Utah Divorce

A Utah divorce, or dissolution of marriage, can be filed by either spouse to end the marital relationship. Upon completion of a Utah divorce, the parties are restored back to single status. The court will also issue any necessary orders for child support and custody, alimony (spousal support) and the division of community and separate property assets and debts in a Utah divorce. LegalZoom can assist you in the document preparation and filing for your Utah divorce without the expense of an attorney.

Alternatives to Divorce in Utah

A legal separation is when the parties live separately, but remain legally married to one another and is not a divorce in Utah. The couple's rights and duties to each other are set forth in a Decree of Legal Separation, which covers matters such as custody and child support, spousal support, division of property and payment of debts. The legal procedures are similar to those for divorce, except that the grounds for legal separation are (1) one spouse is deserted by the other, (2) both spouses are living separate and apart without cohabitation, or (3) gross neglect of one spouse by another. The deserting spouse must be a resident of Utah or own property in the state where the deserted spouse lives. If the couple later decides to divorce after they have been legally separated, they must file a separate action for divorce.

An annulment in also different from a divorce in Utah is when the court declares that a couple was never married because the marriage was void under Utah law or the marriage resulted from fraud. For example, Utah law does not recognize marriages:

?      Involving incest

?      Where one spouse has a living, undivorced spouse

?      Where an unauthorized person performed the ceremony (Except in cases where both parties honestly believed the person was authorized)

?      Where one spouse's divorce to a previous spouse has not been finalized

?      Between persons of the same sex

Note:Courts will generally refuse to annul a voidable marriage if children have been born during the marriage. The marriage must then be ended through a divorce proceeding, as if the marriage were valid.