After the decree
It's final. Here's what still has a clock on it.
A signed decree doesn't move your 401(k), change your name, or take you off the mortgage — you do. Several of these have hard deadlines, and the first 90 days are the ones that decide whether this gets cleaned up or follows you for years.
Start with the deadlines
Four of these have real clocks. Everything else can wait a week.
What's actually in your decree?
Optional. Pick what applies and we'll hide the parts that don't — nothing is saved, and nothing leaves this page.
Your first 90 days
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In deadline order. The first two are the ones that cost real money if you miss them.
- Elect COBRA or marketplace coverage60 daysCoverage under a spouse's employer plan ends at the decree. The election window is hard, and missing it means paying out of pocket until open enrollment.
- Get the QDRO to the plan administrator60–90 days$500 flatA decree alone moves no retirement money. Delay is expensive — the market moves the balance while you wait, and some plans charge for a late submission.
- Record the deed transferA decree awards the property; a recorded deed is what actually moves title at the county recorder. Skipping it surfaces years later when you try to sell.
- Update every beneficiary designationRetirement plans and life insurance pay whoever is named on the form — not whoever the decree names. If your ex is still listed, they still inherit.
- Close or separate the joint accountsJoint checking, savings, and cards stay joint until someone closes them. Either party can still draw on them or run up a balance you're both liable for.
- Restore your former nameThe decree authorizes it. Social Security first, then your driver license, passport, bank, and employer — in that order, because each one wants the last one's proof.
- Update your will and estate planA divorce doesn't rewrite your will, power of attorney, or healthcare directive. Until you do, your ex may still be the person named to make decisions for you.
- Pull all three credit reportsRemove authorized users, catch accounts you forgot were joint, and dispute anything that shouldn't be there while the paperwork is still fresh.
Retirement & the QDRO
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The single most commonly botched part of a Utah divorce.
- divviQDRO$500 flatWe draft the order, get it pre-approved by the plan, and walk it through the court. Doing this wrong triggers taxes and early-withdrawal penalties.
- QDRO Filing GuideWhat a Qualified Domestic Relations Order is, which accounts need one, and the order of operations from decree to funded rollover.
- Dividing Retirement Accounts401(k) vs. pension vs. IRA — each splits differently, and only some of them need a QDRO at all.
- Social Security after divorceIf the marriage lasted ten years you may be able to claim on your ex's record without affecting what they receive. Most people never find out.
Your home
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- divviMortgage — refinanceFree — no cost to youThe decree says the house is yours. The lender doesn't care — your ex stays on the note, and their credit stays tied to your payments, until you refinance.
- divviRealEstate — sell or buySelling out of a divorce has its own rules: both signatures, split proceeds, and a timeline the decree may already set.
- divvi Home Valuation$250 flatA current, defensible number from a Utah agent — what you need before you refinance, buy out your ex's share, or list.
- Refinance or Buyout GuideTimeline, lender requirements, and how a name actually comes off a mortgage.
- Deed Transfer GuideQuitclaim vs. warranty deed, and how to get title recorded correctly in Utah.
Money & taxes
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- Post-Divorce Budget CalculatorOne household became two. What you can actually carry on your own, worked out on paper before it's worked out the hard way.
- Divorce & Taxes GuideYour filing status changes for the whole year the divorce is final. Who claims the children and how support is treated shift at the same time.
- Protect your credit on divided debtsAssigning a debt to your ex doesn't release you from the creditor. If they miss a payment on a joint account, it lands on your report too.
- Keep support payments on the recordAlimony is enforceable only if you can prove what was paid. Pay by traceable transfer, keep the log, and know what ends the obligation early.
- 529 Plan Update GuideChanging the account owner, the beneficiary, or splitting an account between two households.
Co-parenting
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- divviApp$15/monthShared calendar, expense splitting, message log, and document vault — the things that keep a parenting plan from becoming the next argument, plus an exportable record if it does.
- Co-Parenting Expense SplitterFair splits for medical, activities, and school costs based on both incomes.
- Schedule BuilderSee the parenting plan on a calendar, with overnight counts that match what support was calculated on.
- School & activity notificationSchools and doctors keep whatever contact information they were last given. Send them the current order so both parents get called.
- Children's Passport GuideGetting or renewing a child's passport when the other parent has to consent.
When things change
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Income, custody, and parent-time can all be modified when something material changes. If the two of you don't agree on the change, mediation comes before a contested filing — the court will require it either way.
- Decree Modification AssessmentFind out whether what changed actually qualifies as a material change under Utah law — before you pay anyone.
- divviModify — you both agree$300 flatThe paperwork for an agreed change to custody, support, or alimony.
- Not agreeing? Start with a free orientationTwenty minutes, no charge. We look at what changed and tell you whether mediation can settle it — which is faster and cheaper than filing contested, and required before a judge will hear it anyway.
- Mediation for a modification$1,000 totalA neutral mediator for the disputed change, priced for a shorter session than a full divorce.
- divviModify Contested$300 flatWhen mediation hasn't resolved it and the change has to go in front of a judge.
- Statute of Limitations CheckerTime limits on modifications, appeals, and related actions.
If your ex is threatening or harassing you
A decree does not end a dangerous situation, and enforcement tools are the wrong instrument for one. If this is about fear rather than non-payment, start here.
- Domestic violence resourcesProtective orders, safety planning, and how to document what is happening. A protective order can be issued the same day you ask for one.
- Free Utah legal helplinesFive free legal resources, who qualifies for each, and what to ask when you call.
- Attorneys in the divvi networkUtah family-law attorneys who handle protective orders and post-decree harassment — the point at which this stops being paperwork.
When they don't comply
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Support stopped, parent-time is being withheld, or the decree is simply being ignored. If what is happening is threatening rather than non-compliant, use the section above instead.
- Child Support Enforcement (ORS)Utah's Office of Recovery Services will enforce a support order for free — wage garnishment, license suspension, tax intercept, and five more tools.
- Contempt of Court GuideWhat to do when your ex violates the decree — what counts, what to document, and what a court can actually order.
- Interstate Custody (UCCJEA)If your ex moves out of state — how to enforce your parenting plan across state lines.
- Free Utah legal helplinesFive free legal resources, who qualifies for each, and what to ask when you call.
Not sure where to start? Talk to someone — free, 15 minutes, no account needed.