Utah alimony has no fixed formula — judges apply a needs/ability test across 8 statutory factors with wide discretion. This calculator walks through all 8 factors 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. Judges apply 8 factors (*Jones v. Jones*, 1985) with broad discretion. This calculator models the needs/ability test and all statutory factors but results are 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.
Total years away from paid employment
Utah courts may consider fault under § 81-4-502(d)(viii). 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.
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 that was not foreseeable when the decree was entered — for example, a job loss or a significant change in income.
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.