Trustee Notice to Beneficiaries Requirements in Utah

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Utah's two 60-day notices are default rules

Utah Code § 75B-2-811(2)(b) starts the first 60-day clock when the trustee accepts the trusteeship. The notice states the acceptance and gives the trustee's name, address, and telephone number.

Subdivision (2)(c) starts a separate 60-day clock when the trustee acquires knowledge that an irrevocable trust was created or that a formerly revocable trust became irrevocable, whether because the settlor died or otherwise. That notice states the trust's existence, identifies the settlor or settlors, and states the rights to request the trust instrument and a trustee's report.

Both duties begin with the phrase “except to the extent the terms of the trust provide otherwise.” Section 75B-2-105's mandatory list does not preserve the initial notices from contrary trust terms.

The qualified-beneficiary definition has only two horizons

Section 75B-2-103(8) includes a current distributee or permissible distributee and a person who would distribute if the trust terminated on the determination date. Utah does not add the usual separate class for a person who would take if the current distributees' interests ended without terminating the trust.

That narrower definition controls the default recipient class in § 75B-2-811. The cited notice sections do not add a separate requesting-beneficiary, charitable-organization, attorney-general, or animal-trust-enforcer recipient rule.

Instrument and report rights are request-based and limited

Under § 75B-2-811(2)(a), a qualified beneficiary who asks receives the portions of the trust instrument that describe or affect that beneficiary's interest. The statute does not promise an automatic complete copy including every amendment.

Subsection (3)(a) also makes reports request-based for qualified beneficiaries. The report includes trust property, liabilities, receipts and disbursements, compensation information, an asset list, and market values if feasible.

Electronic delivery does not have an advance-consent condition

Section 75B-2-109(1) requires a method reasonably suitable 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.

Unlike some states, the current Utah provision does not condition electronic delivery on advance consent. It also states no special unknown-recipient excuse or newspaper-publication fallback.

What trips people up

• The trust terms control the notice architecture. Utah did not place the § 75B-2-811 duties in § 75B-2-105's nonmodifiable list.
• Acceptance does not use a knowledge trigger. The first clock runs after acceptance itself; knowledge belongs to the creation-or-irrevocability clock.
• A full instrument is not the statutory request measure. The operative phrase is the portions that describe or affect the beneficiary's interest.
• The section states no legacy cutoff or initial-notice consequence. It does not tie a missed initial notice to a contest deadline, limitation period, automatic surcharge, or removal.

Common questions

Can the trust instrument eliminate both 60-day notices?

Yes under the cited default-rule structure. Section 75B-2-811 repeatedly makes the duties subject to contrary trust terms, and § 75B-2-105 does not list those notice duties among the protected exceptions.

Does every qualified beneficiary automatically receive annual reports?

No. Section 75B-2-811(3)(a) requires reports for qualified beneficiaries who request them.

May a recipient waive notice?

Yes. Section 75B-2-109(2) permits waiver by the person entitled to notice. Section 75B-2-811(4) separately permits waiver of reports or other information and withdrawal for future items.

Statutes and sources

• Utah Code § 75B-2-811(1)-(4) — information duties, two default notices, contents, request-based instrument portions and reports, and waiver. Utah Legislature (accessed 2026-07-31).
• Utah Code § 75B-2-103(8) — two-horizon qualified-beneficiary definition. Utah Legislature (accessed 2026-07-31).
• Utah Code § 75B-2-105(1)-(2) — trust-term control and the mandatory-rule list. Utah Legislature (accessed 2026-07-31).
• Utah Code § 75B-2-109(1)-(3) — delivery methods and notice waiver. Utah Legislature (accessed 2026-07-31).
• Utah Code § 75B-2-603(2)-(3) — settlor control and exclusive duties while the trust remains revocable and the settlor has capacity. Utah Legislature (accessed 2026-07-31).