Family Law FAQs

It depends mostly on whether you and your spouse agree. An uncontested divorce typically runs about $1,500–$5,000; a contested divorce over custody, support, or property commonly runs $15,000–$30,000 or more. Utah also has fixed court costs, including a $325 filing fee. The biggest factor in your final bill is how much the case is contested.

Because a real consultation is real legal work. A paid consultation gives you undivided attention, an honest read on your case, and a concrete roadmap of your options and likely costs — useful whether or not you hire us. A firm confident enough to charge for its advice is one that stands behind it.

Utah’s Rules of Professional Conduct prohibit contingency fees in divorce and most family-law matters. The rule protects clients: a lawyer paid only by “winning” a bigger award has an incentive to fight rather than settle. Family law is billed for the time the work takes; personal injury, by contrast, is handled on contingency.

Yes. An LPP is licensed by the Utah Supreme Court to handle specific family-law matters — divorce, custody, child support, and parentage — at a lower hourly rate than an attorney. An LPP can advise you, prepare and file documents, negotiate, and represent you in mediation; only courtroom argument requires an attorney. Utah is one of the few states with this license.

You can file your own divorce in Utah using the courts’ Online Court Assistance Program (OCAP), and for a truly simple, fully agreed case with no children or real property, that may be the right call. The risk is in what you don’t know — a flawed custody schedule, a mis-divided retirement account, or an unenforceable decree — mistakes that are costly to fix later.

Utah has a mandatory 30-day waiting period from filing before a divorce can be finalized — the floor even for fully agreed cases. In practice, an uncontested divorce is often finalized within about one to three months, while a contested divorce commonly takes nine to eighteen months or more. Courts waive the 30-day wait only for extraordinary circumstances.

To file in Utah, you or your spouse must have lived in the state and in the county where you file for at least three months (90 days) before filing. Utah is stricter than many states because it requires county residency, not just state residency. If children are involved, separate rules determine which state decides custody.

No. Utah is a no-fault divorce state — you can divorce by citing “irreconcilable differences,” without proving wrongdoing, and your spouse cannot stop it by refusing to agree. Utah still recognizes fault grounds like adultery or cruelty, but most people don’t use them, because they add cost and conflict without usually changing the outcome.

Utah is an “equitable distribution” state, meaning marital property is divided fairly — not always 50/50, though an even split is a common starting point. The court divides marital property and debts acquired during the marriage, while each spouse keeps separate property owned beforehand. The hard parts are gray areas like a commingled account, a business, or a retirement account requiring a QDRO.

Utah judges decide alimony case by case using statutory factors — the recipient’s financial need, the payer’s ability to pay, each person’s earning capacity, the marital standard of living, and the length of the marriage. There is no fixed formula. Alimony generally cannot last longer than the marriage and usually ends on the recipient’s remarriage or death.

Every Utah custody decision turns on the best interests of the child. Utah separates legal custody (major decisions) from physical custody (where the child lives), starting from a rebuttable presumption that joint legal custody is best, absent abuse, neglect, or domestic violence. Courts weigh each parent’s caregiving history and willingness to support the child’s bond with the other parent.

Utah uses an “income shares” model: it combines both parents’ gross monthly incomes, applies the state support table, and splits the obligation in proportion to each parent’s income share. The number of overnights matters — true joint physical custody uses a different worksheet. Parents also share health insurance and work-related childcare costs in proportion to income.

Yes. Utah law is explicit that there is no custody preference based on gender — a mother and father have the same legal standing, and the court decides on the best interests of the child. Many fathers still feel the deck is stacked against them, but the law isn’t the obstacle; preparation and presentation are. Fathers with a real caregiving record do well under Utah’s standard.

Maybe — but you must follow Utah’s relocation rules, and moving first can cost you custody. If you have a custody order and plan to move 150 miles or more from the other parent, Utah law requires 60 days’ advance written notice. The court then decides whether the move serves the child’s best interest, and it can change custody, parent-time, and support.

Yes. Custody, parent-time, and child support orders can be modified, but you generally must show a substantial and material change in circumstances since the last order, plus that the change serves the child’s best interest. Child support can usually be reviewed about every three years, or sooner if incomes shift significantly. Custody faces a higher bar, especially early on.

If you are in immediate danger, call 911 first. In Utah these are distinct: a protective order covers abuse or threats from a spouse, ex, co-parent, or someone you’ve lived with, and is enforced by police; a civil stalking injunction protects against anyone, with no relationship requirement; and a restraining order is usually part of an existing case like a divorce. You petition the district court to obtain one.

Yes. You can work with our family-law team in Spanish — Jacqueline Deaton, a Licensed Paralegal Practitioner on our team, is a native Spanish speaker. Spanish-speaking clients can get advice, prepare and understand their court documents, and be guided through a Utah divorce or custody case in their own language. ¿Hablas español? Llámanos para agendar una consulta.

Most Utah divorces never go to trial, and Utah actually requires most divorcing couples to attempt mediation before a contested case goes to trial. Mediation is a confidential process where a neutral mediator helps you reach an agreement instead of leaving it to a judge. It is usually faster, cheaper, less adversarial, and gives you control over the outcome.

Every family-law client is assigned both an attorney and an experienced family-law professional, so you get strategic advocacy plus steady day-to-day case management. Our team includes Licensed Paralegal Practitioners who can handle much of a case at a lower rate, and a native Spanish speaker. We lead with mediation and transparent billing, and prepare every case as if it will go to trial.

Yes. We represent family-law clients from our offices in Spanish Fork (174 South Main Street) and Lehi (2183 West Main Street, Suite A203), serving Utah County and the Saratoga Springs corridor — including Springville, Mapleton, Payson, Eagle Mountain, American Fork, and Provo. You can meet with us in person at either office or by secure video.