Child Custody

What is Custody? Custody refers to who has the right to care for and make decisions for a minor child. In Utah, custody can be part of a divorce, separation, annulment, or other cases like adoption or neglect. Custody can be decided by either a district court or juvenile court, depending on the case and whether there are allegations of abuse, domestic violence, and/or neglect.

Types of Custody: There are two main types of custody:

  1. Legal Custody: This is about who makes important decisions for the children (like education, medical care, religion).

  2. Physical Custody: This is about where the children live and how many overnights the children spend with each parent.

Here are the main custody arrangements in Utah:

  1. Sole Legal and Sole Physical Custody: One parent has both the decision-making power and the child lives with them most of the time. The other parent may have parent-time.

  2. Joint Legal and Joint Physical Custody: Both parents share decision-making and the child spends significant time with both parents (at least 111 overnights per year constitutes joint physical custody). This works best when parents get along well and live nearby.

  3. Joint Legal and Sole Physical Custody: Both parents share the decision-making power, but the child lives primarily with one parent (over 255 overnights per year with one parent), while the other parent has regular parent-time.

  4. Split Custody: This is when there are multiple children, and each parent gets sole physical custody of at least one child.

Best Interests of the Child: When making custody decisions, the court always looks at what’s best for the child. The general custody factors that the court may consider when making a determination about custody and parent time are set forth in Utah Code Section 81-9-204. Some of the factors the court takes into account are things like:

  • Evidence of domestic violence and/or abuse.

  • The parents’ ability to meet the child’s developmental needs (physical, emotional, educational, medical, and/or special needs).

  • The parents’ parenting and co-parenting skills.

  • The parents’ relationship with the child.

  • The parents’ ability to care for the child.

  • The parents’ past conduct and demonstrated moral character.

  • The parents’ inability to parent due to drug abuse, excessive drinking, or other causes.

  • The parents’ emotional stability.

  • Other factors the court deems relevant.

If the child is at least 14, the court may consider their preferences but it is just one factor.

Parent-Time (Visitation): Parent-time is the time the non-custodial parent spends with the child. If parents can't agree on a schedule, Utah has set minimum guidelines for parent-time. The court can also come up with a schedule based on what's best for the child.

Parenting Plans: If parents agree on joint legal custody or joint physical custody, they must file a parenting plan. This plan outlines how they will share custody and make decisions. The court must approve the plan to ensure it's in the child's best interests.

Relocation of a Parent: If a parent plans to move 150 miles or more, they must notify the other parent. The court may set new rules to manage custody and parent-time if one parent moves.

Military Service Members: Military parents have special rules under Utah law for custody and parent-time during deployment or when planning to join the military.

Custody Evaluation: The court or either party may ask for a custody evaluation if parents can't agree. This is done by a professional evaluator. The custody evaluation is typically an expensive process and the cost is often shared by both parents.

Enforcing Custody and Parent-Time Orders: If one parent isn't following the custody or visitation rules, the other parent can ask the court to enforce the order. This may include extra visitation time or fines for disobeying the order. For more information, see our page regarding Enforcement of an Order.

Modifying Custody or Parent-Time Orders: Either parent can ask the court to change custody or parent-time orders if there has been a significant change in circumstances. For more information, see our page regarding Modification of an Order.

Registering Foreign Orders: If you have a custody order from another state, you must register it in Utah before it can be enforced or modified.