Transfer on death deed in Utah

Utah at a glance

TOD deed for real estate

Yes

Name in Utah law

Transfer on death deed (Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act)

Law

Utah Code §§ 75-6-401 to 75-6-419

Notary

Required

Witnesses

None

When to record

Before the death

Where to record

County recorder's office of the county where the property is located

After-death document

Affidavit in substantially the form in Utah Code § 57-1-5.1, with a copy of the death certificate attached

Notice to heirs

Not required

Official form

Yes

Your checklist

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Making a valid TOD deed in Utah

• What the law does. A recorded transfer on death deed passes the owner's Utah real property to named beneficiaries at death and is revocable during life.
• Signing. The owner (an individual) signs. The deed needs the formalities of a recordable deed; the statutory form calls for an acknowledgment under Utah Code § 46-1-6.5. No witnesses. Capacity is the same as for a will.
• Recording. Must be recorded before the owner's death or it is not effective. No deadline after signing.
• Payment, delivery, acceptance. Effective without notice, delivery, acceptance, or payment.
• Form. Optional statutory TOD deed form (§ 75-6-416) and revocation form (§ 75-6-417); after-death affidavit form in § 57-1-5.1.

Changing it, and who you can name

• Revoking or changing. Revoke with a later TOD deed, an instrument of revocation, or an inter vivos deed that revokes it, acknowledged after the original and recorded before death. A deed of joint owners is revoked only by all living joint owners. Destroying the recorded deed does not revoke it. The act lists no will as a way to revoke.
• Beneficiaries. Named beneficiaries only; class gifts are not allowed. Primary and alternate beneficiaries may be named. A beneficiary who does not survive the owner lapses (Utah's anti-lapse rule does not apply); co-beneficiaries take equal shares with no survivorship unless the deed says otherwise, and a lapsed share goes to the others.

After the owner dies

• Document. Affidavit in substantially the form in Utah Code § 57-1-5.1, with a copy of the death certificate attached
• Where. County recorder of the county where the property is located
• Steps. After the owner dies, record a sworn affidavit with the legal description, the entry number and book/page of the recorded TOD deed, and a copy of the death certificate (or other government document certifying death) attached as an exhibit.

Debts, Medicaid and the spouse

• Creditors and Medicaid. If the probate estate cannot pay allowed claims or statutory allowances to a spouse or child, only the estate may enforce them against TOD property, shared by net value; a probate proceeding must start within 12 months after death. For Medicaid paid at 55+, Utah's 'recovery estate' includes assets passing outside probate by survivorship or other arrangement, deferred while a spouse is alive or a child is under 21 or blind/disabled.
• Surviving spouse. The transfer is subject to Utah's elective share (§ 75-2-205) and revocation-by-divorce rules (§ 75-2-804).

Good to know in Utah

• Joint owners: survivors keep the property; the TOD deed works when the last joint owner dies (§ 75-6-413(3)).
• A TOD deed does not affect Medicaid eligibility of the owner or beneficiary during life (§ 75-6-412).

Official pages

• Utah TOD deed form
• Utah statute
• No TOD deed or other plan? How Utah handles a small estate without probate →

Sources

• Utah Code Title 75 Ch. 6 Part 4 (le.utah.gov) (read October 28, 2026)
• Utah Code Part 4 XML (current text) (read October 28, 2026)
• Utah Code § 57-1-5.1 (read October 28, 2026)
• Utah Code § 26B-3-1001 (read October 28, 2026)
• Utah Code § 26B-3-1013 (read October 28, 2026)

Legal information from the official sources above, not legal advice. A TOD deed can affect Medicaid, taxes, creditors and co-owners; for a decision about your own property, ask the county recorder, a legal aid office or a lawyer. How we check: methodology.