Quick answer: Utah has no alimony formula. Under Utah Code § 81-4-502 the court must consider at least these factors: the standard of living during the marriage; the payee’s financial condition and needs; the payee’s earning capacity, including diminished workplace experience from caring for the payor’s minor child; the payor’s ability to provide support; the tax consequences of alimony on each party (added in 2026); the length of the marriage; whether the payee has custody of a minor child needing support; whether the payee worked in the payor’s business; and whether the payee contributed to the payor’s education. The court may consider fault (adultery, causing or threatening serious harm, or substantially undermining the other party’s financial stability), may try to equalize the parties’ standards of living, and must presume it equalizes them in a marriage of 10 years or more where the payee reduced workplace experience, by agreement, to care for the payor’s minor child. Alimony may not last longer than the length of the marriage (counting any temporary alimony) unless the court finds extenuating circumstances or good cause; two marriages between the same people are added together if the petition was filed on or after January 1, 2026. Alimony ends automatically on the payee’s remarriage or death unless the decree says otherwise, and the court shall terminate it if the payor shows the payee cohabits, if the payor moves within a year of learning of it. Retirement is a substantial change in circumstances for decrees entered on or after May 12, 2020 unless the decree says otherwise.
What this calculator shows
The calculator shows a ceiling from the payee’s shortfall and the payor’s surplus and the longest term the statute allows. It does not predict an award. The factors are in how Utah determines alimony, the term and equalization in the length of the marriage and equal standards of living and modification and termination in modification and termination of alimony.
Property, child support and alimony
The court considers a major change in income on the threshold of divorce when it divides the property and sets alimony. See the Utah property division calculator and the Utah child support calculator.
Alimony across Utah
The statute applies in every district court, from Salt Lake City, West Valley City, Provo, West Jordan, Orem or Sandy.
Frequently asked questions
How is alimony calculated in Utah?
There is no formula. The court weighs at least the factors in Utah Code 81-4-502, including the standard of living, the payee's needs, earning capacity and the payor's ability to pay.
How long can alimony last in Utah?
No longer than the length of the marriage, unless the court finds extenuating circumstances or good cause.
Does remarriage end Utah alimony?
Yes. It terminates automatically on the payee's remarriage or death unless the decree says otherwise.
Does cohabitation end Utah alimony?
If the payor establishes that the payee cohabits, the court shall terminate alimony, and the payor must seek it within a year of learning of the cohabitation.
Does fault matter for Utah alimony?
The court may consider fault in deciding whether to award alimony and its terms.