Maxfield Law Blog
Practical guidance on wills, trusts, probate, and protecting your family's future — written for Utah families in plain language.
Trust Administration
A certificate of trust lets a trustee prove a trust exists and their authority to act — without disclosing beneficiaries or distribution terms. What Utah Code § 75B-2-1013 requires, and how it protects both the trustee and the institution relying on it.
Read the full post →Estate Planning Basics
What an estate planning attorney is, the qualifications they typically have, what the work actually involves day to day, how to choose one — and a look at my own background as a Provo, Utah estate planning attorney.
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A step-by-step guide for a new or overwhelmed successor trustee: accepting the role, the 60-day statutory notice to beneficiaries, handling creditors, taxes, and closing the trust — with the Utah Code sections behind each step.
Read the full post →Estate Planning Basics
A pragmatic, slightly tongue-in-cheek checklist: the medical directive, the financial power of attorney, your will (and where it actually is), your passwords, and a letter of instruction — plus where each one needs to live so your family can actually find it.
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Every trust is built around three roles — Grantor, Trustee, and Beneficiary. Understanding who fills each role, what duties each carries, and how assets flow through the structure is the foundation of every estate plan.
Read the full post →Wills & Trust Planning
A no-contest clause forfeits a beneficiary's inheritance if they challenge your will or trust. Under Utah Code § 75-2-515, the clause is unenforceable if the challenger had probable cause — so the real value is deterring opportunistic contests, not meritorious ones. Here is how to make one work.
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A spendthrift provision blocks a beneficiary from pledging their trust interest and blocks creditors from reaching it before distribution. Here is how the protection works under Utah Code §§ 75B-2-502 through 75B-2-505, where it ends, and who benefits most from having one.
Read the full post →Legacy & Generational Wealth
John H. Nebeker's Family Bank model uses an irrevocable trust as an internal family lending institution — teaching every generation financial literacy and stewardship, keeping interest inside the family, and preserving capital across multiple generations.
Read the full post →Wills & Estate Planning
A $30 online will sounds like a bargain — until it fails Utah's execution requirements and your family spends thousands in formal probate. Here are five real-world scenarios where DIY wills break down under Utah Code § 75-2-502, and what a properly drafted will actually does that an online form can't.
Read the full post →Advanced Tax Planning
The federal estate tax exemption sits at $15 million per person today — the highest in American history. But the exemption has changed dramatically over the past 25 years, and it could change again. Here is who gets affected at various thresholds and the planning strategies high-net-worth Utah families should consider now.
Read the full post →Estate Planning & Digital Assets
Cryptocurrency, social media accounts, cloud storage, and email don't pass to your family the same way a bank account does. Utah's Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act gives your executor or trustee a legal pathway — but only if your estate plan creates one.
Read the full post →Trust Planning
Naming one child as successor trustee — and not the others — is one of the most common reasons parents stall on their estate plan. Professional trustees, independent individuals, co-trustees, and the trust protector mechanism all offer ways forward that don't require picking a favorite.
Read the full post →Business & Estate Planning
A buy-sell agreement determines what happens to your business interest when you die, become disabled, or exit. Without one, your family may inherit a stake in a business your partners don't want them in — and no way to convert it to cash.
Read the full post →Family Conversations
You already know your parents should have a will, a power of attorney, and a health care directive. Getting them to actually talk about it — that's the hard part. Here are scripts, strategies, and exactly what documents to ask about.
Read the full post →Wills & Family Planning
Most young parents think estate planning is for wealthy retirees. The most important decision in any parent's estate plan has nothing to do with money — it's who raises your children if you can't. Here's how to legally name a guardian in Utah, why you need a backup, and why a godparent has no automatic legal authority.
Read the full post →Probate & Estate Administration
Not every death requires a probate proceeding. When a Utah estate's personal property is under $100,000, heirs can collect bank accounts, vehicles, wages, and other eligible assets using a sworn affidavit — no court, no personal representative, no probate required. Here's how the process works, what the affidavit must say, and where it falls short.
Read the full post →Tax Planning
If you own a life insurance policy, the death benefit is included in your taxable estate — even if your children are the named beneficiaries. An irrevocable life insurance trust removes the policy from your estate by having the trust own it instead. Here's how ILITs work, what Crummey notices are, and which Utah families actually need one.
Read the full post →Disability Planning
In Utah, a POLST form is a physician's medical order — co-signed by a doctor, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant — that emergency responders can act on immediately. An Advance Health Care Directive is a legal document that names your health care agent and takes effect when you lose capacity. Most seriously ill Utahns need both.
Read the full post →Trust Planning
When each spouse creates an irrevocable trust for the other using identical terms, the arrangement looks like mutual protection. But a long-standing federal doctrine can treat those assets as if each grantor never transferred them at all — here's how the structure works and when it backfires.
Read the full post →Asset Protection Planning
Utah law automatically protects a portion of your home equity from creditors under § 78B-5-503 — but the protection is capped at a specific dollar amount, and for many homeowners that cap is far lower than they assume. Here's what's actually protected, and what isn't.
Read the full post →Asset Protection Planning
An inheritance left outright is exposed to your child's creditors, lawsuits, and divorce the moment they receive it. A spendthrift trust under Utah Code § 75B-2-502 can keep it theirs — here's how it works and how it fits into an existing estate plan.
Read the full post →Updating an Existing Estate Plan
Already have a living trust? Here's when a trust actually needs an amendment, the difference between an amendment and a restatement, and what Utah Code § 75B-2-602 requires — including a joint-trust rule for married couples that catches many people off guard.
Read the full post →Asset Protection Planning
An LLC genuinely shields personal assets from liabilities the business creates. It does much less to shield the LLC interest itself from a creditor who comes after the owner personally — and Utah law treats single-member LLCs very differently from multi-member LLCs when that happens.
Read the full post →Estate Planning Basics
Most people picture probate as a courtroom battle in front of a judge. For most Utah estates, that's not what happens — informal probate is handled by a court registrar based on paperwork, not a hearing. Here's how it works, who qualifies, and the three-year deadline under Utah Code § 75-3-107.
Read the full post →Estate Planning for Families with Disabilities
Providing housing for a disabled family member is one of the most common requests families bring to a special needs trust — but the SSI in-kind support and maintenance rules can reduce benefits in ways most families don't expect. Here's what an SNT can and cannot pay for, compared across SSI and SSDI.
Read the full post →Medicaid Planning
Lady Bird Deeds do not protect a home from Medicaid recovery in Utah. Utah's recovery estate definition under Utah Code § 26B-3-1001 is broad enough to reach non-probate transfers — including the kind a Lady Bird Deed or Transfer on Death Deed creates. Here's what actually works.
Read the full post →Asset Protection Planning
Utah law allows a person to create an irrevocable trust, transfer assets into it, remain a discretionary beneficiary, and have those assets shielded from future creditors. Here are the fundamental requirements under Utah Code §§ 75B-1-301 through 310 and how a DAPT compares to a revocable living trust.
Read the full post →Business & Asset Planning
Many business owners assume that because their LLC transfers to heirs at death, they don't need a formal estate plan. This assumption is wrong — and it can be expensive. Here are seven reasons why an LLC is not a substitute for a trust-based estate plan.
Read the full post →Probate & Intestate Succession
When someone dies without a will in Utah, funds received from a joint bank account or other non-probate transfer may count as an advancement — reducing that heir's share of the probate estate. Here's how the calculation works and when the rule applies.
Read the full post →Estate Planning for Families with Disabilities
A well-intentioned inheritance can disqualify a disabled family member from SSI, Medicaid, and other benefits they depend on. A third-party special needs trust is the planning tool that solves this — providing lifetime supplemental support without disrupting a single dollar of government benefits.
Read the full post →Advanced Estate Planning
A special power of appointment lets a trusted person adjust how a trust distributes property among beneficiaries — without rewriting the trust. It's one of the most useful tools in estate planning, and one of the least understood.
Read the full post →Business Succession Planning
You've spent years building your business — but if you were hospitalized tomorrow, could your team access the bank accounts to clear payroll on Friday? A personal will won't help. Here are the three legal tools every Utah business owner needs.
Read the full post →Estate Planning Decisions
Most people want their estate divided equally among their children — but what happens if a child dies before you do? The answer depends on a choice most families have never been asked to make, and Utah law has a default that may not match your wishes.
Read the full post →Important Update for Existing Estate Plans
Estate plans written before 2013 may contain AB trust language that creates an unnecessary capital gains tax for your heirs. Here's what changed, who is affected, and what can be done about it.
Read the full post →Transparent Pricing
Most attorneys don't publish their fees. Here's exactly what a complete estate plan costs at Maxfield Law — what's included in each package, what amendments run, and how to get a free review of a plan you already have.
Read the full post →Estate Planning Basics
Probate is the court-supervised process of settling an estate after someone dies. In Utah it can take months or even years, cost thousands in fees, and become part of the public record — but it can also be avoided entirely with the right planning.
Read the full post →Estate Planning Basics
If you have children, own property, or care where your assets go after you die — yes, you need a will. Learn what a will does, what happens to your estate without one, and when a will alone isn't enough to protect your family.
Read the full post →Free Resource · Advance Directives
Utah's official Advance Health Care Directive form has been updated for the first time in roughly 15 years. The new form covers more situations and gives your health care agent greater flexibility to act on your behalf. Download it here at no cost — or have Paul help you complete it, also free.
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