Utah: Personal Property Memorandum Requirements

Requirements one by one

Governing law, covered property, and will reference

Utah Code § 75-2-513 recognizes a separate written statement or list. The will
must refer to the writing, but it may refer to a writing that will exist at the
testator's death. The list can cover items of tangible personal property only
when the will has not already specifically disposed of them. Money is expressly
excluded.

The section states no further asset exclusion and no per-item or aggregate value
ceiling. In particular, it does not contain the longer exclusion list used in
some other states for debts, title documents, securities, or trade-or-business
property. Whether a particular item is tangible personal property and whether a
separate title or transfer procedure applies are different questions.

Signature and identification

The writing must be signed by the testator. It also must describe the items and
the devisees—the people receiving them—with reasonable certainty. A generic
statement about “my belongings” without reasonably certain item and recipient
descriptions does not satisfy the section's stated content standard.

Section 75-2-513 does not require the writing to be handwritten or dated. It
also states no signature-placement, witness, acknowledgment, or notarization
condition for this separate writing. The statute expressly applies whether or
not the provisions for holographic wills apply.

Timing and later alteration

The writing may be prepared before or after execution of the will. It may be a
document with no legal significance apart from its effect on the dispositions
made by the will, and the testator may alter it after preparation.

The section does not prescribe a replacement procedure or say which of two
conflicting writings controls. It does not require a date, state that the newest
writing wins, or create a blanket supersession rule. Each version relied on in
probate still has to meet the signature and reasonable-certainty conditions.

What trips people up

A broad residual direction is not the same as an item list. The statute calls
for descriptions of the “items and the devisees” with reasonable certainty.
The ordinary residuary or general personal-property clause belongs in the will;
the separate writing is for identified items and recipients within § 75-2-513.

Money is the only express categorical exclusion, but the listed item still must
be tangible personal property and cannot already be specifically disposed of by
the will. The memorandum also does not replace ownership, vehicle-title,
firearms-transfer, or other procedures that may independently govern an item.

Common questions

Must my will refer to the list by its date?

Section 75-2-513 requires the will to refer to a written statement or list, but
it does not prescribe a date-based reference. It expressly allows the will to
refer to a writing that will exist at the testator's death.

Do I need witnesses or a notary for the list?

The section requires the testator's signature and reasonable descriptions of
the items and devisees. It states no witness or notary requirement for the
separate writing.

Can I change the list after signing my will?

Yes. The writing may be prepared before or after the will and may be altered
after preparation. The statute does not state how competing versions are
ranked, so it is important not to assume that an undated or conflicting set of
lists automatically resolves itself.

What does the writing do in probate?

When it satisfies § 75-2-513, the writing is admissible as evidence of the
intended disposition. An unsigned writing or one that does not describe the
items and devisees with reasonable certainty does not meet those stated
admissibility conditions.

Statutes and sources

• Utah Code § 75-2-513 — covered tangible personal property, money
  exclusion, will reference, signature, reasonable-certainty, timing,
  alteration, independent-significance, and evidentiary-effect rules. Utah
  Legislature:
  https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title75/Chapter2/C75-2-S513_1800010118000101.html
  (accessed 2026-08-11).