Ronald Ceniceros: Utah Uncontested Divorce Process

Even though an uncontested divorce in Utah is quicker than a contested divorce, it is still a long and sometimes complicated process with a lot of paperwork. Luckily, all of the necessary forms with step by step instructions are available online from the Utah State courts. If you and your spouse agree on everything, it’s still a good idea to have a divorce lawyer review the paperwork to make sure it is done correctly. If not, mistakes can happen, and it can be more expensive to fix it later.

Complete the necessary divorce paperwork

You will need to complete the all the right papers to obtain an uncontested divorce in Utah. The first step in obtaining your uncontested divorce in Utah is to prepare the Summons With Notice or Summons and Verified Complaint and make two copies. Then, bring it to the County Clerk’s Office where you have to purchase an “index number,” which is just a file number assigned to your divorce, and place it on the Summons With Notice or Summons and Verified Complaint before filing it with the Clerk.

Serve your spouse

Next, your spouse has to sign the Affidavit of Defendant. You can give this form to your spouse with the Summons With Notice or Summons and Verified Complaint and the Notice of Automatic Orders. You should also provide your spouse with a copy of the instructions on how to fill out the Affidavit of Defendant. Your spouse has to send the completed form back to you before your case can get placed on the court calendar. Once your spouse completes and returns the form to you, you can place your case on the court’s calendar immediately.

If your spouse doesn’t return the Affidavit of Defendant back to you, you will have to serve your spouse, meaning someone other than you must hand your spouse the papers. If you and your spouse have children under age 21 together, you also have to serve a copy of the Child Support Standards Chart. Whoever serves your spouse has to fill out an Affidavit of Service. If you had to serve your spouse, then you have to wait 40 days from the date your spouse was served to place your case on the court’s calendar.

Obtain a court date

“Placing your case on the court’s calendar” just means that you get a court date. However, in order to get this date, you have to complete the following steps.

You must complete the Certificate of Dissolution of Marriage (sometimes called the vital statistics form) and the Divorce and Child Support Summary Form, if applicable. Then, you take all of these completed forms, along with a copy of the Summons With Notice or the Summons and Verified Complaint, and file everything at the County Clerk’s Office and pay your filing fee.

All of the papers will be submitted to the judge. The judge will review them and, if approved, the judge will sign the Judgment of Divorce. After the judge signs the Judgment of Divorce, you have to file and enter it in the District Court Clerk’s Office. This process differs depending on the county in which you file, so ask the District Court Clerk in your county for specific instructions. You also have to serve a copy of the signed and entered Judgment of Divorce on your now ex-spouse along with a completed Notice of Entry (this is also called a Request to Submit for Decision).

Two Types of Divorce in Utah

There are generally two types of divorce available in most states: contested and uncontested. A “contested divorce” means that the spouses don’t agree on some or all aspects of the divorce so that a judge must hold a trial, hear witness testimony, and make decisions about who “wins” and who “loses.” In contrast, in an uncontested divorce, the spouses agree on all of the issues required to end their marriage, so there’s no need for the judge to hold a trial.

This article discusses uncontested divorce in Utah. If you have further questions regarding whether or how to obtain an uncontested divorce in Utah, you should consult with a Utah divorce lawyer.

Overview of an Uncontested Divorce in Utah

In Utah, an uncontested divorce is a divorce where you and your spouse agree to divorce and have settled all of the necessary issues to obtain a divorce, like division of property and child custody. In Utah, you and your spouse also have to agree on the “grounds,” or reason, for your divorce.

Before the law changed, Utah only had “fault-based” grounds for divorce, like adultery or cruelty. In 2010, the law was changed to allow for the “no-fault” ground of irretrievable breakdown of the marriage for at least six months before filing for divorce. “Irretrievable breakdown of the marriage” means that you and your spouse no longer want to be married and it’s not likely that you and your spouse will get back together.

Irretrievable breakdown is the most common ground agreed upon to obtain an uncontested divorce in Utah. In Utah, a divorce is also considered uncontested when you file for divorce and your spouse fails to appear in the divorce proceeding.

Benefits of an Uncontested Divorce

The benefits to uncontested divorce in Utah are many. Because you and your spouse have already agreed on everything, there is no need for a trial. Since there’s no trial, there’s no need to “air your dirty laundry” in public, the process is much quicker and doesn’t cost nearly as much as a contested divorce.

You also don’t necessarily need a lawyer to get an uncontested divorce in Utah. However, lawyers can assist spouses in coming to agreement on the issues, making sure paperwork is completed correctly, and filing the paperwork in a timely manner.

Requirements for an Uncontested Divorce in Utah

In Utah, you can file for an uncontested divorce when you and your spouse agree about the following:

to divorce
the grounds of divorce
how to divide marital property and debt
who gets custody of the children and parenting time for the other parent
how much child support will be paid, and
whether spousal support will be paid and by whom.

To able to file for divorce in Utah, you also have to satisfy the “residency requirements” of the law. This means that either:

you or your spouse has been living in Utah for at least two continuous years immediately before filing for divorce, or
you or your spouse has been living in Utah for at least one continuous year immediately before filing for divorce and
- you got married in Utah, or
- you lived in Utah as a married couple, or
- the grounds for your divorce happened in Utah.

Free Consultation with Divorce Lawyer in Utah

If you have a question about divorce law or if you need to start or defend against a divorce case in Utah call Ascent Law at (801) 676-5506. We will help you.