Utah: Annual Trust Accounting Requirements

Requirements one by one

Utah's annual and termination reports begin with a request

Utah Code § 75B-2-811(3)(a) requires the trustee to send a report to qualified
beneficiaries who request it, at least annually and when the trust terminates. The
report is therefore not an automatic annual mailing to every qualified beneficiary.

Utah Code § 75B-2-103(8) defines the recipient class with two horizons: a current
distributee or permissible distributee, and a person who would distribute if the
trust terminated on the determination date. Section 75B-2-811(1)-(2) separately
supplies request-based administration information and the portions of the instrument
that describe or affect the requesting beneficiary's interest.

While a trust is revocable and the settlor has capacity to revoke it, Utah Code
§ 75B-2-603(2)-(4) places beneficiary rights under the settlor's control and makes
the trustee's duties exclusive to the capable settlor. The current Title 75B PDFs
are marked effective May 7, 2025, and § 75B-2-811 states no separate legacy cutoff
for its report rule.

A vacancy report is different from a routine change report

Under § 75B-2-811(3)(b), a vacancy requires the former trustee to report to the
qualified beneficiaries only if no cotrustee remains in office, and the trust terms
may provide otherwise. A personal representative, conservator, or guardian may send
the report for a trustee who died or became incapacitated. The statute does not make
every addition or substitution of a trustee an independent automatic trigger.

Utah states a compact financial-content minimum

The report under § 75B-2-811(3)(a) covers trust property, liabilities, receipts, and
disbursements. It includes the amount of the trustee's compensation or a fee schedule
or other writing showing how compensation was determined, a list of trust assets,
and each asset's market value if feasible.

The section does not separately require schedules for realized gains and losses,
agent compensation, principal-income allocations, or a final distribution plan.
Those items may still matter under the trust or other law, but they are not part of
the quoted § 75B-2-811 report minimum.

Delivery is flexible and the report is not routinely court-filed

Utah Code § 75B-2-109(1)-(3) requires a method reasonably suitable under the
circumstances and likely to result in receipt. It lists first-class mail, personal
delivery, delivery to the last known residence or business, and a properly directed
electronic message. Judicial-proceeding notice follows the Utah Rules of Civil
Procedure; the beneficiary report itself has no routine filing command.

Utah Code § 75B-2-110(1)-(5) separately allows interested persons to use a valid
nonjudicial settlement agreement to approve a trustee's report or accounting and
address trustee liability. An interested person may ask a court to approve that
agreement and review representation and the terms that could properly be approved.

A report shortens the claim period only if both statutory conditions are met

Utah Code § 75B-2-1005(1)-(4) creates a six-month period only when the report
adequately discloses the potential breach claim and informs the beneficiary of the
time allowed to commence a proceeding. Adequate disclosure means enough information
for the beneficiary or representative to know of the potential claim or to have
inquired into its existence.

If that report-and-notice route does not apply, the proceeding must begin within one
year after the first of the trustee's removal, resignation, or death; termination of
the beneficiary's interest; or termination of the trust. The section preserves an
action for fraud or misrepresentation related to the report.

What trips people up

• The trust terms can change the reporting architecture. Utah Code
  § 75B-2-105(1)-(2) generally lets trust terms prevail, and the report duty is not
  included in that section's mandatory-rule list.
• Waiver and release are different. Section 75B-2-811(4) lets a qualified
  beneficiary waive reports or information and withdraw the waiver for future items.
  Utah Code § 75B-2-1009 protects a trustee through capacity-based consent, release,
  or ratification only when the beneficiary knew the relevant rights and material
  facts.
• Sending a report does not automatically start six months. The report must both
  adequately disclose the potential claim and state the time allowed for suit.
• A missed report is not assigned an automatic fine. Utah Code
  § 75B-2-1001(1)-(2) instead treats violation of a beneficiary duty as breach and
  gives the court a menu of equitable and monetary remedies.

Common questions

Must every qualified beneficiary receive a report every year?

No. Section 75B-2-811(3)(a) ties the annual and termination reports to qualified
beneficiaries who request them. The vacancy rule uses a different recipient trigger.

May a beneficiary waive future reports?

Yes. A qualified beneficiary may waive the report or other information. The
beneficiary may later withdraw the waiver for future reports and information; the
statute does not say that withdrawal reopens past periods.

Does a trustee have to file the report with a court?

Not routinely under the cited report section. A court may order an accounting as a
breach remedy under § 75B-2-1001, and § 75B-2-110 supplies a separate settlement and
optional court-approval route.

Can the court award attorney fees in an accounting dispute?

Utah Code § 75B-2-1004(1)-(2) allows costs and reasonable attorney fees as justice
and equity require. A trustee who prosecutes or defends a proceeding in good faith
is entitled to necessary expenses and disbursements from the trust, including
reasonable attorney fees, whether successful or not.

Statutes and sources

• Utah Code § 75B-2-103(8). Qualified-beneficiary definition. Utah
  Legislature
  (accessed 2026-08-10).
• Utah Code § 75B-2-105(1)-(2). Trust-term control and mandatory-rule list.
  Utah Legislature
  (accessed 2026-08-10).
• Utah Code § 75B-2-109(1)-(3). Delivery methods, waiver, and judicial notice.
  Utah Legislature
  (accessed 2026-08-10).
• Utah Code § 75B-2-110(1)-(5). Nonjudicial settlement of reports, accountings,
  and liability. Utah Legislature
  (accessed 2026-08-10).
• Utah Code § 75B-2-603(2)-(4). Capable settlor's control during the revocable
  phase. Utah Legislature
  (accessed 2026-08-10).
• Utah Code § 75B-2-811(1)-(4). Information rights, report recipients, triggers,
  contents, vacancy rule, and waiver. Utah Legislature
  (accessed 2026-08-10).
• Utah Code § 75B-2-1001(1)-(2). Breach remedies, including a court-ordered
  accounting. Utah Legislature
  (accessed 2026-08-10).
• Utah Code § 75B-2-1004(1)-(2). Costs, expenses, and attorney fees. Utah
  Legislature
  (accessed 2026-08-10).
• Utah Code § 75B-2-1005(1)-(4). Six-month adequate-disclosure period, residual
  one-year period, and fraud/misrepresentation exception. Utah
  Legislature
  (accessed 2026-08-10).
• Utah Code § 75B-2-1009. Consent, release, and ratification. Utah
  Legislature
  (accessed 2026-08-10).