Spousal support and alimony are the same thing in Utah — the statute says alimony, most people say spousal support, and nothing turns on which word you use. There is no fixed formula: judges apply a needs/ability test across the nine statutory factors with wide discretion. This calculator walks through all nine and returns a realistic low/mid/high range, not a single number.
Estimation only — Utah Code § 81-4-502. Utah alimony has no statutory formula. A judge applies the needs-and-ability test from *Jones v. Jones* (1985) across the nine factors in § 81-4-502(1) — which the statute sets as a minimum, not a limit — with broad discretion. This calculator models that test and those factors, but the result is a range, not a guarantee. Consult a mediator or attorney for your specific situation.
Before taxes, all sources of income
Actual current income — enter 0 if not working
Courts may impute earning-capacity income if recipient is voluntarily not working (§ 81-4-503). HB 220 (2024) protects stay-at-home caregivers from full imputation.
Rent, food, utilities, insurance, childcare — the marital standard, not current hardship (Rule v. Rule, 2017)
Their own reasonable needs after the divorce
Krajeski v. Krajeski (2025): Courts reversed a $12,751/mo award because expense figures weren't credibly documented. Inflated expenses destroy credibility. Base these on actual historical spending, backed by bank and credit card statements.
Tell us a little more about the spouse who may receive alimony. These questions help us understand circumstances that may affect their financial needs or ability to earn income.
You told us they are currently employed. If this does not apply, leave blank — only fill it in if they had a long gap earlier in the marriage.
Choose the option that most closely reflects the schedule they expect to have.
Select all that apply. Leave blank if neither applies.
Both are factors Utah courts weigh under § 81-4-502(1)(h)–(i).
Utah courts may consider fault under § 81-4-502(2)(a) — a separate discretionary power, not one of the nine factors in Subsection (1). Post-Gardner v. Gardner (2019 UT 61): fault must "substantially contribute" to the breakup — not be the only cause. Courts have broad discretion to reduce amount, shorten duration, or deny alimony entirely. Fault cannot be used as punishment and cannot inflate an award above demonstrated need.
Utah has no alimony formula. Instead of plugging numbers into an equation, a judge works through a needs-and-ability analysis: first the receiving spouse's reasonable monthly needs, then that spouse's own ability to meet those needs, and finally the other spouse's ability to pay. Alimony fills the gap that remains — capped by what the paying spouse can actually afford. Because so much is left to the judge's discretion, two similar households can end up with very different awards, which is why this calculator gives a range rather than a single figure.
As a general rule, alimony in Utah cannot last longer than the number of years the marriage lasted, unless the court finds extenuating circumstances. Courts generally try to help the receiving spouse become self-supporting, so a short marriage often means little or no alimony, while a long marriage can support a longer award.
Alimony ends automatically when the receiving spouse remarries and terminates if that spouse cohabits with a new partner; it also ends on the death of either former spouse. Short of that, either spouse can ask the court to modify alimony when there is a substantial, material change in circumstances — such as a job loss or a major income change — that wasn't foreseeable when the decree was signed.
Yes — they are two names for the same thing. Utah's statute uses the word alimony (Utah Code § 81-4-502), while most people, and most other states, say spousal support. Court forms and judges in Utah will say alimony, so that is the word you will see on your paperwork, but if you have been searching for spousal support you are in the right place. Neither term means something different from the other, and using one rather than the other in your filing changes nothing.
No. Unlike child support, Utah has no fixed alimony formula. A judge applies a needs-and-ability analysis — the recipient's reasonable monthly needs, their ability to meet those needs, and the paying spouse's ability to pay — with wide discretion. That's why this calculator returns a low/mid/high range instead of a single number.
As a general rule, alimony cannot last longer than the number of years the marriage lasted, unless the court finds extenuating circumstances. Courts generally aim to help the receiving spouse become self-supporting, so shorter marriages usually mean shorter — or no — alimony.
It can. Fault during the marriage — including conduct that substantially contributed to the breakup — is one of the factors a Utah court may weigh when deciding alimony, though it is rarely decisive on its own.
Yes. Either spouse can ask the court to modify alimony if there is a substantial material change in circumstances not expressly stated in the decree or in the court's findings (Utah Code § 81-4-504(1)) — a job loss or a significant change in income, for example. Retirement is automatically a qualifying change for decrees entered on or after May 12, 2020. The court cannot modify alimony to address needs that did not exist when the decree was entered, absent extenuating circumstances.
Alimony ends automatically when the receiving spouse remarries, and it terminates if that spouse cohabits with a new partner. It also ends on the death of either former spouse.
For divorces finalized after 2018, federal law (the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act) means alimony is not deductible by the paying spouse and not counted as taxable income to the recipient. See our divorce and taxes guide for details — this is not tax advice.