Estate Inventory and Appraisement Requirements in Utah
At a glance
| Governing law and administration type | Utah UPC §§ 75-3-705 to -707; representative-prepared inventory with request-based delivery and optional court filing |
|---|---|
| Who prepares, signs, and verifies | Personal representative prepares; §§ 75-3-705 to -707 state no signature, oath, notarization, verification, witness, or mandatory appraiser certificate |
| Deadline, trigger, and extension | Within 3 months after appointment; special administrator and successor after prior discharge excluded; § 75-3-705 states no inventory-specific extension |
| Court filing or private delivery | Send copy to interested persons who request it; PR may file original with court; supplementary filing follows original route (§§ 75-3-705, -707) |
| Property scope, exclusions, and encumbrances | Property owned by decedent at death, listed in reasonable detail; each item's encumbrance type and amount (§ 75-3-705) |
| Valuation date and method | Each item's fair market value as of death; supplemental uses death-date market value or revised value/description and relied-on data (§§ 75-3-705, -707) |
| Appraiser requirement and qualifications | Optional for asset whose value may be reasonably doubtful; qualified and disinterested; name/address shown with item; different appraisers allowed by asset kind (§ 75-3-706) |
| Recipients, confidentiality, and access | Interested person receives copy on request; new-information recipients get supplement/copy/information; no inventory-specific sealing, confidentiality, or broader inspection rule stated |
| Correction, supplementation, and noncompliance | Omitted property or erroneous/misleading value/description requires supplement showing death-date or revised value/description and appraiser/data; no deadline or inventory-specific sanction stated (§ 75-3-707) |
Requirements one by one
Who must prepare it and when
Utah Code § 75-3-705 gives the personal representative three months after appointment to prepare the inventory. A special administrator is excluded, as is a successor when the earlier representative already discharged the duty. The section does not state an inventory-specific extension, signature, oath, notarization, verification, or witness requirement.
Delivery and optional filing
Utah uses a request-based private-delivery route. Under § 75-3-705, the representative sends a copy to interested persons who request it. Filing is permissive: the representative “may also file” the original with the court. A document should not force court filing or delivery to every interested person when the statute does neither.
Property, values, and encumbrances
The inventory covers property the decedent owned at death and lists it with reasonable detail. For every listed item, Utah Code § 75-3-705 requires fair market value as of the date of death and the type and amount of any encumbrance affecting the item. That means the statutory disclosure is not limited to a net estate total.
Optional appraiser
Utah Code § 75-3-706 lets the representative hire a qualified and disinterested appraiser when an asset's value may reasonably be doubtful. Different people may appraise different kinds of assets. The inventory identifies each appraiser's name and address beside the appraised item or items; the section does not require a separate certificate, signature, oath, or report form from that appraiser.
Recipients, confidentiality, and access
The initial statutory recipient is an interested person who requests a copy. Sections 75-3-705 to -707 do not state an inventory-specific sealing or confidentiality rule or a broader inspection right. Because original filing is optional, public-court-file access cannot be treated as Utah's universal inventory route.
What trips people up
Utah Code § 75-3-707 reaches more than newly discovered assets. It also requires a supplementary inventory or appraisement when the representative learns that a listed value or description was erroneous or misleading. The supplement shows the new item's death-date market value or the revised value or description, along with any appraiser or other data relied upon.
The supplement follows the original route. If the original was filed, the supplement is filed. Otherwise, copies of the supplement or information from it go to persons interested in the new information. Section 75-3-707 states no correction deadline or inventory-specific penalty.
Common questions
Must the original inventory be filed with the court?
No. Utah Code § 75-3-705 makes filing optional but requires delivery to interested persons who request a copy.
Is an independent appraisal required for every asset?
No. Utah Code § 75-3-706 permits a qualified, disinterested appraiser for an asset whose value may be subject to reasonable doubt.
What if a description is wrong even though no asset was omitted?
Utah Code § 75-3-707 still requires a supplementary inventory or appraisement because its correction duty covers erroneous or misleading descriptions and values as well as omitted property.
Statutes and sources
- Utah Code § 75-3-705 — initial inventory, deadline, scope, value, delivery, and optional filing. “The personal representative shall send a copy of the inventory to interested persons who request it. He may also file the original of the inventory with the court.” Official Utah Code (accessed August 10, 2026).
- Utah Code § 75-3-706 — optional appraiser. “The personal representative may employ a qualified and disinterested appraiser” for a reasonably doubtful value. Official Utah Code (accessed August 10, 2026).
- Utah Code § 75-3-707 — supplementary inventory or appraisement. The duty applies when property was omitted or a listed value or description is erroneous or misleading. Official Utah Code (accessed August 10, 2026).
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
What does Utah law mean for your facts?
You just read the general rule. Ask your own question and see which parts of current Utah law apply to your situation, with citations you can check.
Opens in Ezel Pro.
- Starts from the statutes this survey is built on
- Cites every source it relies on, so you can verify it
- Chat, drafting and research in one workspace