Utah Family Law Offices

Utah is considered a “no fault” state. This means that you do not need the consent of your spouse to obtain a divorce, nor are the reasons why you want a divorce considered in granting the divorce. In Utah, the courts can enter a divorce decree upon showing that:

• One of the parties has lived in the state and county for three months prior to the commencement of the proceedings;
• Allegations of irreconcilable differences in that the parties have been unable to resolve their marital problems, making continuation of their marriage impossible;
• And those 90 days or more have elapsed since the court acquired jurisdiction over the other party either as a result of process or by the other party entering appearances.

Unfortunately, there are no set numbers on how much your divorce will ultimately cost. You do have several options in lieu of trial that will cut costs such as mediation and settlement discussions.

Annulments are very rare and do not offer many benefits over a divorce. They must follow essentially the same timeline and will incur the same costs. Annulments occur where you or your spouse can show that your marriage is invalid. Marriages can be invalid under the following circumstances:

• A party lacked capacity to consent to the marriage either due to mental incapacity or infirmity, the influence of alcohol, drugs, or other incapacitating substances;
• A party lacked physical capacity to consummate the marriage and the other party did not at the time of the marriage know of the incapacity;
• A party was under the age as provided by law and did not have the consent of his/her parents or guardian or judicial approval as provided by law
• One party entered into the marriage in reliance upon a fraudulent act or representation of the other party which act or representation goes to the essence of the marriage;
• One or both parties entered into the marriage under duress;
• One or both parties entered into the marriage as a jest or dare;
• Or law prohibits the marriage.

There are not set rules on who will automatically get custody of the children. There are statutory factors that the court must consider in awarding any decision regarding minor children.

No. Child support payment, or lack thereof, is completely independent of a parent’s right to see his/her child.

Once custody has been determined by a court through a Decree of Divorce or Decree of Custody, you must show a substantial or material change of circumstances where as not anticipated at the time of the decree prior to making any modification. Then you must show that because of this change it would be in the best interest of the minor child that there be a change in custody. However, an immediate modification of parenting time can be requested if it is shown that the child’s present environment may endanger the child’s physical health.