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San Juan County, UT Probate Information
Quick facts
| Category | Current rules |
|---|---|
| Court | The District Court in San Juan County, sitting in the Seventh Judicial District. There is no separate probate court in Utah; the district court is the general trial court and handles probate as a case type under the Utah Uniform Probate Code (Utah Code Title 75). The judge is a district court judge, and an informal application is reviewed by the court's registrar without a hearing |
| Filing office | The Clerk of the District Court in San Juan County, the office that takes probate applications and petitions and keeps the county's estate records |
| Courthouse | 297 South Main, Monticello, UT 84535. This is the only district-court location in San Juan County; Blanding has a justice court, not a district court, so it is not the probate filing office |
| Mailing address | The Clerk of the District Court, 297 South Main, Monticello, UT 84535. Call (435) 587-2122 to confirm the current mailing address, including any P.O. box, before mailing original documents |
| Phone | (435) 587-2122, the San Juan County District Court's published line in Monticello (Utah State Court Directory on utcourts.gov, verified July 2026). This is the courthouse's own line, not a statewide call center. Older listings print (435) 678-1448, but the Utah Courts directory assigns that number to the court's juvenile probation office in Blanding, so use (435) 587-2122 for probate |
| [email protected], the San Juan County District Court's published email (Utah State Court Directory, verified July 2026). Call or email before sending documents; ask the clerk whether email filing is accepted | |
| Office hours | Call (435) 587-2122 to confirm the counter hours and any filing cutoff before making a trip to Monticello. This is a rural court and the boilerplate hours in older listings are not reliable, so confirm by phone (verified July 2026 that the specific counter hours are not published) |
| Filing fee | $375 to file a probate petition or application, set by statute and uniform statewide (Utah Code § 78A-2-301(1)(a)), plus a graduated accounting fee when an accounting is filed (Utah Code § 78A-2-301(1)(r)); fee waivers are available (Utah Code § 78A-2-302). The fee is the same in every Utah county (verified July 2026) |
| Local forms | None. Utah uses one statewide probate forms set in every county, so there is no separate San Juan County form. Self-represented filers use the Utah Courts self-help probate forms pages |
| E-filing | Mandatory for Utah-licensed attorneys, who file through the state electronic-filing system. A self-represented filer generally cannot e-file probate and instead files on paper with the Clerk of the District Court, in person or by mail. Check MyCourtCase (formerly MyCase) for whether your case type is supported for self-represented e-filing |
| Case search | There is no free public per-county probate docket search. XChange is Utah's subscription public case-search service, and MyCourtCase lets a party view their own case for free. For records in an existing case, contact the Clerk of the District Court in San Juan County |
| Remote appearance | Ask the Clerk of the District Court whether a given hearing can be handled by phone or video. An informal probate is reviewed by the court's registrar on the papers, without a hearing, so many estates never require an in-person appearance |
| Website | https://www.utcourts.gov/en/courts/court-types/dist/dist-sites/7th.html (the Utah Courts Seventh District page) and https://www.utcourts.gov/en/self-help/case-categories/probate.html (the Utah Courts self-help probate pages) |
Before you begin — know the assets and liabilities
Before you file anything in San Juan County, know exactly what is in the estate. Which Utah path fits depends on whether there is a will, on who inherits, and on the value and type of the assets, because a full informal or formal probate, a summary closing of an opened estate, and a simple affidavit for personal property are different routes with different filings. Those paths and their thresholds are statewide and are explained on the Utah state page; identify the estate first so you, and if needed your attorney, file the right papers once.
Identify every bank and credit-union account, retirement plan, brokerage holding, life-insurance policy, vehicle, and parcel of real property, along with every debt, before you file. How each asset is titled decides which route you need: the small-estate affidavit reaches personal property only and opens no court case, while real property, such as a home or land in San Juan County, generally requires an informal or formal probate in the district court. Sunset's asset-discovery work, searching more than 2,300 financial institutions, exists for this step.
Which court handles jurisdiction
The Clerk of the District Court in Monticello is the single probate filing office for all of San Juan County. It serves the entire county, including Monticello (the county seat), Blanding (the county's largest city), Bluff, La Sal, Mexican Hat, Montezuma Creek, Aneth, and the Monument Valley area. San Juan is the largest county in Utah by land area, and its southern communities are a long drive from Monticello, so a filer may be hours from the courthouse. Because papers can be filed in person or by mail, most filing can be done without repeated trips to Monticello, and the distance matters mainly for any in-person hearing.
Venue for a Utah estate is the county where the decedent was domiciled at death (Utah Code § 75-3-201). If the decedent lived in San Juan County, file in the District Court in San Juan County. If the decedent was not a Utah resident but left property in the county, venue can also lie here under the same statute. The Seventh Judicial District is an administrative grouping of judges covering Carbon, Emery, Grand, and San Juan counties; probate is still filed in the decedent's county, in that county's district court, not in the district at large. The judge is a district court judge, and the Clerk of the District Court maintains the county's estate records.
The jurisdiction process
- Gather the documents. Collect the original signed will (if there is one), a certified copy of the death certificate, the proposed personal representative's contact information and identification, the names and addresses of the heirs and devisees, and a list of the assets and debts with values. A person named in a will to settle the estate is an executor; a person appointed where there is no will is an administrator. Utah's umbrella term for either is personal representative.
- Choose the path. Most estates use informal probate (Utah Code § 75-3-301), in which the applicant files an Application for Informal Probate and the court's registrar reviews it without a hearing. Formal probate before a district court judge (Utah Code § 75-3-401) is used when a matter is disputed or a will is unclear or contested. For personal property only, a successor can often use the small-estate affidavit (Utah Code § 75-3-1201), which opens no court case. These statewide paths and their thresholds are on the Utah state page; identify the right one before you file.
- Prepare the forms. Utah uses one statewide probate forms set, so there is no separate San Juan County form. The load-bearing statewide items are the Utah District Court Cover Sheet for Probate Actions, filed with every probate case, and the Application and Statement of Informal Probate (with-will and no-will versions). A self-represented filer gets these from the Utah Courts self-help probate forms pages; if you use the Utah Courts online document-preparation service, check first that the current tool covers probate, because the court's tools change. Confirm the current form by function on the Utah Courts self-help probate pages before you file.
- File with the Clerk of the District Court. A Utah-licensed attorney files electronically through the state electronic-filing system, which is mandatory for attorneys. A self-represented filer files on paper with the Clerk of the District Court at 297 South Main in Monticello, in person or by mail; call (435) 587-2122 to confirm the current mailing address and ask whether email filing is accepted before sending original documents.
- Pay the filing fee. The fee to file a probate petition or application is $375, set by statute and uniform in every Utah county (Utah Code § 78A-2-301(1)(a)). A graduated accounting fee applies later if an accounting is filed (Utah Code § 78A-2-301(1)(r)). A filer who cannot afford the fee may ask the court to waive it by a Motion to Waive Fees (Utah Code § 78A-2-302). The small-estate affidavit route opens no court case, so there is no court filing fee for it.
- Let the registrar review, or attend a hearing. In an informal probate the court's registrar reviews the application on the papers, without a hearing, and if it is in order signs a Statement of Informal Probate. A hearing is set only in a formal probate or a contested matter; ask the Clerk of the District Court whether it can be handled by phone or video.
- Receive the letters. On appointment the court issues letters testamentary (where there is a will) or letters of administration (where there is not). A certified copy of the letters is what banks and transfer agents rely on, so request enough certified copies for the institutions the estate deals with.
- Administer and close. Inventory the assets, give the required notice to creditors, pay valid claims in the order set by law, account as the estate's path requires, distribute what remains, and close the estate with the Clerk of the District Court.
Forms and documents
Probate forms in San Juan County
There is no separate San Juan County probate form. Utah uses one statewide probate forms set in every county, published by the Utah Courts, and the county's role is where and how you file, not a different set of forms. The load-bearing statewide items are the Utah District Court Cover Sheet for Probate Actions, filed with every probate case, the Application and Statement of Informal Probate (with-will and no-will versions), and the small-estate affidavit for collection of personal property (Utah Code § 75-3-1201). Confirm the current form by function on the Utah Courts self-help probate pages before you file, because a form's name can change.
A self-represented filer gets the informal-probate and small-estate documents from the Utah Courts self-help probate forms pages; the Utah Courts also offer an online document-preparation service, but check first that the current tool covers probate, because the court's tools change. In San Juan County a Utah-licensed attorney files these documents electronically through the state e-filing system, and a self-represented filer files on paper with the Clerk of the District Court at 297 South Main in Monticello, in person or by mail; call (435) 587-2122 to confirm what the office needs on intake and the current mailing address.
| Resource | What it provides |
|---|---|
| Utah Courts self-help: probate (utcourts.gov) | The statewide probate self-help hub, with the forms, the cover sheet, and plain-language guidance used in every Utah county |
| Utah Courts self-help: informal probate (utcourts.gov) | Step-by-step guidance and the Application and Statement of Informal Probate for the most common path |
| Utah Courts Seventh District (utcourts.gov) | The Seventh District page covering San Juan County, for court contact and general district-court information |
Recent updates
Page last reviewed: July 2026.
Scenarios
| Situation | Likely path in San Juan County | Where Sunset helps |
|---|---|---|
| Surviving spouse, co-owned home | If the Monticello-area home was owned in joint tenancy with right of survivorship, it passes to the surviving spouse outside probate once the death is recorded, so no district-court case is needed for the house itself. If other assets stood in the decedent's sole name and there is a will, the spouse files an informal probate in the District Court in San Juan County and, once it is approved, receives letters testamentary as executor; with no will, the spouse is appointed administrator and receives letters of administration. | Asset discovery to confirm how the home and accounts are titled and what must go through the court. Packet generation for the filing with the Clerk of the District Court. A vetted attorney referral if a dispute arises. |
| Out-of-state adult child, small estate | Where the estate is personal property only, does not exceed $100,000 (Utah Code § 75-3-1201), and at least 30 days have passed since death, a successor can often skip probate and collect the property with a sworn small-estate affidavit presented to whoever holds it, which opens no court case. If real property is involved, an informal probate in the District Court in San Juan County is generally needed, and the papers can be filed by mail so a child living out of state can proceed without repeated trips to Monticello. | Asset discovery to confirm the estate qualifies and to locate accounts from out of state. Packet generation for the affidavit or the informal-probate application, prepared so an out-of-state filer can proceed by mail. |
| Parent settling a predeceased child's estate, home must be sold | Because the estate holds real property that must be sold, it proceeds through a probate rather than the affidavit route: with no will, the parent files in the District Court in San Juan County, is appointed administrator, and receives letters of administration; with a will, the parent probates it and receives letters testamentary. With that authority the parent can sell the San Juan County home and distribute the proceeds. Any hearing is held at the courthouse in Monticello. | Asset discovery for the child's accounts and property. Packet generation for the probate filing. Attorney referral if the sale or a dispute among heirs turns contested. |
Self-help resources
| Resource | What it offers |
|---|---|
| Utah Courts Seventh District (utcourts.gov), (435) 587-2122 | The District Court in San Juan County is the filing office for probate; the Seventh District page and the Monticello courthouse line for court contact. Court staff can explain procedure but cannot give legal advice |
| Utah Courts self-help: probate (utcourts.gov) | The statewide probate self-help hub, with forms, the cover sheet, and plain-language guidance for informal probate, formal probate, and small estates |
| MyCourtCase (formerly MyCase) (utcourts.gov) | Lets a party view their own case for free and, for supported case types, e-file into it |
| XChange (utcourts.gov) | Utah's subscription public case-search service; there is no free per-county probate docket browser |
| Utah Legal Services (utahlegalservices.org) | Free civil legal aid for eligible low-income Utah residents; its Senior Law Project helps seniors with wills and estates. Confirm current service area and probate coverage for San Juan County before relying on it |
| Utah Free Legal Answers (utah.freelegalanswers.org) | Free online answers to civil legal questions from volunteer Utah attorneys for eligible users |
| Utah State Bar: find a lawyer (utahbar.org) | Referrals to Utah probate attorneys through the Bar's lawyer-referral service |
When to hire an attorney
Many San Juan County estates are uncontested and can be handled through informal probate, and a small estate of personal property can often be settled without an attorney through the small-estate affidavit. Consider counsel when a will is contested or a dispute among heirs is likely, when the estate must go through formal probate before a district court judge, when real property or ranch land has to be sold or divided, when the estate is insolvent or a creditor is pressing a claim, or when the estate includes a business interest or out-of-state property. The Clerk of the District Court can explain procedure but cannot give legal advice. Sunset can connect families to a vetted Utah probate attorney serving San Juan County and the Seventh Judicial District.
How Sunset helps
Find the accounts and assets. Sunset searches more than 2,300 financial institutions and public records to surface bank and credit-union accounts, retirement plans, brokerage holdings, life insurance, San Juan County real estate, and unclaimed property, so you know the estate's value and which estate settlement path fits in Utah before you file.
Generate the probate packet. Sunset assembles the paperwork for your path, whether an informal probate, a formal probate, or a small-estate affidavit, ready to file with the Clerk of the District Court in San Juan County, on paper or by mail.
Find a local probate attorney. When a matter is contested or otherwise calls for counsel, Sunset connects families to a vetted Utah probate attorney serving San Juan County.
Sunset is free for families. Revenue comes from bank partners that pay Sunset while estate funds sit in an FDIC-insured estate account ($3M coverage).
Frequently asked questions
Where do I file for probate in San Juan County?
With the Clerk of the District Court in San Juan County, at the courthouse at 297 South Main in Monticello. Utah has no separate probate court; the district court, the state's general trial court, handles probate, and the Clerk of the District Court is the filing office. Monticello is the only district-court location in the county, so probate is filed there even for residents of Blanding, Bluff, Mexican Hat, or the Monument Valley area. File where the decedent was domiciled at death (Utah Code § 75-3-201).
Do I have to e-file probate in San Juan County?
It depends who is filing. Utah-licensed attorneys must e-file through the state electronic-filing system. A self-represented filer generally cannot e-file probate and instead files on paper with the Clerk of the District Court, in person or by mail. The statewide forms are on the Utah Courts self-help probate pages, and you can check MyCourtCase (formerly MyCase) for whether your case type is supported for self-represented e-filing.
How much does it cost to file probate in San Juan County?
The fee to file a probate petition or application is $375, set by statute and uniform in every Utah county (Utah Code § 78A-2-301(1)(a)). A graduated accounting fee applies later if an accounting is filed (Utah Code § 78A-2-301(1)(r)). If you cannot afford the fee, you can ask the court to waive it by a Motion to Waive Fees (Utah Code § 78A-2-302). There is no San Juan County add-on.
Can I look up a San Juan County probate case online?
Not through a free public docket search. Utah has no free per-county probate docket browser. XChange is Utah's subscription public case-search service, and MyCourtCase (formerly MyCase) lets a party view their own case for free. For records in an existing case, contact the Clerk of the District Court at (435) 587-2122.
What forms do I need for probate in San Juan County?
Utah uses one statewide probate forms set, so there is no separate San Juan County form. The core items are the Utah District Court Cover Sheet for Probate Actions, the Application and Statement of Informal Probate, and, for personal property only, the small-estate affidavit (Utah Code § 75-3-1201). A self-represented filer gets these from the Utah Courts self-help probate forms pages; if you use the Utah Courts online document-preparation service, check first that the current tool covers probate. Confirm the current form on the Utah Courts self-help probate pages before you file.
Does a small estate in San Juan County have to go through full probate?
Often no. When the estate is personal property only, does not exceed $100,000 (Utah Code § 75-3-1201), and at least 30 days have passed since death, a successor can collect the property with a sworn small-estate affidavit, which opens no court case. Real property generally still requires an informal or formal probate in the District Court in San Juan County. The statewide details are on the Utah state page.
What authority document does the court issue in a San Juan County estate?
The District Court in San Juan County issues letters testamentary where there is a will, or letters of administration where there is not. A certified copy of the letters is what banks, transfer agents, and title companies rely on, so request enough certified copies for the institutions the estate deals with.
Do I have to travel to Monticello to settle an estate in San Juan County?
Usually not just to file. San Juan is the largest county in Utah by area, and its southern communities are a long drive from Monticello, but papers can be mailed to the Clerk of the District Court at 297 South Main, Monticello, UT 84535 (call (435) 587-2122 to confirm the current mailing address before mailing original documents), and an informal probate is reviewed by the court's registrar on the papers, without a hearing. So a filer far from the seat or out of state can often open and run an uncontested estate largely by mail. The distance matters mainly for any in-person hearing in a formal or contested matter.
What are the hours and phone number for probate in San Juan County?
The phone number for the San Juan County District Court in Monticello is (435) 587-2122, the court's published line on the Utah State Court Directory, and its published email is [email protected]. Older listings print (435) 678-1448, but the Utah Courts directory assigns that number to the court's juvenile probation office in Blanding. Specific counter hours for the district court are not published, and older listings repeat placeholder hours, so call ahead to confirm the counter is staffed and to check any filing cutoff before making a trip to Monticello.
Shaped by the families we've helped
Thank you to the thousands of families who have trusted Sunset to help settle their loved ones' estates. This page is shaped by the questions they actually asked and the obstacles they actually hit — and that hard-won experience is what keeps it accurate, current, and genuinely useful to the families who come next.