Utah Probate Appraisal and Estate Inventory Requirements

Three months sounds like enough time. It rarely feels that way when you are simultaneously managing the family, sorting through decades of financial records, and trying to figure out what an estate even contains. Under Utah Code 75-3-705, the personal representative has exactly three months from the official date of appointment to complete and file a comprehensive estate inventory. Not an estimate. Not a preliminary list. A completed inventory with fair market values for every asset as of the date of death.

Here is what that actually requires.

The Statutory Deadline and What Triggers It

The three-month clock starts on the date the court issues your Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration — not the date of death, and not the date you filed the application. It begins when the court formally appoints you.

For an informal probate, appointment typically happens within a few days to two weeks of filing a complete application. In practice, this means the inventory deadline often falls between three and four months after the death. But do not assume. Calculate the exact date from your appointment letter and work backward.

Missing the three-month inventory deadline is a fiduciary breach. Interested parties — including heirs, creditors, and Medicaid recovery units — can challenge an executor who fails to file on time, which can result in removal from the role, personal liability, or court-supervised administration.

What Goes in the Inventory

The inventory must include every asset owned by the decedent at the time of death that is subject to probate. Under Utah Code 75-3-705, the inventory must:

• List each asset with sufficient identification (legal description for real property, account numbers for financial accounts, VIN for vehicles)
• State the fair market value of each asset as of the date of death — not today's value, not the purchase price
• Detail any mortgages, liens, or encumbrances burdening the property, with exact amounts

Common asset categories that belong in a Utah probate inventory:

Real property: All land, homes, condos, cabins, and investment properties in Utah solely owned by the decedent. Mineral rights and water rights classified as real property also belong here.

Financial accounts: Checking, savings, money market accounts where the decedent was the sole owner. Joint accounts with right of survivorship typically pass outside probate and need not be inventoried, though they may still be subject to Medicaid recovery claims.

Investment accounts: Individual brokerage accounts, stocks, bonds, and other securities not held in a retirement account. Beneficiary-designated accounts (IRAs, 401(k)s) pass outside probate but may be relevant to the overall estate picture for tax purposes.

Personal property: Vehicles (note the TC-569C survivorship affidavit exception for up to four vehicles), furniture, jewelry, collectibles, tools, and household goods of significant value.

Business interests: Ownership interests in LLCs, partnerships, S-corporations, or sole proprietorships.

Digital assets: Cryptocurrency holdings, domain names with transferable value, online accounts with monetizable balance.

Water company shares: As noted in Utah Code 75-3-1201(4), water shares have specific transfer restrictions and belong in the probate inventory rather than the small estate affidavit pathway.

What does not go in the inventory:

• Assets held in a properly funded revocable living trust (these pass outside probate)
• Life insurance proceeds payable to a named beneficiary (not the estate)
• Retirement accounts with named beneficiaries
• Jointly-held property with right of survivorship
• Transfer-on-death deed real estate (if the deed was properly recorded before death)

Fair Market Value: What It Actually Means

"Fair market value as of the date of death" is a legal standard, not an estimate. It means the price a willing buyer would pay a willing seller when neither is under compulsion to transact and both have reasonable knowledge of the relevant facts.

For liquid financial assets — bank account balances, publicly traded stocks, mutual funds — the date-of-death value is straightforward: the account statement balance or the closing price on the date of death.

For illiquid or unique assets, fair market value requires more work:

Real estate: The standard approach is a licensed appraiser's formal appraisal. In Utah, this means a state-certified real appraiser under the Division of Real Estate. The appraisal should explicitly reference the date of death as the effective date of valuation. A current appraisal done months later is less defensible if the market has moved.

Personal property of significant value: Jewelry, art, antiques, and collectibles should be appraised by a qualified personal property appraiser, particularly if individual items may be worth more than a few thousand dollars. Undervaluing jewelry or art exposes you to beneficiary claims if the item is subsequently sold for substantially more.

Business interests: Closely held businesses require business valuation professionals. The appropriate method (asset approach, income approach, or market approach) depends on the nature and profitability of the business.

Mineral rights: A petroleum landman or certified mineral rights appraiser can provide a defensible date-of-death value. Do not use royalty income alone as a proxy for fair market value without a formal calculation.

Water company shares: Contact the irrigation company for current share transfer pricing, which often reflects recent sales between shareholders. Some companies maintain internal records of recent trades that can support a valuation.

Using Appraisers: The Legal Requirements

Utah Code 75-3-706 explicitly authorizes the personal representative to employ qualified, disinterested appraisers for any asset where fair market value is not readily determinable.

"Disinterested" means the appraiser cannot have a personal or financial stake in the estate. A family friend who happens to be a real estate agent valuing the home at the request of a beneficiary is not an appropriate appraiser for probate inventory purposes — the valuation would be challengeable.

When you use an appraiser, their full name and professional address must appear on the inventory document next to the specific items they valued. This is a statutory requirement under Utah Code 75-3-706, not an optional disclosure.

Supplementary Inventories

If you discover additional assets after filing the initial inventory — a forgotten brokerage account, an additional piece of land in a different county, a life insurance policy that names the estate as beneficiary — Utah Code 75-3-707 requires you to file a supplementary inventory. This is not an amended filing; it is a separate document addressing only the newly discovered or corrected items.

The same fair market value standards apply to supplementary inventories. Value the newly discovered asset as of the date of death, not the date you discovered it.

How the Inventory Affects Estate Accounting Fees

If the estate requires supervised administration or a formal accounting filed with the court, Utah employs a tiered fee structure based on the total estate value being accounted for:

Informal probate estates that close by filing a Closing Statement without a formal court accounting avoid these fees. However, any interested party can demand a formal accounting, at which point the fees apply.

The Inventory in Context

The inventory is not an isolated task — it runs simultaneously with the creditor notice period, the ORS Medicaid check, and ongoing asset management responsibilities. Getting it right within three months while managing everything else is the part of probate that most executors underestimate.

The Utah Probate Process Guide includes a structured asset inventory checklist covering all common Utah asset categories, the appraisal documentation requirements, and how to handle the supplementary inventory process when late-discovered assets surface. It is designed for personal representatives who need to complete this correctly the first time without hiring a lawyer to manage each step.

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