Requirements (5)
- Competent: The grantor must have the capacity to establish a trust.
- Definite Beneficiary: Unless it is a charitable trust or a trust for the care of an animal, the trust must have a definite beneficiary.
- Intent: The grantor must indicate an intention to create a trust.
- Trustee’s Duties: The trustee must have duties to perform.
- Sole Trustee Cannot be the Sole Beneficiary: The same person cannot be both the sole trustee and the sole beneficiary of the trust.[1]
Laws
Amending/Revoking – The grantor may amend or revoke the trust, as long as the terms of the trust do not explicitly state that it is irrevocable.[2]
Bond Requirement – The trustee is only required to put forward a bond if they have been ordered to do so by the court or if this is a requirement under the terms of the trust.[3]
Certification of Trust – In lieu of a copy of the trust instrument, the trustee may furnish a person other than a beneficiary with a certification of trust, containing information regarding the trust’s execution, the identity of the grantor, and other relevant details.[4]
Co-Trustees – Co-trustees may act by majority decision if they are unable to reach a unanimous decision.[5]
Contesting a Trust – A person must commence a judicial proceeding contesting the validity of a trust within 90 days of having received notice from the trustee of the trust’s existence or within three years of the death of the grantor, whichever is earlier.[6]
Costs Related to the Trust – The trustee may only incur administration costs that are reasonable in relation to the trust property, the trust purposes, and their own skills.[7]
Jurisdiction – A trust created in another jurisdiction is valid in Utah if its creation complied with the laws of the jurisdiction in which the trust instrument was executed.[8]
Oral Trusts – The creation of an oral trust and its terms may only be established by clear and convincing evidence.[9]
Pet Trusts – A trust may be validly created to provide for the care of a pet or animal.[10]
Signing Requirements – Utah law does not require that a trust be signed.
Spendthrift Provision – A spendthrift provision must restrain both the voluntary and involuntary transfer of a beneficiary’s interest in order to be valid.[11]
Trustee’s Compensation – If the terms of a trust do not specify the amount of the trustee’s compensation, the trustee is otherwise entitled to reasonable compensation.[12]
Trustee’s Duties – The trustee must prudently and expeditiously administer the trust in good faith, in the interest of the beneficiaries, and in accordance with its terms and purposes.[13]
Trustee’s Powers – In addition to those powers conferred upon them by the trust instrument, the trustee is empowered to collect, acquire, sell, exchange, partition, or otherwise change the character of trust property.[14]