Utah

All states

Luck of the Draw score: 70 out of 100

Utah starts property division from a presumption of equal shares of marital property, and limits alimony to the length of the marriage unless the judge finds good cause. The judge may weigh defined kinds of fault when setting alimony and has broad discretion over attorney fees. On the book’s scale, 0 is a contract you can read and 100 is one that mostly says “ask the judge.” Utah ranks 19 of 51, counting from the state that leaves the least to the judge. How the index works, and every state’s score.

Part	Score	The rule, and where it comes from
Property	10 / 20	The court makes equitable orders on property, each party is presumed entitled to his or her separate property and fifty percent of the marital property, and separate property may be awarded to the other spouse in extraordinary situations where equity so demands. Utah Code § 81-4-406(4)(c); Goggin v. Goggin, 2013 UT 16, ¶ 47; Mortensen v. Mortensen, 760 P.2d 304 (Utah 1988)
Alimony	10 / 20	Alimony is set from listed factors, with a rebuttable presumption of equalizing standards of living in marriages of ten years or more where the payee cut back work to care for the payor’s child, and alimony may not last longer than the marriage unless the court finds extenuating circumstances or good cause. Utah Code § 81-4-502(1), (4)(b), (7)
Fault	10 / 20	The court may consider fault, defined as adultery, violence, threats, or undermining the other’s financial stability that substantially contributed to the breakup, in deciding whether to award alimony and its terms, while the statutes give fault no role in property division. Utah Code §§ 81-4-501(3), 81-4-502(2)(a); Gardner v. Gardner, 2019 UT 28
Lawyers’ fees	20 / 20	The court may order a party to pay the other’s costs and attorney fees to enable the other to prosecute or defend the action, on findings of need, ability to pay, necessity, and reasonableness. Utah Code § 81-1-203(1)
Second opinion	20 / 20	A judge may be removed only on a motion showing bias, prejudice, or conflict of interest, and no jury right on property or alimony was found. Utah R. Civ. P. 63

Getting in

No waiting period. The couple applies to any county clerk, each filing a sworn statement that nothing prevents the marriage. The statute sets no waiting period for adults, and a license not used within 32 days is invalid. A county may require premarital counseling for applicants under 19 or previously divorced, if both have lived in Utah 60 days.
Utah Code §§ 81-2-205, 81-2-206, 81-2-302, 81-2-303

Who can marry you. Anyone 18 or older authorized by a religious denomination, Native American spiritual advisors, listed officials and judges, legislators, military chaplains, and county clerks or designees may officiate, with two adult witnesses. Clerks in Davis and Utah counties designate a chosen person for one ceremony. The statute is silent on online ordination; a federal court struck down a 2001 ban, and Utah County accepts it.
Utah Code §§ 81-2-301, 81-2-302(4), 81-2-305, 17-70-302; Universal Life Church v. Utah, 189 F. Supp. 2d 1302 (D. Utah 2002)

Common-law marriage: A couple can still become married here without a license. Until May 5, 2027, a person may petition a court to validate an unsolemnized marriage between capable adults who lived together, assumed marital duties and held themselves out as spouses. The petition must come during the relationship or within a year after it ends. A 2026 law bars new petitions from that date. The out-of-state marriage statute covers only solemnized marriages.
Utah Code §§ 81-2-407, 81-2-408 (amended by 2026 Utah Laws ch. 347, S.B. 110)

Chapter 5 of the book covers getting in, and whether you are in at all.

The property system

Utah is one of forty-one equitable distribution jurisdictions. Equitable distribution. Each of you owns what’s in your own name during the marriage. At a divorce a judge divides the marital property as the judge finds equitable, which is not a promise of half. Chapter 11 of the book covers what that means, and Chapter 22 covers what happens to it when you move.

What counts as marital. No statute defines marital property; a decree may include equitable property orders. Courts generally value the estate at the decree or trial. Premarital property, gifts and inheritances, with their growth, usually stay with the owner, unless the other spouse helped enhance or protect them, they lost their identity through commingling, or equity demands otherwise.
Utah Code § 81-4-406(4); Mortensen v. Mortensen, 760 P.2d 304 (Utah 1988); Dunn v. Dunn, 802 P.2d 1314 (Utah Ct. App. 1990); Jacobsen v. Jacobsen, 2011 UT App 161, 257 P.3d 478

An inheritance that touches a joint account

It can stay separate if you can trace it. An inheritance stays separate unless it becomes inextricably and untraceably mixed with marital assets, or the owner’s actions show an intent to contribute it to the marriage. A joint account used only as a conduit did not commingle funds in Kimball (2009). Settlement money kept jointly was commingled in Terry (2025). A judge may still award it in extraordinary situations.
Mortensen v. Mortensen, 760 P.2d 304 (Utah 1988); Kimball v. Kimball, 2009 UT App 233, 217 P.3d 733; Terry v. Terry, 2025 UT App 117

Chapter 12 explains how mine becomes ours.

Your spouse’s medical bills (Article 5)

Both of you can be liable from the first dollar. A married person and his or her property are chargeable for family expenses (expenses that benefit and promote the family unit) and for a minor child’s education, and may be sued separately or jointly with the spouse; where one spouse signed a written agreement, the creditor may recover the contract amounts from both spouses jointly and severally.
Utah Code § 81-3-109 (formerly § 30-2-9)

Chapter 8 of the book explains the three ways states handle this.

If one of you dies (Article 9)

The surviving spouse may elect one-third of the augmented estate (net probate estate, non-probate transfers to others and to the spouse, and the spouse’s own property), with a $75,000 supplemental amount; the homestead, exempt-property and family allowances are charged against the share.
Utah Code §§ 75-2-202, 75-2-203

Chapter 9 covers what a will can and can’t take away from a spouse.

Prenups and postnups (Article 12)

One look, under UPAA (1983), Utah Code §§ 81-3-201 to 81-3-208 (formerly ch. 30-8). A premarital agreement is unenforceable only if the challenger proves he or she did not sign voluntarily, or that it was fraudulent when signed and the challenger received no reasonable disclosure, did not waive disclosure in writing, and had no adequate knowledge of the other’s finances. Utah’s version uses ‘fraudulent’ where the uniform act says ‘unconscionable’.
Utah Code § 81-3-205

What an agreement needs. A premarital agreement must be in writing and signed by both parties and needs no consideration; the statute does not require notarization, witnesses, a waiting period or independent counsel. If a spousal support waiver would make a spouse eligible for public assistance at separation or divorce, the court may order support to the extent needed to avoid that eligibility. The agreement cannot affect a child’s right to support, health and medical expenses, medical insurance or child care coverage.
Utah Code §§ 81-3-202, 81-3-203, 81-3-205(2)

Chapter 29 explains one look and two, and what makes agreements stick.

Children (Article 8)

Child support: income shares. Utah’s income shares model combines both parents’ adjusted gross incomes, finds the obligation on a table, and splits it by each parent’s share. Support runs to 18 or high school graduation in the expected year. A divorce court may order support to 21 only on findings of special or unusual circumstances, and the state Supreme Court has said college should not be compelled except perhaps in such a case.
Utah Code §§ 15-2-1, 81-6-101(7), 81-6-204, 81-6-205, 81-6-213; Ferguson v. Ferguson, 578 P.2d 1274 (Utah 1978); Harris v. Harris, 585 P.2d 435 (Utah 1978); Balls v. Hackley, 745 P.2d 836 (Utah Ct. App. 1987)

Moving away with a child. A parent moving 150 miles or more from the other parent must give written notice at least 60 days ahead. On a motion, the court holds a hearing and decides whether the move serves the child’s best interest. If it does not and the custodial parent moves anyway, the court may change custody. The statute sets a minimum parent-time schedule after a move.
Utah Code § 81-9-209

Chapter 17 covers the children.

Getting out (Article 2)

How long you must live here before filing: 90 days. The filer or the filer’s spouse must have lived in the county of filing for at least 90 days; the statute adds no separate state period. A service member stationed in Utah for 90 days also qualifies. A couple who consented to Utah jurisdiction when marrying with a party outside the state can file without residence. Where the grounds arose does not matter.
Utah Code §§ 81-4-402(1), 81-2-303(5)(a)(ii)

How long it takes. Irreconcilable differences is a no-fault ground, and the statute does not require the other spouse’s consent. A judge cannot enter the decree until 30 days after filing unless extraordinary circumstances exist. Parents of minor children must finish an orientation course and a parenting course, and contested issues go to at least one mediation session.
Utah Code §§ 81-4-402(3), (4), 81-4-403, 81-4-405(1)(h)

The legal minimum for a spouse who moves here alone and files as soon as allowed, with no minor children and the other spouse objecting, is about 120 days from arrival to a final decree (90 days of residence + 30-day wait). Courts often take longer.

If you moved here from another state

Utah’s law can apply even if only one of you moved. In 1982 Utah’s Supreme Court applied Utah law to property and alimony, including a Pennsylvania home, after a husband moved here from Pennsylvania and filed. The court had power over both spouses.
Dority v. Dority, 645 P.2d 56 (Utah 1982)

Chapter 22 covers what changes when you move.

Each entry on this page comes from the statute, rule or case it cites, read in September or November 2026, except where the entry says it has not been checked. A rule can change after that, and a rule on paper can play out differently in a particular courthouse. No lawyer reviews these pages.

If you practice family law in Utah and would like to correct or contribute to this page, write to me.

Meanwhile

• The default contract, with the options states choose among. Read it with a Utah lawyer, or paste it into a chatbot along with “I live in Utah” and treat what comes back as a list of questions, not answers.
• Three contracts you could sign instead.
• A worksheet for reading it together, and every state’s Luck of the Draw score.
• Corrections, including changes in the law since the book went to press.
• About the book.