Annual Trust Accounting Requirements in Utah

At a glance

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)(a) separately requires the trustee to keep qualified beneficiaries reasonably informed about administration and material facts needed to protect their interests, subject to trust terms. Under § 75B-2-811(2)(b)-(d), the trustee must notify them within 60 days after accepting trusteeship, within 60 days after learning the trust became irrevocable, and before changing the method or rate of compensation. Requests trigger the separate duties to answer administration questions and provide affected portions of the trust instrument under § 75B-2-811(1)(b), (2)(a).

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).