How Long Does a Divorce Take in Utah? What Affects the Timeline

Utah law requires at least 30 days between filing the petition and entering a divorce decree, although a judge can waive that waiting period in extraordinary circumstances. How long your Utah divorce takes depends on several practical factors: whether both spouses cooperate, how many issues are in dispute, whether there are minor children, how quickly mandatory courses and mediation are completed, and how busy the court’s calendar is.

If you are trying to plan around work, kids, or a home sale and need a realistic timeline for your divorce in Utah, Read Law can review your situation and give you a grounded estimate—not guesses. Schedule time with a top-rated Salt Lake City divorce lawyer before you lock in deadlines, commitments, or settlement positions.

Utah’s Baseline Rules

Before the court can even consider how long a case will run, Utah law imposes some basic thresholds that affect timing:

1. Residency Requirement
   To file for a divorce, at least one spouse must have lived in a single Utah county for three months immediately before filing. If child custody orders are needed, the children generally must have lived in Utah for at least six months. That means moving here and filing the next week is not an option; the calendar starts with residency.
2. Mandatory Waiting Period
   Under Utah Code § 81-4-402, the court may not enter a divorce decree until 30 days after the petition is filed, unless the judge finds “extraordinary circumstances” and waives the waiting period. Utah Courts’ self-help site confirms this 30-day “cooling-off” period. In practice, you also have to account for:

• Time to draft and file the petition and initial financial disclosures
• Time for service on the other spouse
• Time for the judge or commissioner to review and sign final papers

3. Waiving the Waiting Period
   Either party can file a Motion to Waive the 30-Day Divorce Waiting Period, but must show extraordinary circumstances, such as serious health or safety issues or urgent financial concerns. These waivers are discretionary and not granted automatically, even when both spouses agree.

These baseline rules mean that the absolute quickest possible divorce could wrap up a little over a month after filing. That scenario is uncommon; most divorces in Utah take longer because real families bring real issues that need time to resolve.

Typical Timelines for Different Types of Utah Divorce

No two Utah divorces move at exactly the same pace, but certain patterns are common. It helps to think of timelines along a spectrum.

1. Simple Uncontested Divorce

An uncontested divorce in Utah is one where both spouses agree on all major issues—property, debts, custody, parent-time, child support, and alimony—and are ready to sign a detailed stipulation. Utah Courts note that once forms are complete and the 30-day period has passed, the judge can sign a decree without a hearing in many uncontested cases.

Realistic timing for a simple uncontested case:

• 2–4 weeks: Drafting and signing paperwork, exchanging required financial disclosures
• 30 days: Mandatory waiting period from filing
• 2–4 weeks: Court review and entry of decree, depending on the county’s workload

So even when everyone cooperates, you should usually plan on two to three months from filing to decree, sometimes a bit more if the clerk’s office is backed up.

2. Stipulated Divorce After Some Negotiation

Many divorces in Utah start with disagreements but eventually settle before trial. A typical path:

• An answer is filed, making the case contested
• Parties exchange disclosures and perhaps limited discovery
• The case is sent to a mediation, which requires at least one good-faith mediation session when issues remain contested after an answer.
• Most cases resolve at or shortly after mediation, then move to a stipulation and proposed decree

Factoring in scheduling for mediation, attorney review, and court calendars, these “middle-ground” cases often take three to six months, sometimes a bit longer when large estates or parenting issues require detailed settlement language.

3. Fully Contested Divorce with Multiple Issues

When spouses cannot agree on custody, support, or property division, a divorce may require:

• Extensive discovery (document requests, subpoenas, depositions)
• Temporary-orders hearings about custody, child support, or possession of the home
• Multiple mediation sessions
• Pretrial conferences and, if no agreement emerges, a trial

Utah practitioners commonly report that contested divorces range from six months to a year or more, especially in cases with significant assets or disputed custody. Appeals can extend the timeline further if one party challenges the final decree.

What Factors Speed Up or Slow Down a Utah Divorce?

Beyond the legal minimums, several practical factors strongly influence how long divorce lawyers in Utah see cases take from filing to decree.

1. Agreement vs. Conflict

The single biggest driver of timing is whether the spouses can reach agreement:

• High agreement on custody, support, and property usually leads to faster resolution through stipulation or uncontested procedures.
• Persistent conflict adds hearings, discovery, and motion practice, which can stretch a divorce toward (or beyond) the one-year mark.

Even with conflict, cases can move more quickly when both sides work with divorce lawyers in Salt Lake City who can identify narrow, solvable disputes instead of turning every issue into a fight.

2. Children and Mandatory Courses

For divorcing parents, Utah requires:

• A divorce orientation course for all parties with minor children, and
• A divorce education course focused on children’s needs

These classes must be completed within specified timeframes—typically within 60 days for the petitioner and 30 days after service for the respondent—and the court may delay certain orders or finalization if courses are not completed. Cooperating promptly with these requirements tends to shorten the timeline, while delays can stall progress in divorces that involve minor children.

3. Mandatory Mediation

Utah’s mandatory mediation program exists specifically to reduce time and stress in contested divorce cases. Under Title 81, if an answer is filed and issues remain contested, the parties must participate in at least one mediation session in good faith before proceeding to trial, unless excused for good cause. Mediation can affect timing in two opposite ways:

• Speeding things up when both spouses are prepared and motivated to settle; many cases resolve within weeks after a focused mediation session.
• Slowing things down when schedules clash, financial disclosures are incomplete, or one party treats mediation as a formality with no intent to compromise.

A seasoned Salt Lake City Divorce attorney can help you prepare targeted proposals and documentation before mediation so that time spent in the session actually moves the case closer to final orders.

4. Financial and Property Issues

Cases with substantial or complicated finances require more time for:

• Valuations and appraisals
• Forensic accounting, when one spouse suspects concealment or dissipation of assets
• Negotiation of tax-conscious settlement terms

These steps can lengthen the process but are often essential to achieving a fair result. For parties with straightforward wage income, a single home, and modest debts, this stage usually moves faster.

5. Court Calendars and Motion Practice

Even a well-organized case must fit into the court’s schedule:

• Temporary-orders hearings, settlement conferences, and trials are set based on judicial availability; busy district court calendars in Salt Lake County can add weeks or months.
• Multiple motions (for temporary custody, discovery disputes, enforcement of interim orders) can prompt extra hearings that stretch the timeline.

Working with divorce attorneys in Utah who know local practices and how certain judges prefer to structure cases can help you avoid unnecessary delay.

How You Can Help Control the Timeline in a Utah Divorce

You cannot control every variable in a divorce in Utah, but you can make choices that shorten, rather than lengthen, the road to a decree.

1. Get Oriented Early

Before filing, schedule a detailed strategy meeting with a Salt Lake City divorce lawyer who has handled both trial and appellate work. Common guidance on how to properly file for divorce in Utah emphasizes starting with a clear understanding of:

• Your residency status and eligibility to file
• What issues must be resolved (children, support, property, debt)
• Whether an early negotiated approach or a more structured, litigated path makes sense in your circumstances

Early orientation helps avoid false starts, incomplete filings, and poorly conceived temporary-order requests that add months to the process.

2. Prepare Complete Disclosures

Utah’s financial declaration and disclosure rules require each spouse to provide a full and candid picture of assets, debts, income, and expenses. Inadequate or delayed disclosures lead to:

• Repeated requests for more information
• Motions to compel, sanctions hearings, and, in some cases, adverse inferences or fee awards

By contrast, organized disclosures can build trust in divorce mediation and shorten the time needed to value property and structure agreements.

3. Choose the Right Process

Depending on your case, options include:

• Uncontested path. Best when spouses share goals, trust each other’s disclosures, and can work through details in good faith.
• Mediated settlement. Very common in Utah divorces, especially when there are disagreements but both sides want to avoid the time and emotional cost of trial. Many cases settle at or soon after the first required mediation session.
• Full litigation. Sometimes necessary when safety, child-protection issues, or serious concealment of assets make early compromise unsafe or unrealistic.

4. Consider Long-Term Strategy, Not Just Speed

While everyone wants a swift Utah divorce, rushing can create long-term problems:

• Poorly drafted custody orders invite future disputes and modification cases.
• Vague property terms can require later enforcement motions or even appeals.
• Ignoring tax and support interactions can turn a seemingly quick deal into years of financial frustration.

Talk to a Utah Divorce Lawyer About Your Timing

Your divorce in Utah will not follow a one-size-fits-all schedule—residency rules, court requirements, mediation, and the number of disputed issues all affect how fast your case moves. Read Law helps clients keep divorces on a realistic track by choosing the right process (from uncontested divorce to fully contested cases), organizing disclosures, and using mediation strategically.

Contact us today to speak with a Salt Lake City divorce attorney about a practical timeline for your divorce.