Small Estate Affidavits and What They Mean for Probate Leads

A Utah small estate affidavit is signed before a notary and handed to a bank or other third party, not filed with the court, so those estates never appear in court records. Estate leads from court filings therefore come only from estates that needed a court case. That is a built-in limit worth knowing before you subscribe.

What are the conditions?

According to Utah Courts, the entire estate must be under $100,000, there must be no real property, at least 30 days must have passed since the death, and no application for a personal representative may have been filed. The affidavit "cannot be used to transfer title to real property like land or a house."

What does that leave for the court record?

Estates with real property, estates over the limit, and estates where someone has already applied for appointment. If the value is higher or a house is involved, a probate case is needed instead, per the same page. These are often the matters where an attorney is most useful.

How many probate cases are filed?

In our own review of one sample week (September 28 to October 2, 2026), estate and probate filings across all types came to roughly 100 to 125 statewide. That is our observation of one week, not a published statistic.

What does this mean for your outreach?

Expect fewer leads than the number of deaths in your area. Each lead you do receive is an estate that opened a court case, so it may involve real property or a larger estate. See how Utah probate works for the full picture.

Where do you start?

Utah estate and probate leads explains the categories, and pricing lists the rate.