You're previewing an early version of the Bill Tracker. We're still ironing out some bugs — thanks for your patience as we build this out.

H.B. 555

Failed

Changes to Family Law Actions

HB0555S01 (Substitute)

Sen. Todd Weiler
Sen. Todd WeilerFloor Sponsor
Rep. Tracy Miller
Rep. Tracy MillerBill Sponsor
View on le.utah.gov
H.B. 555Failed

Changes to Family Law Actions

House
Senate
Governor

What This Bill Does

This bill amends provisions related to family law actions.

Key Provisions

This bill:

  • addresses an award of fees and costs in a family law action; and
  • makes technical and conforming changes.

Plain-Language Summary

AI-generated summary. We recommend consulting the bill text for important decisions.

This bill reshapes when Utah courts must — versus may — award attorney fees and costs in family law cases involving divorce, custody, child support, alimony, and protective orders. Under the new rules, courts are required to make specific written findings about each party's ability to pay fees when considering temporary orders in custody or support disputes. When one party successfully enforces an existing family court order, the court must now award that party reasonable attorney fees — unless the losing party can show they are low-income or that the action wasn't brought in bad faith. For denied custody modification petitions, the court must order the losing party to pay the winner's fees only if the petition was both frivolous and brought to harass or burden the other party, raising the bar compared to the previous standard.