Utah is both. You can get a divorce in Utah without blaming anyone, by citing irreconcilable differences, and nearly everyone does. But Utah has also kept its fault grounds on the books, and fault can still matter in one important place: alimony. Here is how the two systems fit together and when proving your spouse’s misconduct is worth the effort.

The grounds for divorce in Utah

Utah Code 81-4-405 lists the grounds on which a court may grant a divorce. One of them is no-fault: irreconcilable differences of the marriage. The rest are fault grounds:

impotency of the respondent at the time of marriage; adultery committed after the marriage; willful desertion for more than one year; willful neglect to provide the common necessaries of life; habitual drunkenness; conviction of a felony; cruel treatment causing bodily injury or great mental distress; incurable insanity, with specific findings; and living separately for three consecutive years under a decree of separate maintenance.

A petitioner can plead any ground that applies, and can plead more than one. Pleading a fault ground requires proving it, which means evidence, witnesses, and usually a longer and more expensive case.

Why almost everyone files no-fault

Filing on irreconcilable differences requires no proof of misconduct and no agreement from the other spouse. If one spouse says the marriage cannot be saved, the court will not force them to stay married. Because fault grounds do not, by themselves, change how property is divided or how custody is decided, there is usually no advantage to pleading them, and there is a real cost in time, money, and conflict.

There are exceptions. Some clients want a fault finding in the decree for personal or religious reasons. Some cases involve conduct that will matter for alimony anyway, and pleading it as a ground is consistent with the rest of the case. And in a small number of cases, a fault ground supports a request for a faster or different outcome, for instance where desertion or a felony conviction makes the other spouse’s position on custody weaker. Talk to your attorney about whether a fault ground is worth it in your situation.

Where fault matters: alimony

Utah’s alimony statute, Utah Code 81-4-502, allows the court to consider fault when deciding whether to award alimony and on what terms. Fault for this purpose is defined narrowly in Utah Code 81-4-501. It means conduct during the marriage that substantially contributed to the breakup, specifically: engaging in sexual relations with someone other than the spouse; knowingly and intentionally causing or attempting to cause physical harm to the spouse or the children; knowingly and intentionally causing the spouse or children to reasonably fear life-threatening harm; or substantially undermining the financial stability of the spouse or the children.

If the court finds fault, it may reduce or deny alimony to the spouse at fault, or, in some cases, consider the other spouse’s fault in setting the award. The court is not required to do either. Alimony in Utah is primarily about need and ability to pay, and fault is a factor the judge weighs, not a switch that turns alimony off. Our article on how much alimony is in Utah walks through the full analysis.

Because of this, adultery and abuse are the two forms of misconduct most likely to matter financially in a Utah divorce, and they matter through alimony rather than through the grounds.

Where fault does not matter: property

Utah divides marital property equitably, and the general rule is that fault is not a factor. An unfaithful spouse does not lose their share of the house. What does matter is dissipation: if a spouse spent marital money on an affair, gambling, or anything else that benefited only them and not the marriage, the court can account for that money as if it were still in the marital estate and charge it against that spouse’s share. Dissipation is about the money, not the morality, and it has to be proven with records.

Where fault mostly does not matter: custody

Utah decides custody on the child’s best interests under Utah Code 81-9-204. A parent’s affair is not relevant unless it affected the children, for example by exposing them to an unsafe person or by a parent being absent. Domestic violence, substance abuse, and conduct that endangers the children are very relevant, but they are relevant as custody factors in their own right, not because they are also divorce grounds. Judges are unimpressed by parents who try to use the other parent’s infidelity as a custody argument.

What about legal separation?

Utah offers separate maintenance, sometimes called legal separation, for couples who want court orders on support, property, and custody without ending the marriage. Living apart under such a decree for three consecutive years is itself a ground for divorce, which occasionally matters for couples who separated years ago without finalizing.

What this means for you

If you are the spouse who was wronged, the question is not whether you can prove fault but whether proving it changes the outcome. If alimony is at stake, it may. If it is not, a no-fault filing will get you the same property division and the same custody analysis at lower cost. If you are the spouse whose conduct is at issue, understand that Utah’s alimony statute is where it will come up, and plan accordingly.

CoilLaw handles divorce throughout Utah, contested and uncontested, no-fault and fault-based. If you are not sure which approach fits your case, that is what a consultation is for.

This article is general information about Utah law, not legal advice for your situation.