Child Custody

Custody and parent-time in Utah

Utah separates legal custody (decision-making) from physical custody (where the child lives). Courts can order sole, joint, or split arrangements, and every order comes with a parent-time schedule.

What Utah law says

• Best interests. Every custody and parent-time decision is governed by the child's best interests, decided by a preponderance of the evidence (Utah Code § 81-9-204).
• Mandatory considerations. The court must consider evidence of domestic violence or abuse, harmful-material exposure, and danger to the child's health or safety (§ 81-9-204(3)), and may weigh a long list of parent-specific factors including coercive control, responsiveness to the child's needs, and each parent's capacity to co-parent (§ 81-9-204(4)).
• Joint legal custody presumption. Utah presumes joint legal custody is in the child's best interest, rebuttable in defined circumstances (§ 81-9-205).
• Parent-time. Schedules are set under § 81-9-206; supervised parent-time under § 81-9-207.
• Later changes. Modification and enforcement are governed by § 81-9-208, and relocation notice by § 81-9-209.

Common questions

At what age does a child choose? There is no magic age. The child's wishes are one factor, weighted with age and maturity.

Does joint legal custody mean equal time? No — legal custody is decision-making. Time is set by the parent-time schedule.