Divorce
Plain-English guides to filing for divorce in Utah, from paperwork to serving your spouse.
Utah Divorce Orientation and Parenting Classes: Who Must Take Them, Cost, and Fee Waiver
Utah requires both parties with minor children to take a one-hour divorce orientation course (capped at $30) and a parenting course, and you can attend free with an affidavit of indigency.
Utah Child Custody Laws: A Plain-English Overview
Utah custody law in one place: legal vs. physical custody, the joint legal custody presumption, best-interest factors, parent-time, moving, and changing an order.
Divorce Mediation in Utah: Is It Required, How It Works, and What It Costs
In a contested Utah divorce, once an answer is filed the remaining issues are referred to mediation, and you must attend at least one session unless excused for good cause.
Emergency and Temporary Custody Orders in Utah: What Your Options Are
A temporary order lasts until your custody case ends; an emergency TRO lasts 14 days and needs an open case. Here's which tool fits, what you must prove, and the alternatives.
How to Get Sole Custody in Utah: What 'Full Custody' Really Requires
Utah courts presume joint legal custody, so sole custody means rebutting that presumption with evidence about the child's best interest. Here's what 'full custody' means and what courts weigh.
How to File for Custody in Utah: Married and Unmarried Parents
In Utah you ask for custody in a divorce if you're married, or in a parentage (custody) case if you're not. Here's the court, forms, service deadline, and what happens next.
Is Utah a Community Property State? How Utah Divides Property in Divorce
No. Utah is not a community property state: courts divide marital property equitably, which means fairly but not automatically 50-50, regardless of whose name is on the title.
Utah Divorce Cost: Full Fee Breakdown
An uncontested Utah divorce can run roughly $1,100 to $3,800 total. A contested one with custody or property disputes commonly runs $15,000 to $30,000 — the gap comes almost entirely from attorney hours, not court fees.
How Utah Courts Decide Custody: The Best-Interest Factors
Utah courts have wide custody discretion, guided by Utah Code § 81-9-204 factors, with no gender preference. Joint legal custody is presumed (rebuttably); joint physical custody is not.
Physical vs. Legal Custody in Utah: What's the Difference
Legal custody is who decides on education, healthcare, and religion. Physical custody is where the child lives. Joint physical custody means more than 30% of overnights, about 111 nights a year.
Contested Divorce in Utah: What to Expect
A contested Utah divorce generally takes 9 to 18 months — discovery, then mandatory mediation before trial is even an option, and only then, if mediation fails, an actual trial.
Divorce and Retirement Accounts in Utah: QDRO Basics
Utah courts use a specific formula — from a 1982 case called Woodward v. Woodward — to figure out what portion of a pension or 401(k) earned partly before marriage actually counts as marital property.
Property Division in a Utah Divorce
Utah divides marital property 'equitably,' not automatically equally — and courts presume anything acquired during the marriage is marital property, regardless of whose name is on the title.
Does Utah Recognize Common Law Marriage? The 2027 Deadline to Petition
Utah recognizes a common law marriage only if a court validates it, the petition must be filed during the relationship or within a year after it ends, and the statute allows petitions only before May 5, 2027.
Stepparent Adoption in Utah
A Utah stepparent adoption generally requires living with the child for at least six months and either the other biological parent's consent or a court termination of their parental rights.
Adult Guardianship and Conservatorship in Utah
A guardian makes personal and medical decisions for an incapacitated adult; a conservator manages their money and property — and Utah judges are required to consider less restrictive alternatives before granting either.
Legal Name Change in Utah: Step-by-Step Process
Changing your name in Utah (outside of marriage or divorce) means filing a petition in the district court of the county where you've lived for a year, attending a hearing, and then updating your records with the court order.
Grandparent Visitation Rights in Utah
Utah law starts from a strong presumption that a parent's decision about grandparent visitation is correct — grandparents have to overcome it with clear and convincing evidence of substantial harm to the child.
Legal Separation vs. Divorce in Utah
Utah calls legal separation 'separate maintenance' — it has no waiting period like divorce's 30 days, but unlike no-fault divorce, you have to state actual grounds for it.
Prenuptial Agreements in Utah
Utah prenups just need to be written and signed — no notary, no witnesses, no court filing required — but full financial disclosure and one thing prenups can never control: child support.
Alimony in Utah: How It's Calculated, How Long It Lasts, and When It Ends
Utah has no alimony formula or calculator. Judges weigh statutory factors, alimony can't last longer than the marriage absent good cause, and it ends on the payee's remarriage or cohabitation.
Guardianship of a Minor in Utah: Process, Forms, and Parent Rights
How to get legal guardianship of a minor in Utah: who can petition, the forms and hearing, and why it doesn't terminate the parents' rights.
Relocating With Children After a Utah Custody Order
Utah requires 60 days' notice before relocating 150 miles or more with a child under an existing custody order — and the other parent can request a hearing before you go.
Utah Default Divorce: What Happens When Your Spouse Never Responds
If your spouse is served with divorce papers and never responds, Utah lets the case proceed to a default — here's how that process works and what it means for the outcome.
Temporary Orders During a Utah Divorce
Utah divorce cases can take a year or more to finalize — a Motion for Temporary Order lets you get urgent decisions about custody, support, and finances resolved while the case is still pending.
Utah Financial Disclosure Requirements in Divorce
Utah sets a real deadline for financial disclosure — 14 days after the respondent's answer for the petitioner, 28 days for the respondent — and hiding assets can mean the court simply transfers them to the other spouse.
Establishing Paternity in Utah
The two main ways to legally establish paternity in Utah — a Voluntary Declaration of Paternity, or genetic testing through the Office of Recovery Services — and why the choice matters.
How to Modify Utah Child Support
The two ways to qualify for a Utah child support modification — a substantial change in circumstances, or simply enough time passing — and the specific percentage thresholds involved.
How to Modify Utah Parent-Time
How to change a Utah parent-time (visitation) schedule when circumstances have shifted — and how this differs from modifying custody itself.
How to Modify a Utah Custody Order
What it actually takes to change a Utah custody order — the material and substantial change standard, and why simply wanting a different arrangement isn't enough.
Utah Child Support: How It's Calculated
How Utah's income shares model actually calculates a child support amount, including the 111-overnight rule that changes which worksheet applies.
How to Respond to Utah Divorce Papers
You've been served with a divorce petition in Utah — here's your deadline, your options for responding, and what happens if you do nothing.
Utah Uncontested Divorce: Step-by-Step Process
When both spouses agree on the terms, Utah's divorce process is significantly simpler — here's exactly how an uncontested divorce moves from filing to final decree.
How to File for Divorce in Utah Without a Lawyer
The complete process for filing for divorce in Utah on your own — residency requirements, the 30-day waiting period, forms, cost, and how to serve your spouse.
Utah Divorce Forms: Complete List
Every core Utah divorce form explained — what it does, who uses it, and where to get the official version — plus what MyPaperwork can generate for you automatically.