Simply put, here’s the typical lawyer answer: “It depends.”
In a nutshell, in Utah, people controlling a lot of wealth or whose kids are likely to fight over the estate, AND who can tolerate a fair chunk of paperwork or can pay the law firm drafting the estate extra fees to take them through every step of funding their Trust — those people should consider having a Living Trust.
Those people who have a relatively modest net worth, aren’t deeply in debt, and whose kids are very unlikely to be grabby about estate assets — those people generally won’t need a Living Trust since the Informal Probate process in Utah is so pain-free.
But here’s the additional thing you should consider: Probate is easier on you and harder on your heirs after you pass away, while having a Trust in place is easier on yours heirs, but more work and expense for you up front.
Also, if you own property in a state that does NOT have an Informal Probate process that’s as easy as Utah’s, or none at all, you really need to have a Living Trust to avoid any probate at all. And Formal Probate, in those states that don’t have any Informal Probate process at all, is expensive, lengthy, and a lot harder on the people administering the estate.
In the end, you need to become better informed beyond these general principles, then make a fully informed decision about what’s best in your particular situation. Don’t let advisors or counsel with an agenda bully you into something that’s not right for you.