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2 Answers | Asked in Estate Planning for Utah on
Q: How do I find out if I was named in a trust? How do I find out if my kids were on a trust?

My dad passed away and prior to his passing, his condo burned down and needed rebuilt. Is there somewhere I can search to find the trust my dad said was set up? I don't have any idea who the trustee is or the executor of his will. I'm concerned his will was destroyed in the fire a year... View More

Kenneth Prigmore
Kenneth Prigmore
answered on Sep 3, 2024

The county recorder will have a record of the most recent deed on the property. This will show if the property is held in a Trust. If it is not in a Trust, you will need to go through Probate to transfer the property.

If you can't find a copy of the Trust, you may have to do a Probate...
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1 Answer | Asked in Estate Planning and Family Law for Utah on
Q: Will I be kicked out of my home by my husbands heirs?

My husband bought our home 2 years before we met. His kids are still listed as his beneficiaries on the house. If he dies before adding me to the title, can they kick me out of my home? We live in Utah and I want to know if I have any rights as his spouse.

Kenneth Prigmore
Kenneth Prigmore
answered on Aug 29, 2024

A surviving spouse can have rights under Utah state law, but those rights can also be given away. Prenuptial agreements and estate planning documents can make all the difference. In some cases your rights can give you a portion of the estate no matter what happens.

I encourage you to sit...
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2 Answers | Asked in Foreclosure, Real Estate Law and Probate for Utah on
Q: I'm an heir to an estate, How do I get my funds out of court after a foreclosure?
Kenneth Prigmore
Kenneth Prigmore
answered on Feb 16, 2024

The entity that foreclosed on the home will have the money initially. If it's over $100k, they will normally refuse to give it to an heir without first your going to court and requesting to be named as the personal represenative.

If it has been long enough, the entity may have turned...
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1 Answer | Asked in Divorce, Estate Planning, Family Law and Arbitration / Mediation Law for Utah on
Q: I want to protect my assets before a divorce by creating a trust. Should I have a trust before or after the divorce?

Is creating a trust the best option to protect my assets before a divorce in Utah? If yes, should I have my trust before or after the divorce? What options I have to minimize the loss of my assets in Utah?

Kenneth Prigmore
Kenneth Prigmore
answered on Nov 17, 2023

If you are already married, the only way a Trust might help is if both of you sign an irrevocable trust, permanently giving up your asset. For example, the irrevocable trust could give the asset to your children. Once you both sign it, you no longer have control over the asset, so neither of you... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Landlord - Tenant and Business Law for Utah on
Q: Am I able to create an LLC to rent out a property I own (under own name) through a separate Property Management Company?

I created an LLC to accept payments from and to pay Property Management company on a property that is under my name not my LLC. I am just looking for general advice as to what the best practices are? Should I change the title/deed to the LLC or is it possible to rent my property using a Property... View More

Kenneth Prigmore
Kenneth Prigmore
answered on Oct 13, 2023

You can hold the property in your own name or in the name of the LLC. When renting out property, it is often a good idea to place the property in your LLC and then do business with the tenants as an LLC. This includes having all payments go directly to an LLC account created with its own tax ID... View More

2 Answers | Asked in Real Estate Law, Estate Planning and Personal Injury for Utah on
Q: My aunt and dads name were on his house when he passed away he didn't have a will am I entitled to half of the property

How do I go about getting my name added to the house

Kenneth Prigmore
Kenneth Prigmore
answered on Sep 25, 2023

The answer depends on a few things:

1- Were they listed as joint tenants or something else?

2- Did he leave a surviving spouse? In Utah, a surviving spouse will inherit everything if all of the children of the decedent are also children of the surviving spouse. If the surviving...
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1 Answer | Asked in Real Estate Law and Landlord - Tenant for Utah on
Q: The owners of a home I am renting (yearly lease with 9 months left) want to buy out our lease. What are our rights?

Owners apparently had a change in their financial situation and now want to buy out our lease. Moving would lead to considerable costs.

Kenneth Prigmore
Kenneth Prigmore
answered on Sep 15, 2023

Your lease is a contract that will control whether a buyout is allowed and how it needs to transpire. If there is no mention of a buyout in your lease, then your landlord will need your permission to terminate the contract.

Unless the lease says otherwise, you can negotiate what you think...
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3 Answers | Asked in Probate for Utah on
Q: Does a person appointed as “attorney-in-fact” have any authority after the one who appointed them dies?

When our mother died, one brother had been appointed “personal representative”, and at the same time I was appointed “attorney-in-fact”. Does the the attorney-in-fact have any authority or say so in the handling of the estate or is it solely up to the personal representative to see that the... View More

Kenneth Prigmore
Kenneth Prigmore
answered on Sep 1, 2023

Great question. A Power of Attorney names someone as your Attorney-in-fact. This always ends at death or before. The Power of Attorney is never used after death.

Please note that the Personal Representative of the Estate technically needs to be approved by a judge in Probate Court to have...
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1 Answer | Asked in Contracts and Family Law for Utah on
Q: if a Utah marriage certificate was signed under duress and did not have an actual 2nd witness, is it a binding contract?
Kenneth Prigmore
Kenneth Prigmore
answered on Jun 20, 2023

What is more important than the certificate is how long you have been married. Clerks make errors on certificates all the time, but that does not automatically void them. Similarly, who signs the certificate and when are not normally a problem.

Your question sounds like you may feel forced...
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1 Answer | Asked in Landlord - Tenant for Utah on
Q: Can my ex landlord keep my deposit just cause she wants to ??

I paid my deposit on time I put my 30 day notice I cleaned and did everything the “contract” said. We didn’t officially sign anything but I do have pictures of me giving her the deposit and messages also. One she is just renting it to anyone without letting the apartment complex know, so... View More

Kenneth Prigmore
Kenneth Prigmore
answered on Mar 27, 2023

In Utah the law requires the landlord to return the deposit, unless there is something in writing that was given to you when you paid the deposit stating that it would not be returned. Additionally, the landlord has only 30 days to return the deposit or clear explanation of any expenses to clean... View More

3 Answers | Asked in Probate for Utah on
Q: What state to hire probate attorney?

My wife's family owns a trust in Colorado that produces quarterly oil royalty checks. The checks come from Colorado. Her dad passed 20 years ago so his checks have been going unclaimed in Utah. What state(s) would she need to hire an attorney in order to claim the unclaimed property and to get... View More

Kenneth Prigmore
Kenneth Prigmore
answered on Mar 20, 2023

Great question. If probate is necessary, go with the state of the last residence of the Trustor that created the Trust.

Sometimes probate is not necessary. I recommend discussing your situation with a Utah attorney regarding the checks in Utah. Most attorneys will have a free initial...
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1 Answer | Asked in Landlord - Tenant for Utah on
Q: In Utah, can a landlord/property manager make you buy their renters insurance, or am I able to get my own?

We have rented this property for almost 4 years. We got a new PMC last year due to the sale of the property. We have always had renters insurance thru our insurance company. New PMC has us pay an extra $43 per month for insurance, ac filters, and online payment capabilities. Even though I have... View More

Kenneth Prigmore
Kenneth Prigmore
answered on Mar 6, 2023

The answer to your question can be found in your rental agreement. Did you agree previously in the agreement to use whichever insurance the landlord chooses, or does the agreement only state that you are responsible to pay for insurance?

If the answer is the latter, then you can send them...
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1 Answer | Asked in Landlord - Tenant for Utah on
Q: I have live with my mother for 12 years now. She is now in a nursing home. Can my brother the trustee evict me?

I have taken care of my mom for 12 years, he has came to see her twice. I got a notice to be out in 5 days? Only signed by him. Is that legally binding? My mother is still alive

Kenneth Prigmore
Kenneth Prigmore
answered on Feb 17, 2023

The legal owner of a property has the power to evict anyone living there. If you have a rental agreement, the owner will be required to follow the terms of the agreement. If you don't have an agreement, and you haven't been paying rent, you will often qualify as a guest. Guests get a... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Business Formation and Business Law for Utah on
Q: I’d like to know if a company can go after you for essentially doing the same thing that they do?

For example, could Airbnb sue me if I created my own property rental app?

Kenneth Prigmore
Kenneth Prigmore
answered on Jan 30, 2023

The answer depends on a few things. First, if you copy a product, you can sometimes get sued for breach of Patent or Copyright. There are several companies offering similar services, so it is unlikely they could sue you for offering the same or similar services. But if you reverse engineer their... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Landlord - Tenant for Utah on
Q: Our apartment forgot to charge us for the garage in the lease but still gave us access. Can they ask for money later?

Our apartment gave us access to our garage, but we noticed this month that they aren't charging us for it. I looked through our lease and they never added on the additional fee for renting a garage. We aren't planning to mention it to them since this isn't the first time they have... View More

Kenneth Prigmore
Kenneth Prigmore
answered on Dec 7, 2022

Your relationship with your landlord is partially controlled by state law, but the relationship is mostly controlled by the agreement you signed with them. Usually agreements are prepared in haste and are often missing things that leave issues that are important to you in limbo.

In this...
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1 Answer | Asked in Contracts, Business Law and Lemon Law for Utah on
Q: Is it legal to deny a person a foreign vehicle when applying for an auto loan?

I bought a vehicle from a dealership 6 months ago I just found out a week and a half ago that the vehicle they sold me was stolen they told me to bring back the vehicle and they would get me a new vehicle and now when I put my application in I was told that I don't qualify for European... View More

Kenneth Prigmore
Kenneth Prigmore
answered on Dec 6, 2022

I am not aware of a law preventing a specific individual from owning a foreign car. Some foreign cars will have difficulty being imported to the US without a lot of paperwork, but I can't imagine how a particular individual would be prevented from making a purchase.

Also, it is...
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1 Answer | Asked in Real Estate Law for Utah on
Q: My mom has been paying everything on her house that she thought was hers now my brother wants half the mortgage

She was suppose to be the deed and my brother the co-sign she doesn’t understand or speak English good so she trusted him and his been lying all this time now he’s moved in and been threatening her to sell the house and wants half the money when he’s not even paid a penny is he entitled to... View More

Kenneth Prigmore
Kenneth Prigmore
answered on Oct 20, 2022

This is unfortunately one of the situations we warn against if a parent is considering adding their child as an owner on their home. The main question will be whether your mother was manipulated or bullied into the transfer. If she was not unduly influenced by your brother, and she really wanted... View More

2 Answers | Asked in Estate Planning and Probate for Utah on
Q: My brother was an international attorney in Guam for 40 years until he recently died on May 29th of this year.

My husband, myself, our 2 daughters, and another person are beneficiaries. The supposed trustee is an unlicensed attorney in Guam who is represented by my brothers former law partner. And that guy says we cannot communicate with the trustee at all, but just go through him (the former law partner of... View More

Kenneth Prigmore
Kenneth Prigmore
answered on Oct 19, 2022

Great question! Seeing red flags in a situation like this makes one wonder if your assets are safe.

If your case were in Utah, I could tell you that any time a person has questions or concerns about a trustee of a Trust, they can require that the Trust be overseen by a probate judge....
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1 Answer | Asked in Contracts for Utah on
Q: School not out until next Tuesday but contract says weekend before holiday dose kid need to miss school?

Ex stated was worded that way to get extra days but my child can only miss so much school. No clauses about his education.

Kenneth Prigmore
Kenneth Prigmore
answered on Nov 14, 2023

I am sorry if there was any confusion. This is unfortunately not a contracts question. Please resubmit your question and label it Divorce Law and Family Law. You will get help from attorneys that can help with your situation.

3 Answers | Asked in Tax Law, Business Formation and Business Law for Utah on
Q: how do I sign on behalf of an LLC if my Scorp is the member?
Kenneth Prigmore
Kenneth Prigmore
answered on Mar 20, 2023

The other attorney answers are good ones. Keep in mind that your best answers will be the result of briefly discussing your situation with an attorney to be sure the answer is tailored to your situation. Most attorneys are willing to do a free consultation.

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