Estate plan requirements

Utah

Everything your estate plan needs to be valid in Utah: execution requirements, the documents we generate, statutory citations, and the exact wording our generators insert.

Requirements at a glance

Document	Witnesses	Notary
Will	2 required	Recommended
Living trust	None required	Recommended
Power of attorney	None required	Required
Healthcare directive	1 required	Not required

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Utah content last reviewed August 10, 2026.

Will

Utah Code §75-2-501 et seq. (Title 75 Chapter 2 Part 5, Wills; codified within the Utah Uniform Probate Code)

Witnesses: 2 required

Two witnesses must sign within reasonable time after witnessing testator's signing or acknowledgment

Notarization: Recommended

Not legally required, but recommended for self-proving affidavit

Holographic will: Valid

Handwritten wills without witnesses are recognized in Utah

Self-proving affidavit: Available

Allows the will to be admitted to probate without witness testimony

State-specific notes

•Your executor must be 21, not 18. No person under the age of 21 is qualified to serve as a personal representative in Utah, and the court may also find a nominee unsuitable in formal proceedings (Utah Code §75-3-203(6)). Every other age recital in this packet says eighteen, so confirm before you sign that the executor and the alternate executor you name here are each at least 21. A nominee who is not is disqualified at appointment, and the court appoints someone else in the statutory order of priority (Utah Code §75-3-203(1)).

•Naming an executor can move control of your funeral. Utah ranks who has the right to control the disposition of your remains, and a personal representative you nominate after you marry takes priority over your surviving spouse (Utah Code §58-9-602(2)). The executor you name in this will is that nominee (§58-9-602(3)). If you are married and you name anyone other than your spouse, and you want your spouse to decide, sign a separate written designation naming the person you want to control your funeral, either acknowledged before a notary public or executed with the same formalities as a will (§58-9-602(1)(a)). A power of attorney cannot do this job, because it ends at your death (§75A-2-110).

ViewWitness disqualification / interested-witness rule

Utah Code §75-2-505: the signing of a will by an interested witness does not invalidate the will or any provision of it. Utah follows UPC §2-505 and abolishes the common-law purging rule, so a gift to an interested witness is not void by virtue of the witness status.

Living Trust

Witnesses: None required

No formal execution requirements beyond settlor signature; notarization strongly recommended when funding real property

Notarization: Recommended

Not legally required for the trust document, but needed to transfer real property

Certification of trust: Utah Code §75B-2-1013

Utah lets your trustee prove the trust to a bank, brokerage, title company, insurer, or transfer agent with a short certification instead of the trust itself. It states that the trust exists, who the trustee is, and what the trustee may do, and it leaves out who inherits and what each person receives. Will.com generates the Utah Certification of Trust with your trust, built to the contents that section requires. Sign it in front of the same notary, at the same sitting as the trust. The same section also says what happens if someone demands the trust itself anyway. Utah Code §75B-2-1013(8) provides that a person making a demand for the trust instrument in addition to a certification of trust or excerpts is liable for costs, expenses, attorney fees, and damages if the court determines that the person did not act in good faith in demanding the trust instrument.

Durable Power of Attorney

Utah Code §75A-2-101 et seq. (Title 75A Chapter 2, Uniform Power of Attorney Act)

Last verified: 2024-09-01

Witnesses: None required

No witnesses required for power of attorney

Notarization: Required

Notarization is required for a valid durable power of attorney

State-specific notes

•Acknowledged before a notary public (Utah Code §75A-2-105: Title 75A Chapter 2, Uniform Power of Attorney Act, effective September 1, 2024 per SB 79, 2024 Gen. Sess., Ch. 364; replaces former Title 75 Chapter 9)

•Durability is presumed unless the instrument states otherwise

•Facility-agent restriction (§75A-2-105(2)): if the principal resides or is about to reside in a hospital, assisted living, skilled nursing, or similar facility at the time of execution, the principal may not name as agent an owner, operator, health care provider, or employee of the facility unless (i) the agent is the principal's spouse, legal guardian, or next of kin, or (ii) the agent's authority is strictly limited to assisting the principal to establish Medicaid eligibility. A violation is criminally prosecutable under §76-5-111.4

ViewWarning notice for the principal

IMPORTANT INFORMATION This power of attorney authorizes another person (your agent) to make decisions concerning your property for you (the principal). Your agent will be able to make decisions and act with respect to your property (including your money) whether or not you are able to act for yourself. The meaning of authority over subjects listed on this form is explained in Title 75A, Chapter 2, Uniform Power of Attorney Act. This power of attorney does not authorize the agent to make health care decisions for you. You should select someone you trust to serve as your agent. Unless you specify otherwise, generally the agent's authority will continue until you die or revoke the power of attorney, or the agent resigns or is unable to act for you. Your agent is entitled to reasonable compensation unless you state otherwise in the Special Instructions. This form provides for designation of one agent. If you wish to name more than one agent you may name a coagent in the Special Instructions. Coagents are not required to act together unless you include that requirement in the Special Instructions. If your agent is unable or unwilling to act for you, your power of attorney will end unless you have named a successor agent. You may also name a second successor agent. This power of attorney becomes effective immediately unless you state otherwise in the Special Instructions. If you have questions about the power of attorney or the authority you are granting to your agent, you should seek legal advice before signing this form.

Advance Health Care Directive

Utah Code §75A-9-101 et seq. (Uniform Health Care Decisions Act)

Witnesses: 1 required

Utah requires 1 witness

Notarization: Not required

Notarization is not required but may be accepted

Document sections

HIPAA authorization

State-specific notes

•One adult witness required. Utah Code §75A-9-107(4)

•Witness disqualifications (§75A-9-107(4)(b)): the agent appointed by the individual; the agent's spouse or cohabitant; or, if the individual resides in or is receiving care in a nursing home or assisted living facility, the owner, operator, employee, or contractor of that facility

•Witness may be present in the same location, present by real-time audio-visual transmission, or (if the individual's identity is personally known to the witness or can be authenticated by Q&A) present by audio-only connection (§75A-9-107(5))

ViewWitness disqualification recital

Utah Code §75A-9-107(4): the power of attorney for health care must be in a record, signed by the individual creating it, and signed by one adult witness who reasonably believes the individual's act is voluntary and knowing and who is present when the individual signs or represents that the document reflects the individual's wishes. Under §75A-9-107(4)(b) that witness may not be the agent appointed by the individual, the agent's spouse or cohabitant, or, if the individual resides or is receiving care in a nursing home or assisted living facility, an owner, operator, employee, or contractor of that facility; and because the chapter defines agent to include a co-agent or alternate agent (§75A-9-101(3)(b)), an alternate named in the document may not witness it either. Under §75A-9-107(5) a witness counts as present if physically in the same location, or through real-time audio and visual transmission, or through a real-time audio connection where the witness personally knows the individual or can authenticate the individual's identity.

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6 more documents with a subscription

$29/year unlocks the documents below alongside the four free ones above. Your answers and documents are saved privately to your account, encrypted in your browser, so you can revise them any time life changes.

Disposition of Remains Authorization

Names the agent who controls funeral, burial, or cremation decisions, with optional preferences.

Military service: If you are in military service and have named someone on a DD Form 93, Utah law reaches that designation as well. The authorization itself names the section.

HIPAA Authorization

Stand-alone PHI release that survives death for the period you specify, separate from the in-life authorization in your healthcare directive. The free packet includes it too whenever it has a healthcare directive.

Nomination of Guardian by an Adult and Nomination of Conservator

Pre-nominates the person you want a court to appoint if a conservator (or guardian of the estate) is ever needed.

Business Succession Declaration

Identifies your interests in any closely-held businesses and how they should be transferred or wound down.

Real-Estate Retitling Checklist

Step-by-step instructions for transferring real-property deeds into your trust so the trust actually controls those assets.

Letter of Instruction

Non-binding personal note to your executor and family: where to find documents, account access, funeral wishes, and other practical guidance.

Free vs. paid

	Free	Paid
All 4 state-specific documents	Included in free	Included in paid tier
State-specific signing guide	Included in free	Included in paid tier
Download as PDF, print forever	Included in free	Included in paid tier
Secure online storage	Not in free	Included in paid tier
Covers real estate, business, digital, and funeral wishes	Not in free	Included in paid tier
Disposition of remains authorization	Not in free	Included in paid tier
Standalone HIPAA authorization	Not in free	Included in paid tier
Nomination of conservator	Not in free	Included in paid tier
Business succession declaration	Not in free	Included in paid tier
Real-estate retitling checklist	Not in free	Included in paid tier
Special needs trust provisions	Not in free	Included in paid tier
Letter of instruction, pre-filled and editable	Not in free	Included in paid tier
Edit anytime	Not in free	Included in paid tier
Annual review reminder	Not in free	Included in paid tier

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Electronic will status

Utah has adopted electronic will legislation (2020). You may be able to create, sign, and witness a will electronically using approved methods.

Digital assets access

Utah has adopted RUFADAA (2017). This is the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, which lets your executor, trustee, or agent access your email, social media, cryptocurrency wallets, cloud storage, and other digital accounts after death or incapacity.

To take advantage of RUFADAA, your will, trust, or power of attorney must explicitly grant authority to access digital assets. Without explicit authorization, service providers can deny access even to a court-appointed executor.

Remote online notarization (RON)

Utah authorized RON in 2019. Utah Code §46-1-3.6, subsection (4), provides that, notwithstanding any other provision of law, a remote notarization lawfully performed under Title 46 Chapter 1 satisfies any provision of state law that requires an individual to personally appear before, or be in the presence of, a notary at the time the notary performs a notarial act. The rest of that section is what makes a remote notarization lawful: the notary must hold a remote notary certification under Utah Code §46-1-3.5 and be physically located in Utah, must establish satisfactory evidence of identity for a signer who is not personally known to the notary by communicating with the signer through a device that carries sight and sound simultaneously and by requiring the signer to transmit an image of an accepted identification credential, and must create and store an electronic recording of the notarization. Utah prescribes no wording that a notarial certificate must carry to show that the act was performed remotely.

Will

Allowed

Trust

Allowed

POA

Allowed

Remote online witnessing (ROW)

Utah allows remote online witnessing for some estate planning documents. Witnesses can observe your signing over a live video call instead of being physically present. Not available for a Utah will signed on paper. Utah Code §75-2-502, the witnessed-will execution section, carries no electronic-presence provision, so both witnesses must be physically present. Utah's electronic-presence authority is Utah Code §75-2-1405, inside Title 75 Chapter 2 Part 14, which Utah Code §75-2-1401 titles the 'Uniform Electronic Wills Act' and which is scoped by that title to electronic wills.

Will

Not allowed

Trust

Allowed

POA

Allowed

HC Directive

Allowed

This information is general in nature and not legal advice. Laws change. Consult a licensed estate planning attorney in Utah for guidance specific to your situation.

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