The honest answer is that a Utah divorce costs somewhere between a few hundred dollars and more than the price of a car, and where yours lands depends far more on the two of you than on the courthouse. The court’s own charges are small and fixed. Everything else is a function of how much there is to divide, how much you disagree about it, and how long you are willing to keep disagreeing. Here is where the money actually goes.
The fixed costs: what the court charges
Every Utah divorce starts with a filing fee paid to the district court, currently $325. If you cannot afford it, you can ask the court to waive it by filing a fee waiver application with proof of income; the court grants waivers for people at or below 150 percent of the federal poverty level and in some hardship cases above it.
If you have minor children, Utah requires both parents to complete two short courses before the divorce can be finalized: a divorce orientation course and a divorce education course. Together they cost about $65 per parent. The orientation course is also open to people who are only considering divorce and have not filed.
Utah also has a mandatory waiting period. The court cannot sign your decree until at least 30 days after the petition is filed, even if you agree on everything. A judge can waive the waiting period for extraordinary circumstances, but do not plan on it.
Those are the required costs. A couple who agree on every term, fill out the court’s online forms themselves, and file can be divorced for the filing fee plus the classes.
The variable costs: where divorces get expensive
Attorney fees. Family law attorneys in Utah bill either hourly or, for simple uncontested cases, at a flat rate. Hourly billing means the cost of your divorce is a direct function of how many hours it consumes, and nothing consumes hours like two people who will not settle. A contested custody case that goes to trial with expert witnesses can cost each side several times what an agreed divorce costs. We will quote you a retainer and an hourly rate at your consultation, and we will tell you plainly what kind of case yours looks like.
Mediation. Utah requires the parties in a contested divorce to attempt mediation before the case can go to trial. Mediators charge by the hour or by the session, and the cost is normally split between the spouses. Mediation is the single best money you will spend in a divorce, because most cases settle there and a settlement ends the meter.
Experts and evaluations. If custody is disputed, the court may order a custody evaluation, which is done by a licensed evaluator at the parties’ expense and is one of the largest single line items in any Utah divorce. Business valuations, real estate appraisals, forensic accountants, and vocational experts (used in alimony fights over what a spouse could earn) each add cost. None of them are required in an agreed case.
Court proceedings. Every motion, every temporary orders hearing, every discovery dispute costs attorney time. Utah’s new three-track case management system under Rule 100A is designed to move simple cases faster and reserve the heavy process for cases that need it, which helps, but the parties still control how much process a case needs.
The three things that actually determine your cost
After hundreds of Utah divorces, we can tell you the price is set by three things.
How complex your finances are. A house, two retirement accounts, and a car is simple. A business, stock options, a family trust, or property in another state is not.
Whether custody is contested. Agreed parenting plans cost very little. Contested custody is the most expensive thing in family law, in money and in everything else.
How much you and your spouse are willing to fight. This is the one you control. We have watched people spend thousands of dollars in attorney fees over furniture worth a fraction of that, not because they wanted the furniture but because they did not want the other person to have it. The only winners in that fight are the lawyers, and we would rather you kept the money.
Who pays the attorney fees?
Each spouse generally pays their own. Utah courts can order one spouse to pay some or all of the other’s fees, most often when one spouse controls the income and the other cannot afford representation, or when one spouse has run up costs unnecessarily. Fee awards are the exception, not the rule, so plan on paying your own.
Ways to keep the cost down
Agree on what you can agree on before you hire anyone. Every issue you settle at the kitchen table is an issue no one bills for. Gather your financial documents early, because attorneys charge to chase paperwork. Treat mediation as the goal rather than a box to check. And pick your fights: the money you spend arguing about the lamp is money that is not going to your kids’ college fund.
What we will tell you at a consultation
Bring a list of what you own and owe, your income information, and an honest description of what you and your spouse disagree about. We will tell you which track your case is likely to follow, what it will probably cost, and where the biggest savings are. Nobody can promise a number before knowing the facts, and anyone who does is guessing.
This article is general information about Utah law, not legal advice for your situation. Court fees are current as of 2026 and are set by the Utah State Courts.
