Revocable Living Trust in Utah
A revocable living trust allows you to place property under a trust that you control during your lifetime and direct what happens to that property after your death.
For many Utah families, a revocable trust can simplify estate administration, provide continuity if you become incapacitated, and help properly funded assets pass without probate.
You normally remain in control of the trust while you are able to manage your own affairs. You can serve as trustee, use the trust property for yourself, change the trust, and revoke it if your circumstances or wishes change.
At Legacy Peak Estate Planning Law, a standalone revocable living trust is $1,250. A trust is also included in our complete trust-based estate planning packages.
What Is a Revocable Living Trust?
A revocable living trust is an estate-planning arrangement created during your lifetime.
The person creating the trust is commonly called the settlor. The settlor transfers property to a trustee, who manages that property under the terms of the trust for the people named as beneficiaries.
In a typical revocable living trust, you can serve as settlor, trustee, and current beneficiary. In practical terms, you continue managing and using your property much as you did before creating the trust.
You also name one or more successor trustees who can take over when required under the trust's terms, including after your death or incapacity.
How to Set Up a Living Trust in Utah
Creating a revocable trust involves more than signing a document.
A complete trust plan generally involves five steps:
Decide how you want your property handled. Determine who should inherit, whether beneficiaries should receive property outright or in continuing trusts, and what should happen if a beneficiary dies before you.
Choose your trustees. Decide who will manage the trust now and who should serve if you die, become incapacitated, resign, or otherwise stop serving.
Prepare the trust agreement. The agreement establishes the trust and contains the rules governing management and distribution.
Fund the trust. Transfer appropriate property into the trust or otherwise coordinate the property with the estate plan.
Coordinate the rest of your estate plan. Your will, powers of attorney, health care directive, deeds, account ownership, and beneficiary designations should work together.
Utah law recognizes several methods of creating a trust and requires, among other things, capacity, intent to create the trust, appropriate beneficiaries or another permissible purpose, and duties for the trustee to perform. Utah Code 75B-1
The Most Important Step: Funding Your Trust
Creating the trust agreement is only part of the process.
If the goal is to avoid probate for a particular asset, that asset generally needs to be owned by the trust or otherwise arranged to pass outside probate.
Common trust-funding steps can include:
recording a deed transferring real estate to the trust;
retitling appropriate bank and investment accounts;
assigning certain business or personal-property interests when appropriate; and
reviewing beneficiary designations and other transfer arrangements.
Not every asset should necessarily be retitled into the trust. Retirement accounts, for example, are generally coordinated through beneficiary designations rather than transferred into a revocable trust during the owner's lifetime.
Our trust-based estate planning package includes preparation and recording of one property deed, when applicable. We also provide instructions for coordinating other appropriate assets with the trust.
Learn More About Funding a Trust in Utah
Does a Revocable Living Trust Avoid Probate in Utah?
A properly funded revocable living trust can help assets owned by the trust pass without probate.
That distinction matters.
Creating a trust does not automatically move your property into it. If an asset remains individually owned at death and has no other nonprobate transfer arrangement, probate may still be required.
Utah Courts explains that probate generally concerns property belonging to the decedent at death, while property passing through trust and other nonprobate arrangements may fall outside the probate estate. Utah State Courts
This is why trust funding is just as important as trust drafting.
What Happens If You Become Incapacitated?
A revocable trust can also provide a plan for managing trust property if you become unable to manage it yourself.
The trust can identify when a successor trustee may begin serving and what authority that trustee has over trust property.
When properly structured and funded, this can allow the successor trustee to manage trust assets without first obtaining a court appointment as conservator.
A trust does not necessarily eliminate every circumstance in which court involvement could become necessary. But it can provide substantial advance authority for managing the property already held in the trust.
Can You Change or Revoke a Living Trust?
Generally, yes.
Under current Utah law, unless the trust expressly provides that it is irrevocable, the settlor generally may amend or revoke it. The trust itself can specify the procedure that must be followed. Utah Code 75B-1
That flexibility is one of the defining characteristics of a revocable trust.
For a jointly created trust, the rules can be more complicated because amendment and revocation rights can depend on who contributed the property and the terms of the trust. A joint trust should clearly state what each settlor may change during life and after the other settlor dies.
Does a Revocable Trust Protect Assets From Creditors?
Generally, no.
A standard revocable living trust is primarily an estate-planning and administration tool, not an asset-protection trust.
Because you retain control over the trust property, Utah law provides that property in your revocable trust remains subject to your creditors during your lifetime. Utah Code 75B-2
Clients seeking creditor protection may need a different type of trust and should evaluate the additional restrictions, risks, and requirements associated with advanced asset-protection planning.
Learn About Advanced Estate Planning
Does a Living Trust Replace a Will?
No.
A person with a revocable living trust ordinarily also signs a pour-over will.
The pour-over will provides a backup plan for probate property that was not transferred into the trust before death. If probate is required for that property, the will can direct the property into the trust for administration under the trust's terms.
A will can also address matters that are not handled simply by retitling property into a trust, including nominating a guardian for minor children.
Compare Wills and Revocable Trusts in Utah
Revocable Trust vs. Will in Utah
A will and a revocable trust can accomplish some similar goals, but they work differently.
A will generally governs probate property after death. It can name a personal representative, direct distributions, create testamentary trusts, and nominate guardians for minor children.
A revocable living trust can own and manage property during your lifetime, provide for management during incapacity, and direct the administration of trust property after death without requiring that property to pass through probate merely to transfer under the trust.
For many clients, the question is not whether to have a will or a trust. A trust-based estate plan usually includes both.
Will vs. Trust in Utah: Which Do You Need?
Is a Living Trust Private?
A revocable trust generally provides more privacy than a will administered through probate.
A trust ordinarily does not need to be filed with the probate court simply because the settlor dies. The successor trustee can usually administer the trust under the trust agreement and applicable law.
That does not mean a trust can never become public. A trust may become relevant in litigation or another court proceeding, and trustees can have duties to provide information to beneficiaries and others under applicable law.
But ordinary private trust administration generally involves less public court filing than probate administration.
What If You Own Property in Another State?
A revocable trust can be especially useful for clients who own real estate in more than one state.
Real estate titled individually at death can require probate proceedings in the state where the property is located. This is often referred to as ancillary probate.
Properly transferring out-of-state real estate into a revocable trust may allow that property to be administered under the trust instead, subject to the law governing the property and the transfer.
If you own real estate outside Utah, the deed and local-law requirements should be reviewed before relying on the trust to avoid probate in that state.
Who Should Consider a Revocable Living Trust?
A trust can be useful for many different families. It may be particularly worth considering if you:
own a home or other real estate;
own real estate in more than one state;
want to reduce the likelihood that your family will need probate;
want a plan for managing assets during incapacity;
want detailed inheritance trusts for children or other beneficiaries;
have a blended family;
want greater privacy in estate administration; or
want more control over how and when beneficiaries receive an inheritance.
A trust is not automatically better than a will-based plan simply because an estate is large or small.
The appropriate plan depends on your property, family, objectives, and willingness to properly fund and maintain the trust.
How Much Does a Revocable Living Trust Cost in Utah?
Our flat fee for a standalone revocable living trust is $1,250.
For clients who want a complete trust-based estate plan:
Trust-Based Estate Plan
One person: Starting at $1,500
Two people: Starting at $2,000
The package includes a revocable living trust, will, financial power of attorney, health care directive, supporting estate-planning documents, and preparation and recording of one property deed when applicable.
View Estate Planning Services and Pricing
Frequently Asked Questions About Utah Living Trusts
How do I create a living trust in Utah?
A typical estate-planning trust begins with deciding who will serve as trustee, who will inherit, and how the trust property should be managed. The trust agreement is then prepared and executed, and appropriate assets are transferred or otherwise coordinated with the trust.
Funding should be treated as part of creating the plan, not as an afterthought.
Can I be the trustee of my own revocable living trust?
Yes. In a typical revocable living trust, the person creating the trust also serves as the initial trustee and continues managing the trust property.
Can I sell my house if it is in my revocable trust?
Generally, yes. If you retain control as trustee of your revocable trust, you can generally buy, sell, refinance, or otherwise manage trust property subject to the trust's terms and applicable law.
The fact that the home is titled in the trust does not ordinarily mean that you have surrendered control of it.
Should my house be transferred into my living trust?
Often, real estate is one of the most important assets to coordinate with a revocable trust.
Whether a particular property should be transferred depends on ownership, financing, title, the property's location, and the goals of the estate plan.
Learn About Transferring Property Into a Trust
Should I put my IRA or 401(k) into my living trust?
Retirement accounts generally should not simply be retitled into a revocable trust during your lifetime.
Instead, retirement accounts usually remain individually owned, and the beneficiary designation is coordinated with the estate plan. The appropriate beneficiary depends on tax considerations, family circumstances, and the terms of the trust.
Does a revocable living trust avoid estate taxes?
Not by itself.
A standard revocable living trust generally does not remove property from your taxable estate merely because the property has been transferred to the trust. Estate-tax planning requires a separate analysis when applicable.
Does a revocable trust protect my inheritance from my children's creditors or divorce?
Potentially, but this depends on how the trust is drafted after your death.
Your own revocable trust does not protect the trust property from your creditors while you are alive. However, the trust can continue holding a beneficiary's inheritance in a properly structured trust rather than distributing everything outright.
The protection available to a beneficiary depends on the trust terms and applicable law.
Does a revocable living trust completely eliminate probate?
No. It can avoid probate for properly coordinated assets, but it does not guarantee that no probate proceeding will ever be necessary.
Assets left outside the trust without another nonprobate transfer method may still require probate.
Can I change the beneficiaries of my revocable trust?
Generally, yes, while you retain the legal authority to amend the trust.
The method for changing beneficiaries should follow the amendment requirements in the trust agreement and applicable Utah law. Utah Code 75B-1
What happens to the trust when I die?
The answer depends on the trust terms.
Typically, the successor trustee takes control of the trust property, addresses administration expenses and legally enforceable obligations, and then distributes or continues holding the remaining property according to the trust.
For a joint trust, the surviving settlor may continue to have rights to use, amend, or control some or all of the trust depending on the trust's terms.
Create Your Revocable Living Trust With a Utah Estate Planning Attorney
A revocable trust works best when the document and the assets are planned together.
Legacy Peak Estate Planning Law helps clients create the trust, coordinate the rest of their estate plan, transfer appropriate real estate, and understand what additional funding steps should be completed.
Standalone Revocable Living Trust: $1,250
Trust-Based Estate Plan: Starting at $1,500 for one person or $2,000 for two people