Divorce In Utah
The following information is a resource on Utah divorce law. You can also find divorce professionals, divorce papers, child support information, and other support services. In addition to the resources listed below, you can find more help and information in our divorce article section.
ProfessionalsDivorce LawyersDivorce Mediation Divorce & Parenting Services Private Investigators Background Checks Divorce SupportSupport GroupsDomestic ViolenceShelters and Hotlines |
Divorce PapersOnline DivorceDivorce and Separation Forms Divorce Form Preparation QDRO Preparation Family Law ResourcesDivorce LawsChild Support Guidelines Utah Child Support Calculator from the Human Services Dept. Child Support Calculator from the UT State Courts Child Support Enforcement |
* This site receives compensation from affiliate links and third party advertising. Listings in the Resource and Professional Directory does not imply an endorsement by this website. WomansDivorce.com makes no warranty and assumes no legal liability for any service or provider listed below. If you provide a divorce related service and are interested in being listed in this directory, click here.
DIVORCE LAWYERS AND FIRMS
Need a Divorce Lawyer?
LegalMatch allows you to present your case, and respond only to attorneys who want to help you. It's Free &
Confidential. You can post you legal issues with Legal Match and receive a reply
from qualified attorneys who can handle your case. Legal Match
is a good directory that empowers consumers to locate and
thoroughly review the experience, availability and price of
pre-screened attorneys before deciding whom to contact.
DIVORCE MEDIATION
Divorce Mediation Utah
Sandy, Utah
The Divorce Mediation Institute of Utah does divorces faster, cheaper and with the best divorce agreements with out the hassle and pain of going to court.
DIVORCE FORM PREPARATION
Have All of Your Documents Completed For You! This easy to use, accurate, and up-to-date on-line divorce service is a perfect "do it yourself (without a lawyer)" solution for any uncontested divorce (with or without children) that will be filed in the state of Utah. You can get "Real Person" customer support by phone & e-mail, plus access to 40 downloadable books (valued at over $750). Start your Utah divorce today.
QDRO PREPARATION
QdroDesk - is an industry proven online service providing divorcing spouses with an instant, easy, accurate, and affordable method for obtaining Qualified Domestic Relations Orders (QDROs), the appropriate settlement agreement language, and processing instructions to divide a retirement account upon divorce. The service is a result that only 45 years of combined QDRO experience can provide. When combining this expertise with a smart question and answer technology, QdroDesk has easily become the ideal solution for QDRO preparation.
DIVORCE AND PARENTING SERVICES
Center for Divorce Education
1005 East State Street, Suite G
Athens, OH 45701
Phone: 740-594-2526
Email:
Online parenting education to keep children out of the middle of divorce.
Christian Divorce Services
1217 Hilltop Ave
Fayetteville, NC 28305
Phone: 614-774-3766
Email:
We have locations in every state. When reconciliation has failed, we provide Christian legal alternatives consistent with 1Cor 6: 1-8. Please Contact Michael Wayland at our central office for a referral to a local office.
PRIVATE INVESTIGATORS
There are currently no private investigators for this state
BACKGROUND CHECKS
Instant Background Report - Find out date of birth and marital status, address history and aliases, criminal and court records, sex offender searches, property records, general public records, business registration and property resources. Find out the truth about anyone!
DIVORCE SUPPORT GROUPS
Divorce Care can help you locate a divorce support group in your area. There are thousands of DivorceCare support groups throughout the USA and Canada, and many groups meeting internationally as well.
Partners in Prevention provides consulting and psychological services to
domestic abuse survivors before, during and post divorce. Additionally, we serve
as consulting experts in both civil and criminal domestic violence cases. We
also offer continuing medical and nursing education in domestic abuse assessment
and clinical management to healthcare professionals. You can contact us at:
13918 E. Mississippi Ave
Aurora, CO 80012
Phone: 720-222-1058
Economic Empowerment For Women - BreakFreee.org is a non-profit organization offering free, unbiased, access to financial information and education to low to middle income women. Key features of the website include: Financial issues for divorcees, financial calculators, and a database of Frequently Asked Questions where you can submit questions and receive unbiased answers from financial planners.
60 West Olsen Road #3500
Thousand Oaks, CA 91360
Phone: 888-372-4155
Email:
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE RESOURCES
Domestic Violence Crisis and Support ServicesShelters and Hotlines (PDF)
Utah Domestic Violence Council
UTAH DIVORCE LAWS
General Information from the Utah State CourtsDivorce Statutes
RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS AND WHERE TO FILE: In order to file for a divorce in Utah, either the petitioner or respondent must be an actual and bona fide resident of this state and of the county where the action is brought, or if members of the armed forces of the United States who are not legal residents of this state, where the petitioner has been stationed in this state under military orders, for three months next prior to the commencement of the action. [Based on Utah Code 30-3-1]
LEGAL GROUNDS FOR DIVORCE: The following are grounds for divorce:
- impotency of the respondent at the time of marriage;
- adultery committed by the respondent subsequent to marriage;
- willful desertion of the petitioner by the respondent for more than one year;
- willful neglect of the respondent to provide for the petitioner the common necessaries of life;
- habitual drunkenness of the respondent;
- conviction of the respondent for a felony;
- cruel treatment of the petitioner by the respondent to the extent of causing bodily injury or great mental distress to the petitioner;
- irreconcilable differences of the marriage;
- incurable insanity; or
- when the husband and wife have lived separately under a decree of separate maintenance of any state for three consecutive years without cohabitation. [Based on Utah Code 30-3-1]
MEDIATION OR COUNSELING REQUIREMENTS: If the petitioner and the respondent have a child or children, a decree of divorce may not be granted until both parties have attended the mandatory educational course, and have presented a certificate of course completion to the court. The court may waive this requirement, on its own motion or on the motion of one of the parties, if it determines course attendance and completion are not necessary, appropriate, feasible, or in the best interest of the parties. [Based on Utah Code 30-3-4]
PROPERTY DISTRIBUTION: Utah is an equitable distribution state, meaning that if the parties can't agree, the property will be distributed in an equitable fashion, not necessarily equally. When a marriage of long duration dissolves on the threshold of a major change in the income of one of the spouses due to the collective efforts of both, that change shall be considered in dividing the marital property and in determining the amount of alimony. If one spouse's earning capacity has been greatly enhanced through the efforts of both spouses during the marriage, the court may make a compensating adjustment in dividing the marital property and awarding alimony. The court shall also include an order specifying which party is responsible for the payment of joint debts, obligations, or liabilities of the parties contracted or incurred during marriage. [Based on Utah Code 30-3-5]
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ALIMONY/MAINTENANCE/SPOUSAL SUPPORT: Either spouse may be awarded
alimony, and the court may consider the fault of the parties in
determining alimony. The court shall consider all relevant
facts and equitable principles and may, in its discretion, base
alimony on the standard of living that existed at the time of
trial. The court shall consider at least the following factors in
determining alimony:
- the financial condition and needs of the recipient spouse;
- the recipient's earning capacity or ability to produce income;
- the ability of the payor spouse to provide support;
- the length of the marriage;
- whether the recipient spouse has custody of minor children requiring support;
- whether the recipient spouse worked in a business owned or operated by the payor spouse; and
- whether the recipient spouse
directly contributed to any increase in the payor spouse's skill
by paying for education received by the payor spouse or allowing
the payor spouse to attend school during the marriage.
[Based on Utah Code 30-3-5]
SPOUSE'S NAME: Although there are no specific provisions for the restoration of a wife's maiden name upon divorce, there is a general provision which permits such a change upon petition to the court. Any natural person, desiring to change his name, may file a petition therefor in the district court of the county where he resides, setting forth: (1) The cause for which the change of name is sought. (2) The name proposed. (3) That he has been a bona fide resident of the county for the year immediately prior to the filing of the petition. [Based on Utah Code 42-1-1]
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CHILD CUSTODY: The court shall, in every case, consider joint
custody but may award any form of custody which is determined to be in the best
interest of the child. In determining any form of custody, the court shall
consider the best interests of the child and, among other factors the court
finds relevant, the following:
- the past conduct and demonstrated moral standards of each of the parties;
- which parent is most likely to act in the best interest of the child, including allowing the child frequent and continuing contact with the noncustodial parent;
- the extent of bonding between the parent and child, meaning the depth, quality, and nature of the relationship between a parent and child; and
The court may order joint legal custody or joint physical custody or both if one or both parents have filed a parenting plan in accordance with Section 30-3-10.8 and it determines that joint legal custody or joint physical custody or both is in the best interest of the child. In determining whether the best interest of a child will be served by ordering joint legal or physical custody, the court shall consider the following factors:
- whether the physical, psychological, and emotional needs and development of the child will benefit from joint legal or physical custody;
- the ability of the parents to give first priority to the welfare of the child and reach shared decisions in the child's best interest;
- whether each parent is capable of encouraging and accepting a positive relationship between the child and the other parent, including the sharing of love, affection, and contact between the child and the other parent;
- whether both parents participated in raising the child before the divorce;
- the geographical proximity of the homes of the parents;
- the preference of the child if the child is of sufficient age and capacity to reason so as to form an intelligent preference as to joint legal or physical custody;
- the maturity of the parents and their willingness and ability to protect the child from conflict that may arise between the parents;
- the past and present ability of the parents to cooperate with each other and make decisions jointly;
- any history of, or potential for, child abuse, spouse abuse, or kidnapping; and
- any other factors the court finds relevant. [Based on Utah Code 30-3-10]
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CHILD SUPPORT: Each parent's child support obligation shall be
established in proportion to their adjusted gross incomes, unless the low income
table is applicable. The parents are obligated to pay their
proportionate shares of the base combined child support obligation according to
the Utah Child Support Guidelines. If physical
custody of the child changes from that assumed in the original order,
modification of the order is not necessary, even if only one parent is
specifically ordered to pay in the order. Except in cases of joint physical
custody and split custody and in cases where the obligor's adjusted gross income
is $1,050 or less monthly, the base child support award shall be determined as
follows:
(a) combine the adjusted gross incomes of the parents
and determine the base combined child support obligation using the base combined
child support obligation table; and
(b) calculate each parent's proportionate share of the
base combined child support obligation
by multiplying the combined child support
obligation by each parent's percentage of combined adjusted gross
income.
The court may include, in an order determining child support, an order assigning financial responsibility for all or a portion of child care expenses incurred on behalf of the dependent children, necessitated by the employment or training of the custodial parent. If the court determines that the circumstances are appropriate and that the dependent children would be adequately cared for, it may include an order allowing the noncustodial parent to provide child care for the dependent children, necessitated by the employment or training of the custodial parent. Whenever a court enters an order for child support, it shall include in the order a provision for withholding income as a means of collecting child support. [Based on Utah Code 30-3-5, 30-3-5.1, and 78-45-7.11]
PREMARITAL AGREEMENT: Parties to a premarital agreement may contract with respect to: (a) the rights and obligations of each of the parties in any of the property of either or both of them whenever and wherever acquired or located; (b) the right to buy, sell, use, transfer, exchange, abandon, lease, consume, expend, assign, create a security interest in, mortgage, encumber, dispose of, or otherwise manage and control property; (c) the disposition of property upon separation, marital dissolution, death, or the occurrence or nonoccurrence of any other event; (d) the modification or elimination of spousal support; (e) the ownership rights in and disposition of the death benefit from a life insurance policy; (f) the choice of law governing the construction of the agreement, except that a court of competent jurisdiction may apply the law of the legal domicile of either party, if it is fair and equitable; and (g) any other matter, including their personal rights and obligations, not in violation of public policy or a statute imposing a criminal penalty.
The right of a child to support, health and medical provider expenses, medical insurance, and child care coverage may not be affected by a premarital agreement. [Based on Utah Code 30-8-4] » Return to top