Plan Updates and Revisions in Utah

You can update a Utah estate plan without starting over. A revocable trust is changed by an amendment, which edits selected provisions, or by a restatement, which replaces most of the terms while keeping the same trust. A will is changed by signing a new will or a codicil with the same formalities as the original. A financial power of attorney or health care directive is changed by signing a new one. At Legacy Peak Estate Planning Law, updates start at $400, quoted after we review your existing documents.

Many readers also want to know whether they need an update at all. Often the answer is no, and this guide helps you tell the difference.

When should you update your estate plan

Update when something your documents depend on changes: a marriage or divorce, a birth or adoption, the death, incapacity or changed role of a trustee, agent, executor or guardian you named, a significant change in assets, a real estate or business transaction, special-needs or creditor concerns, a move into or out of Utah, or a change to a beneficiary designation. Our article on when to update your estate plan walks through these triggers in more detail.

How to amend a revocable trust in Utah

Under Utah Code § 75B-2-602, you amend a revocable trust by substantially complying with the method the trust itself provides. If the trust states no method, or does not make its method exclusive, you may also amend it with a later will or codicil that expressly refers to the trust or specifically devises property that would otherwise pass under it, or by any other method that shows your intent by clear and convincing evidence. We use the method the trust states, which is normally a signed written amendment, because crossing out lines or adding handwritten notes invites exactly the dispute that standard exists to resolve.

Two limits are worth knowing. An agent acting under a power of attorney can amend your trust only to the extent the trust or the power of attorney expressly allows it. And in a joint trust holding community property, either spouse may revoke alone, but amendment takes both spouses.

Trust amendment or trust restatement

An amendment changes selected provisions, such as the trustee, a beneficiary or a distribution age. A restatement replaces most or all of the operative terms while continuing the same trust. A restatement makes sense when many provisions change, when the trust has been amended several times, or when the document has become hard to administer.

A restatement that amends and restates your existing trust usually does not require you to transfer your assets again. We still review how your property is titled, because amending the trust does not move property into it. A home bought after the trust was signed and never deeded in stays outside the trust. Our guide to transferring property to a trust in Utah explains the deed step.

How to change a will in Utah

A Utah will must be in writing, signed by you, and signed by at least two witnesses (§ 75-2-502). A change to it should meet the same formalities. You can sign a codicil, which is a witnessed amendment, or a replacement will, and a replacement is often cleaner. A later will revokes an earlier one expressly or by inconsistency. If the later will disposes of your whole estate, the law presumes it replaces the earlier will (§ 75-2-507).

A will can also be revoked by a physical act. Burning, tearing, canceling, obliterating or destroying a will or part of it revokes it when you do it intending to revoke, or when someone does it in your conscious presence at your direction (§ 75-2-507). Crossing out a clause on your signed will can therefore revoke that clause, but new wording added by hand is valid only if it meets the will formalities or Utah's rules for handwritten wills. Informal edits tend to cause the disputes a will is meant to prevent.

What happens to your estate plan after divorce

Utah has three separate rules, because your documents react differently.

A spouse named as your agent in a financial power of attorney loses that authority when an action for divorce, annulment or legal separation is filed, unless the document says otherwise (§ 75A-2-110). The authority ends on the filing, before any decree.

A spouse named as your health care agent is removed under § 75A-9-114, unless your directive says otherwise, when a petition for divorce, annulment or legal separation has been filed and not dismissed, when a decree is issued, when you and your spouse agree in a record to a legal separation, or when your spouse has willfully deserted you for more than a year.

For wills and trusts, § 75-2-804 provides that a divorce or annulment revokes provisions for your former spouse and the former spouse's relatives, nominations of them as fiduciaries such as personal representative, trustee or agent, and joint tenancy with right of survivorship, which becomes a tenancy in common. A legal separation that does not end the marriage does not trigger that section, and the provisions revive if you remarry the same person. Some benefits, such as certain employer retirement plans, are governed by federal law, so check those beneficiary designations yourself.

These rules are a safety net. They remove a former spouse, but they do not decide who replaces that person, so we recommend reviewing the whole plan.

Marriage or a new child

Utah protects some people your will left out. A spouse who married you after you signed your will receives at least an intestate share unless an exception applies, such as a will made in contemplation of the marriage (§ 75-2-301). A child born or adopted after you sign may receive a share unless the omission was intentional or you provided for the child outside the will (§ 75-2-302). Those protections prevent omission. They do not choose a guardian, a trustee for your children, distribution ages or life insurance and retirement beneficiaries, which is what an update should address. See our guide to estate planning for new parents.

Do older powers of attorney need to be replaced

Not because they are old. Unless the document says otherwise, an agent's authority lasts until a terminating event such as revocation, death or resignation, regardless of how much time has passed (§ 75A-2-110). Institutions are expected to accept an acknowledged power of attorney or request a certification, translation or opinion of counsel within a set time (§ 75A-2-120). Replace the document if your agent is no longer suitable or available, or if the powers no longer fit your situation. Our page on the financial power of attorney in Utah explains the options.

Utah's health care directive law changed in 2026

Utah adopted the Uniform Health-Care Decisions Act, Title 75A, Chapter 9, effective January 1, 2026. A directive you signed before that date remains valid (§§ 75A-9-128 and -129), so there is no deadline to redo it. It is still worth reviewing who your agent and backup agent are. Read more on our health care directive page.

If you moved to Utah from another state

A will signed outside Utah is valid here if it complies with Utah's execution rules, or with the law of the place where you signed it or where you were domiciled, had a place of abode, or were a national, either at signing or at death (§ 75-2-506). A power of attorney signed elsewhere is valid in Utah if it complied with the law of the jurisdiction that governs its meaning and effect (§ 75A-2-106). Out-of-state directives are recognized under § 75A-9-115. Recognized does not mean well matched to Utah, so we review a plan before we recommend keeping it.

Can you update a plan another attorney prepared

Yes. We review the documents, the people you named, the assets linked to the plan and the dependencies between them, and then recommend a limited amendment, a restatement or no change.

What you can change yourself

Utah does not require you to hire an attorney to change a trust or will, but the method matters, as explained above. You can change a signed list that gives away tangible personal property if your will refers to it (§ 75-2-513), and you can update a financial and digital inventory at any time. Our guide to additional estate planning forms in Utah covers both.

How often should you review your plan

A review every three to five years is reasonable, and sooner after a major life event. A review is not an amendment. If nothing has changed, the right result may be no change.

What it costs to update an estate plan in Utah

At Legacy Peak Estate Planning Law, estate plan updates start at $400. We quote a flat fee after reviewing your existing documents and before any work begins. See our pricing page for details.

Frequently asked questions

Can I change just one beneficiary?

Often yes. A trust beneficiary is changed by a targeted amendment, and a will beneficiary by a codicil or replacement will. Beneficiaries on accounts and policies are changed with the institution.

Can I change my trustee without rewriting the trust?

Usually. An amendment that follows the method stated in the trust can name a new trustee (§ 75B-2-602).

Does divorce cancel my will automatically?

Partly. Section 75-2-804 revokes provisions for your former spouse and their relatives, but it does not rewrite the rest of your plan or name replacements.

Is an old estate plan still valid?

Possibly. Age alone does not make a will, trust, power of attorney or directive invalid. What matters is whether the people, assets and wishes in it still fit your life.

What if nothing has changed?

Then you may not need to change anything. A short review can confirm that, and we will tell you so.

Update what needs updating, not everything

The first question is whether your current plan still works. If you are ready to review yours, schedule a free consultation with Legacy Peak Estate Planning Law. We meet clients at our Draper and Kaysville offices and serve families across Utah. You can also call (801) 823-0010.

This article is general information about Utah law and is not legal advice for your situation. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.