Filing for Divorce in Utah

• Your spouse was impotent at the time of your marriage.
• Your spouse committed adultery — had an affair.
• Your spouse left you and has been gone for at least a year.
• Your spouse refuses to contribute to basic necessities.
• Your spouse is habitually drunk.
• Your spouse has been convicted of a felony.
• Your spouse has treated you so cruelly that it’s caused you severe mental stress or physical injury.
• You and your spouse have irreconcilable differences, meaning there’s no reasonable hope you’ll get back together.
• You and your spouse have lived apart with a decree of separate maintenance for at least three years.
• Your spouse is incurably insane. He or she must have been found insane by appropriate authorities, and they must testify that your spouse’s insanity is incurable.

4. How does Utah determine the division of property?    
You and your spouse are encouraged to come up with a settlement on your own and present it to the court. If you can’t agree, the court will divide your property for you. Utah will divide your property in whatever way it finds most equitable, or fair, regardless of whose name is on the title. In Utah, neither of you is personally liable for the separate debts or liabilities of the other, whether they were incurred:

• Before your marriage.
• during your marriage, unless they were family expenses.
• After an order for separate maintenance or divorce, except expenses for your child’s medical and dental care.  

The court can award to either of you any real or personal property of the other spouse or any property acquired by the two of you during your marriage. It will specify which of you is responsible for the payment of joint debts or liabilities incurred by you and your spouse during your marriage.  

5. Does Utah require mediation before a divorce is granted?  
Yes. The state has established a mandatory domestic mediation program. If you and your spouse disagree on any issues, the court will order you to attend at least one session of mediation.  

6. How does the state determine child custody?  
Legal custody and physical custody are two different things. Legal custody outlines how involved each parent is in the major decisions of a child’s life — where a child goes to school, what faith he or she is raised in and other big issue. Physical custody addresses where a child will live and with whom. Visitation is then negotiated based your physical custody arrangement.  

In any case involving children, Utah requires parents to attend an education course. This mandatory course offers instruction on divorce and its effects on your child, your family relationship, your financial responsibilities toward your child and the harmful effects of domestic violence.  

There also is a mandatory divorce orientation course for all parents of children under 18. Couples with no young children are not required to attend, but they may choose to as well. This course describes the divorce process, resources for resolving issues, alternatives to divorce, and options within divorce such as mediation. If you are the one filing for divorce, you have to attend within 60 days of filing. Your spouse has to attend within 30 days of being served with your petition for divorce.