Utah life estate deed
A life estate deed passes your Utah property to the people you name without probate, while you keep the right to live in it for life. Unlike a transfer-on-death deed, it cannot be undone once it is signed and delivered. Here is exactly what Utah requires, what it costs, and where to file it.
- Recording office
- County Recorder
- Witnesses
- Notary only
- Transfer tax
- None
- First-page margin
- 3″ top
- Recording fee
- ~$40 per document
- E-recording
- Approved submitters
What a life estate deed does in Utah
A traditional life estate deed splits ownership across time. You, the life tenant, keep the right to live in and use the property for the rest of your life. The remaindermen you name own everything after that, and their interest vests the moment the deed is delivered; recording protects it against later buyers and creditors. Because their interest is real and present, you can't sell, refinance, or undo the deed without their signatures. That permanence is the whole difference between this and a lady bird deed.
The Utah law behind this deed
Utah has no section written specifically for life estate deeds. The instrument runs on the general conveyancing and recording statutes below, which is why the requirements here look like those for any other deed in the state.
| What it governs | Citation |
|---|---|
| Conveyances generally | Utah Code Title 57, Chapter 1 (§ 57-1-1 et seq.) |
| Recording with the County Recorder | Utah Code §§ 57-3-101, 57-3-105, 57-3-106, 17-71-402 and 17-71-403 |
Less common in Utah
Life estate deeds are valid here but used less often than in other states. Read the limitations below carefully before choosing one.
When Utah homeowners use a life estate deed
- Pass a home to children while reserving the right to live there for life
- Start the Medicaid look-back clock on a transfer (state rules vary)
- Avoid probate on the property with a simple, long-established instrument
- Provide for a surviving spouse or partner with the remainder going to your own children
What Utah requires on the deed
These are the execution and formatting rules county recorders enforce. Getting any of them wrong is the usual reason a deed comes back in the mail.
| Requirement | What Utah says |
|---|---|
| Recording office | County Recorder |
| Notarization | Required. Each signer must appear before the notary and acknowledge the signature. Signing in front of the notary is the safest practice. |
| Witnesses | None required. A notarial acknowledgment is enough. |
| Legal description | Required, copied exactly from the prior recorded deed. A street address is not sufficient. |
| Grantee's address | Required. A deed must name the grantees and give a mailing address to be used for property tax notices (Utah Code § 57-3-105(3)). Deedly prints both, with a MAIL TAX NOTICE TO block on page one. |
| Return address | Include a 'when recorded, return to' block so the original comes back to you. Deedly always prints one. |
| Preparer statement | Not required, but customary. |
| Prior deed reference | Not required, though it keeps the chain of title clean. |
| Page setup | 8.5 × 11 in, 3-inch clear space at the top of page one, 1-inch margins elsewhere, nothing under 10pt. This is the profile Deedly applies. |
| Timing | Takes effect when signed and delivered. Record it promptly: an unrecorded deed does not protect the people you named against a later buyer, lender, or creditor. |
How to complete and record it in Utah
- Find your current deedYou need the legal description from it, word for word. If you can't find your copy, the County Recorder can provide one, usually for a few dollars.
- Identify everyone by full legal nameNames must match the current deed and government ID exactly, middle names included. A mismatch creates a gap in the chain of title that shows up years later at closing.
- Complete the deedDeedly builds it with the wording, notary certificate, and 3-inch first-page margin used for Utah deeds.
- Sign in front of a notaryBring photo ID. Wait to sign until you are in front of the notary: you have to appear before the notary anyway, and signing there leaves no question about who signed.
- Record it with the County RecorderFile in the county where the property is located and pay the recording fee. Every Utah county recorder accepts electronic recording (Utah Code § 17-71-402(2)), through vendors such as Simplifile, CSC, or ePN. Those vendors usually take filings only from approved submitters such as title companies, attorneys, and lenders, so if you prepared the deed yourself, plan to record in person or by mail. Keep the stamped receipt. It fixes your priority date.
- Tell the people you named where it isAt your death they record a certified death certificate, and in some states an affidavit, to show that your life estate has ended. Ask your insurer whether they should be added to the policy now.
What it costs in Utah
| Cost | Typical amount |
|---|---|
| Recording fee | About $40 per document |
| Transfer tax | None in this state |
| Notary | A Utah notary may charge no more than $10 per signature for an acknowledgment, or $25 for a remote notarization, plus a travel fee no higher than the federal mileage rate only if you agree to it in advance (Utah Code § 46-1-12). |
| Deedly | $49, one time (launch price, regular $69) |
| Attorney (for comparison) | $150–$700 for the same statutory document |
Utah imposes no state real estate transfer tax, so the recording fee is normally your only cost beyond notarization.
Where to record it in Utah
Utah deeds are recorded with the County Recorder in the county where the property sits, not where you live. There are 29 counties in Utah.
Every Utah county recorder accepts electronic recording (Utah Code § 17-71-402(2)), through vendors such as Simplifile, CSC, or ePN. Those vendors usually take filings only from approved submitters such as title companies, attorneys, and lenders, so if you prepared the deed yourself, plan to record in person or by mail.
Recording offices we cover in Utah: Salt Lake, Utah, Davis, Weber, Washington, Cache. See all Utah recording offices.
What a life estate deed does NOT do
Being honest about the limits is more useful than a sales pitch. Every one of these catches somebody out.
- It is not revocable. Once recorded, you can't sell or mortgage the property without every remainderman signing.
- A remainderman's divorce, bankruptcy, or judgment creditor can attach their interest in your home while you're still living in it.
- Because you keep the right to live there for life, the full value is still counted in your estate for federal tax purposes (26 U.S.C. § 2036). That generally gives the remaindermen a stepped-up basis at your death, but it also means the deed does not shrink a taxable estate.
- It is usually treated as a divestment for Medicaid purposes. Get advice before using it for that purpose.
Quirks of Utah law that catch people out
- The legal description must be one Utah Code § 57-3-105(4) allows: a lot in a recorded plat, a metes-and-bounds or government-survey description, or another form that section lists. A street address is not enough.
- A deed must name the grantees and give a mailing address to be used for property tax notices (Utah Code § 57-3-105(3)). Deedly prints it in a MAIL TAX NOTICE TO block on page one.
- The notary's seal must be legible (Utah Code § 17-71-402(3)(f)). A smudged or unreadable seal gets a deed sent back.
- Each signer's name must be typed or printed just beneath the signature (Utah Code § 17-71-403). Deedly prints it.
- A recorder may require a blank space 2.5 inches down and 4.5 inches across the upper right corner of page one (Utah Code § 17-71-402(4)). Write nothing at the top of page one.
- A deed to a trustee must give the trustee's name and address and the trust's name and date (Utah Code § 75B-2-816(3)).
- Utah has no tenancy by the entirety: a deed that uses it is treated as a joint tenancy (Utah Code § 57-1-5(7)). Since May 1, 2024, a deed to two or more people that says nothing more is presumed to create a joint tenancy with right of survivorship (§ 57-1-5(1)(a)(i)(C)), so co-owners who want separate shares must say "as tenants in common".
- Water rights tied to the land pass with it unless the deed reserves them (Utah Code § 73-1-11). If the property has a well, irrigation rights or water shares, you may attach Utah's Water Rights Addendum, available from the Division of Water Rights; it is optional (Utah Code § 57-3-109). Shares in a water company are not part of the land and do not pass with it; transfer them through the company (§ 73-1-11(4)).
- Utah Code Title 59 (Revenue and Taxation) has no real estate transfer tax.
- Utah's statutory warranty deed form under Utah Code § 57-1-12 conveys full covenants in just a few lines.
- Utah recognizes transfer-on-death deeds under its Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act.
$49, one time. Your finished deed appears in full before you pay, with Utah's witness rules, margins, and recording instructions already applied.
Common questions
No. Utah has no requirement that an attorney prepare a deed. What matters is the correct statutory language, an accurate legal description, proper notarization, and recording with the County Recorder. Deedly produces all of that for $49, versus roughly $150–$700 for an attorney to draft the same document. If ownership is disputed, the current owner has died without probate, or the transfer is tax-sensitive, use an attorney.
Expect around $40 per document. Utah has no state real estate transfer tax, so the recording fee is normally the whole cost. Utah law sets the base fee to record a deed at $40 per document, whatever the page count, plus $2 for each legal description over ten (Utah Code § 17-71-407(3)(a)). Counties of the second through sixth class add $5 unless the county has a balance in its restricted account (§ 17-71-407(3)(b)), so the fee depends on the county: Salt Lake and Utah counties charge $40, and Davis, Weber, Washington and Cache counties charge $45. Confirm your county's fee before you mail a check.
No. Utah requires only that the grantor's signature be acknowledged before a notary public. Forms that show witness lines are usually generic templates borrowed from another state.
With the County Recorder in the county where the property is located, not where you live, and not where the buyer lives. Utah has 29 counties. Every Utah county recorder accepts electronic recording (Utah Code § 17-71-402(2)), through vendors such as Simplifile, CSC, or ePN. Those vendors usually take filings only from approved submitters such as title companies, attorneys, and lenders, so if you prepared the deed yourself, plan to record in person or by mail.
No. Once a life estate deed is signed and delivered, the remaindermen hold a present interest and you can't sell, mortgage, or undo it without every one of them signing. If you want to keep control, look at a transfer-on-death deed instead.
Yes, for this property. On your death the property passes directly to the people you named, outside probate. They then record proof of your death with the County Recorder so the public record shows the change. It doesn't avoid probate for anything else you own, it doesn't clear the mortgage, and it doesn't protect the property from your creditors.
Keep reading
- Utah quitclaim deedTransfers whatever interest you have in a property, with no promises about the title.
- Utah general warranty deedTransfers ownership with the strongest title guarantees the law allows.
- Utah special warranty deedTransfers ownership, but only guarantees the title for the period you owned it.
- Utah transfer-on-death deedNames who inherits your property, skips probate, and changes nothing while you're alive.
- All deed rules for UtahRecording offices, transfer tax, witness rules, and fees.
- Utah recording officesWhere to file in each county.
Deedly is not a law firm
Its software and documents are not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. We provide self-help software and state-specific deed forms; you make your own decisions about your property. Using Deedly does not create an attorney-client relationship, and nothing here is legal advice. If your situation is complex or contested, talk to a licensed attorney in your state.