Three services. No obligation between them.
If you have received a letter from us, it is because you appear in the public records of the Utah Division of Water Rights as the owner of a senior right. What follows is what we offer, and what each service costs in time, money, and exposure.
Free Written Assessment
The assessment is the firm’s point of first engagement and the only service we offer at no cost to the recipient. It is prepared at our expense and delivered within ten business days of request. It is a business and valuation document, not legal advice, and you are encouraged to seek independent counsel before acting on it.
What the assessment contains
The assessment states whether your right is currently active, dormant, or at risk of forfeiture under Utah Code § 73-1-4. It states what stage of the general adjudication applies to your specific subdivision and what deadlines, if any, are pending under the State Engineer’s published Service Matrix. It states the realistic market value range for a right of this priority and quantity, both in its current documented condition and if fully defended through final decree. It states the realistic cost of defending the right, which depending on basin and contestation typically ranges between $5,000 and $25,000 in legal and expert fees over a two-to-five-year process.
What the assessment does not do
The assessment does not constitute a legal opinion. It does not bind the firm to any particular acquisition offer. It does not affect the ownership, title, or status of the right in any way. It is a document you can take to an attorney, to a broker, or to a family member for a second opinion before any decision is made.
Cash Acquisition
When an owner has received the assessment and prefers liquidity over retention, the firm may offer a cash purchase of the right. The offer is calculated individually from the assessment data and is communicated in writing, with the math shown in full.
How the offer is calculated
The offer begins from the fully-defended market value of rights of comparable priority, basin, and quantity. It then subtracts the realistic cost of defending the right through final adjudication, the time value of the multi-year defense process, and the firm’s required margin for assuming that risk. The result is the risk-adjusted current value, which is what the firm offers. This figure is meaningfully below the fully-defended value of a right that already carries complete documentation and no forfeiture exposure, and our written offer states that explicitly.
How the closing works
Upon acceptance, the firm sends a quitclaim deed for signature. Upon signed return, the firm records the transfer with the appropriate county recorder and the Utah Division of Water Rights and disburses the cash payment within 48 hours of recording confirmation. Total time from acceptance to payment is typically seven to ten business days. The firm pays all transfer and recording fees.
Stewardship Transfer
When an owner has no use for a right and prefers to be free of the legal liability and administrative obligation it carries, the firm will accept the right by deed without cash payment. The firm assumes all transfer and adjudication costs, files any pending objections, and records the transferring family’s name in our private registry of preserved Utah water rights in perpetuity.
When this option makes sense
The stewardship transfer is appropriate for owners whose right has limited current beneficial use, whose defense cost approaches or exceeds the right’s likely cash value, or who simply prefer the elimination of liability over a cash payment that would be reduced by the same defense exposure. It is a legitimate option for owners who understand the value of what they are transferring, which is why every assessment discloses that value before this option is offered.
What the registry is and is not
The registry is a private business record maintained by the firm. It is not filed with any county recorder, county assessor, or state agency, because no such filing is required and none would occur. Its function is internal: it ensures that every right held by the firm is permanently associated with the family that transferred it, and that the firm’s Utah-only disposition covenant flows through every subsequent transfer.
Begin with the assessment.
The assessment is the only service that requires anything of you, and it requires almost nothing: a name, an email, and the right number if you have it. The rest is at our expense.