Utah: Transfer-on-Death Deed Requirements

Utah lets you keep your home out of probate with a transfer-on-death deed, and its version is
one of the straightforward ones. Utah adopted the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act
in 2018, so a homeowner can name who inherits the property, record that choice now, and keep
full control of the home for life. When you die, the property passes to the person you named
without a probate case — but only if you recorded the deed before your death.

How to sign it

Utah does not add extra formalities. Under Utah Code § 75-6-409, a transfer on death deed
must "contain the essential elements and formalities of a properly recordable inter vivos
deed," must "state that the transfer to the designated beneficiary is to occur at the
transferor's death," and must be recorded before you die. In practice:

• You (the "transferor") sign the deed. You must be a natural person, and the person who
  will inherit (the "beneficiary") never signs and does not have to know about the deed.
• A notary acknowledges your signature. Because the deed must meet the formalities of a
  recordable deed, it has to be acknowledged before a notary, like any Utah deed you record.
  No witnesses are required.
• Name the beneficiary; no class gifts. Section 75-6-405 says "a class gift may not be
  made by a transfer on death deed" — you must name the people, not leave it to "my children"
  or "my heirs."

On capacity, § 75-6-408 sets the will standard: "the capacity required to make or revoke a
transfer on death deed is the same as that required to make a will."

Recording requirement

Signing and notarizing the deed does nothing by itself. Under § 75-6-409(3), the deed must
"be recorded before the transferor's death in the public records in the county recorder's
office of the county where the property is located." Two things follow:

• Record it while you are alive. A transfer on death deed found in a drawer after you die,
  never recorded, transfers nothing — the property passes by your will or by intestacy.
• There is no fixed deadline between signing and recording. Utah, unlike California (60
  days) or Nebraska (30 days), sets no outer clock from the notarization; the only hard rule is
  "before death." Even so, record it promptly.

After you die, your beneficiary completes title by recording an affidavit (in the form set out
in § 57-1-5.1) with a copy of your death certificate — a step § 75-6-413(5) describes.

Revoking it

The deed stays revocable for the rest of your life. Under § 75-6-411, you revoke it only
with a recorded instrument — a later transfer on death deed, an instrument of revocation,
or an inter vivos deed — that is "acknowledged by the transferor after the acknowledgment of
the deed being revoked and recorded ... before the transferor's death." Two traps the statute
spells out:

• You cannot revoke by marking the deed. Section 75-6-411(3): "After a transfer on death
  deed is recorded, it may not be revoked by a revocatory act on the deed" — crossing it out
  or tearing up your copy does nothing.
• A will does not revoke it, because revocation must be a recorded land-records instrument,
  and a will is never recorded during life.

If you and someone else made the deed as joint owners, it is revoked "only if it is revoked by
all of the living joint owners."

Eligible property and owner

A Utah transfer on death deed can cover any interest in Utah real property that is
"transferable on the death of the owner" (§ 75-6-402). The transferor must be an
individual — a natural person, not an entity.

The deed passes only your own interest, and it yields to survivorship. Under §
75-6-413(3), if you own the home as a joint owner and die "survived by one or more other
joint owners, the property ... belongs to the surviving joint owner or owners with right of
survivorship"; your transfer on death deed becomes effective only if you are "the last
surviving joint owner." A co-owner's survivorship comes first.

Beneficiary survival and what passes

Under § 75-6-413(1), "the interest of a designated beneficiary is contingent on the
designated beneficiary surviving the transferor," and a beneficiary who "fails to survive the
transferor lapses." So if the person you named dies before you and you never record a new
deed, the gift fails. If you name more than one beneficiary, they take "in equal and
undivided shares with no right of survivorship," and if one share lapses it passes "to the
other[s]." Whoever inherits takes the home subject to what is already on it — § 75-6-413(2)
passes the property subject to every "mortgage, lien, and other interest[]" of record at your
death, and § 75-6-413(4) transfers it "without covenant or warranty of title." A transfer on
death deed does not wipe out the mortgage.

Creditor and Medicaid reach

A transfer on death deed avoids probate; it does not put the home beyond your debts. During
your life, § 75-6-412 says the deed does not affect your rights or your creditors'
rights, does not "create a legal or equitable interest in favor of the designated
beneficiary," and does not affect "the transferor's or designated beneficiary's eligibility
for any form of public assistance."

After you die, the property is still reachable, but through a narrow channel. Under §
75-6-415, "only the estate" may enforce an allowed creditor claim or a surviving spouse's or
child's statutory allowance against the property, and only "to the extent the transferor's
probate estate is insufficient" — and any such proceeding must be brought "not later than 12
months after the transferor's death." That 12-month, estate-only route is also how a
Medicaid estate-recovery claim allowed against your estate could reach the property if
your probate estate cannot cover it. The estate can also expressly waive its claim.

What trips people up

• Recording before death is the whole ballgame. The deed is worthless until it is
  recorded, and it cannot be recorded after you die. Record it right after notarizing.
• A will cannot revoke a recorded transfer on death deed. Revoke it only with a recorded
  instrument under § 75-6-411 — a new deed, a revocation, or a lifetime transfer.
• No class gifts. "To my children" is not a valid beneficiary designation (§ 75-6-405);
  name each person, and consider naming alternates in case one dies before you.
• Joint ownership beats the deed. If a joint owner outlives you, § 75-6-413(3) gives them
  the property by survivorship and your transfer on death deed never takes effect.

Common questions

Does my beneficiary have to agree, or even know? No. The deed is effective without notice
to, delivery to, or acceptance by the beneficiary during your life, and without any payment.

Do I need witnesses or a lawyer? No witnesses — Utah requires only your notarized signature
on a recordable deed. A lawyer is not legally required, but the capacity standard is the same
as making a will, and mistakes surface only after death, when they cannot be fixed.

Can I name a backup in case my first choice dies before me? Yes. Name an alternate
beneficiary; without one, a beneficiary who dies before you causes the gift to lapse.

Is a transfer on death deed better than a living trust? They do different jobs. The deed
is cheaper and simpler for one home, but it moves only that property and leaves it exposed to
recorded liens and the estate's 12-month creditor claim. A trust can hold many assets and
manage them if you become incapacitated. Which fits depends on your situation.

Statutes and sources

• Utah Code § 75-6-402 (definitions: "property," "individual," "transferor") — https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title75/Chapter6/75-6-S402.html (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Utah Code § 75-6-405 (authority; named beneficiaries; no class gift) — https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title75/Chapter6/75-6-S405.html (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Utah Code § 75-6-408 (capacity — same as making a will) — https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title75/Chapter6/75-6-S408.html (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Utah Code § 75-6-409 (requirements: recordable-deed formalities, record before death) — https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title75/Chapter6/75-6-S409.html (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Utah Code § 75-6-411 (revocation only by a recorded instrument; no revocation by act) — https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title75/Chapter6/75-6-S411.html (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Utah Code § 75-6-412 (no effect during life; no interest in beneficiary) — https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title75/Chapter6/75-6-S412.html (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Utah Code § 75-6-413 (effect at death: survival, multiple beneficiaries, subject to liens, joint-owner survivorship) — https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title75/Chapter6/75-6-S413.html (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Utah Code § 75-6-415 (estate-only creditor claim against the property; 12-month deadline) — https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title75/Chapter6/75-6-S415.html (accessed 2026-07-11)