Utah Probate Inventory: What to List, How to Value It, and When It's Due

Most personal representatives spend their first week after appointment dealing with funeral logistics and bank freezes. By week two, they're tracking down account statements. By week four, they realize there's a hard statutory deadline they didn't know about: the probate inventory.

Under Utah Code 75-3-705, the personal representative must prepare and complete an inventory of all estate assets within three months of the date of their official appointment. Miss this deadline and you're exposed to beneficiary complaints and potential liability. Hit it correctly and you protect yourself throughout the rest of the administration.

What the Utah Probate Inventory Must Include

The inventory is not a rough list — it's a formal document that must include every item of property owned by the decedent at the date of death, along with the fair market value of each item as of that same date.

Real property: Every parcel of land, residence, vacation cabin, rental property, mineral rights, or water rights the decedent owned must be listed with its legal description and fair market value at death. If there is a mortgage or lien on the property, you must also disclose the amount of that encumbrance.

Financial accounts: Bank accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, CDs. List the institution, account type, and balance as of the date of death.

Investment accounts: Brokerage accounts, stocks, bonds, mutual funds. Values should reflect closing prices on the date of death.

Retirement accounts: Note that IRAs, 401(k)s, and similar accounts with named beneficiaries are typically non-probate assets — they pass directly to the designated beneficiary outside of probate. However, if a retirement account has no living beneficiary (or names the estate as beneficiary), it becomes a probate asset and must be inventoried.

Life insurance: Same rule applies — life insurance with a named living beneficiary bypasses probate. If the estate is named as beneficiary, include it.

Personal property: Vehicles, boats, trailers, furniture, jewelry, art, collectibles, tools, equipment. These must be valued at fair market value — not replacement cost, not sentimental value, not what the decedent paid.

Business interests: Ownership interests in an LLC, S-corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship are probate assets and must be included, along with their value at death.

Digital assets: Utah's Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act gives personal representatives the authority to access certain digital accounts. Valuable digital assets — cryptocurrency, domain names, online business accounts — should be inventoried.

How to Value Estate Assets

Fair market value means what a willing buyer would pay a willing seller when neither is under pressure. For most assets:

• Bank and investment accounts: Use statements from the date of death or the closest business day.
• Real estate: A professional appraisal is the most defensible approach. A real estate agent's comparative market analysis (CMA) may also be accepted for lower-stakes estates, but appraisals carry more weight with courts and beneficiaries.
• Vehicles: Kelley Blue Book private party value as of the date of death is widely accepted.
• Personal property (jewelry, art, collectibles): Certified appraisals are recommended for anything valuable or contested.

Utah Code 75-3-706 explicitly authorizes the personal representative to hire qualified appraisers for assets that are difficult to value. When an appraiser is used, you must include their full name and professional address next to the items they appraised on the inventory document.

Non-Probate Assets and Why They Matter

Non-probate assets — joint tenancy property, TOD deeds, accounts with living beneficiaries — do not go into the probate inventory because they pass outside of court administration. But knowing about them still matters for two reasons.

First, if the estate is insolvent (debts exceed probate assets), the personal representative may need to identify whether any non-probate transfers should be subject to augmented estate rules or challenged under fraudulent transfer law.

Second, the Utah Office of Recovery Services (ORS) takes an "expanded" approach to Medicaid estate recovery, meaning ORS can pursue recovery from some non-probate assets, including property transferred via TOD deed or living trust. Documenting what was a non-probate asset — and its value — protects you if ORS ever asserts a claim against those assets.

What About Supplemental Inventories?

If you discover new property after filing the initial inventory, or if you find that a value was materially incorrect, Utah Code 75-3-707 requires you to file a supplemental inventory. This isn't optional — failing to update the inventory when you discover new assets is a breach of fiduciary duty.

Who Gets a Copy of the Inventory?

In informal Utah probate, the inventory does not automatically need to be filed with the court unless a beneficiary or creditor requests it, or unless the court is supervising the estate. However, the personal representative must send a copy of the inventory to any interested person who requests it.

As a practical matter, it's wise to share the inventory with all beneficiaries proactively. Transparency now prevents disputes later.

Motor Vehicles: The Four-Vehicle Exception

For small estates, remember that up to four motor vehicles, trailers, or boats can be transferred via the DMV Survivorship Affidavit (Form TC-569C) without going through probate at all — and their value doesn't count toward the $100,000 small estate threshold. If the estate qualifies as a small estate in every other respect, those vehicles come out of the probate picture entirely.

For larger estates that do require probate, vehicles are listed in the probate inventory like any other personal property.

The Three-Month Deadline in Practice

Your appointment date is when the court issues your Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration — not the date of death. If you were appointed on June 1, the inventory is due by September 1. Start gathering account statements and scheduling appraisals in your first week. Three months sounds like plenty of time until you're chasing down the value of a jointly held business interest or trying to locate the title for a vacant lot.

The Utah Probate Process Guide includes a complete estate inventory worksheet with categories for every asset type, space for appraiser information, and a tracking checklist to ensure you don't miss the deadline.

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