As most divorced  or divorcing parents in Utah know, Utah follows a strict child support guideline that is calculated according to gross income and the number of overnights that each parent has the child or children in a year.  Utah Code 78B-12-301 gives the amount of child support that is paid per the number of children in the family.  It is important to realize that the figure is the COMBINED child support of both parents and that each parent will only be obligated for a percentage of that amount.  If you have both parties income information and the number of overnights each parent has the child/ren, using a child support calculator is the best way to make an accurate estimate of child support.

What many people do not realize is that Utah Code contains a very important provision for both parents paying child support and parents receiving child support. In 2008 and 2009, parents who were getting FIRST TIME orders for final child support were subject to a higher child support table than those who had received child support orders PRIOR to January 1, 2008.  However, parties who had final child support orders PRIOR to January 1, 2008 were not at risk of being subject to the higher child support guidelines.  But, the big news is that, as of January 1, 2010, final orders for child support that were put in place any time PRIOR to January 1, 2008 are subject to the higher child support guidelines if the parent getting child support files a request for modification with the court and meets the appropriate standards, which will  be described below.

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What is the difference between “spousal support,” “alimony,” and “spousal maintenance?”
Those phrases are used interchangeably in Utah but, for the most part, the legal term in Utah is “alimony.”

Who can get Alimony?
Alimony can be awarded to men and women, on a permanent basis or temporarily. Although courts are more willing to award alimony to persons who had long-term marriages, alimony may be awarded in shorter-term marriages where one spouse earns substantially more than the other or if a spouse was a stay-at-home parent and has no source of income at the time the divorce occurs.

How long can I expect to get a monthly alimony award?
Utah law restricts alimony to be no longer than the length of the marriage, unless otherwise agreed. So if parties are married for sixteen (16) years then the longest that the court is likely to award alimony would be sixteen (16) years. However, the court may have many reasons to end alimony sooner. If parties agree to a longer duration, then the Court will enforce the longer award. A longer award may be appropriate when assets, debts, or child related costs were adjusted in relation to alimony awards. If the receiving party gets remarried or cohabitates (lives with) a boyfriend or girlfriend, the alimony ceases. Death of either party also terminates alimony obligations. Retirement may be a cause for termination or a cause for modification (see below); however, the better practice would be to address the affect of retirement of either party in the Decree of Divorce so that both parties are clear as to how retirement will affect alimony.
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Couples often wonder about the debts of their spouses, particularly in this age when  spouses frequently operate independently from each other in terms of finances.  

The question of whether you will be responsible for any debt incurred by your spouse is really a two-fold question:

1.  How does the divorce court see it?

2.  How does a creditor see it? (more…)