Divorce Lawyer Bluffdale, Utah: Divorce Lawyer – Where are divorce records filed?

Where are divorce records filed?

In Utah, divorce records are kept and maintained in the District Courts. In Utah there are 8 total district courts. There is the 1^st District, which includes Box Elder County, Cache County and Rich County. The 2^nd District, which encompasses Davis County, Morgan County, and Weber County. The 3^rd District is the largest because it includes Salt Lake County, Summit County and Tooele County. The 4th District is likely the second largest with Juab County, Millard County, Utah County and Wasatch County. The 5^th District Court includes Beaver County, Iron County, and Washington County. Washington County has St. George, so it may be right up with the 4^th District Court. The 6^th District Courts are in Garfield County, Kane County, Piute County, Sanpete County, Sevier County and Wayne County. The 7^th District Court has Carbon County, Emery County, Grand County and San Juan County. Finally, the last district is the 8^th District Courts with Daggett County, Duchesne County and Uintah County.

With the current abilities of the internet and all of the District Courts in Utah requiring electronic filing for all attorneys, the courts are now somewhat interconnected. This means that if you wanted to get divorce records for your case and your case is in Provo, Utah and you are working in Salt Lake City, Utah; then you could go to the downtown Matheson Courthouse in Salt Lake City and the clerk at that court could pull documents or pleadings from your divorce case in Provo, Utah.

You file for divorce in the county in which you have resided in for at least three months prior to filing your divorce case. If you have minor children, you need to file in the county where your minor children have been living for the 6 months prior to filing the divorce case. Each county has an appropriate District Court where you would file your petition for divorce in Utah.

If you need help finding divorce records in Utah, give us a call for help 801-676-5506.

Where is divorce court located?

There are many different divorce court locations in the State of Utah. The appropriate court for you is where your case has been filed. For the majority of Utahns, their case will be in the Third, Fourth or Fifth district courts because the majority of people in Utah live in Salt Lake County, Utah County, or Washington County.

I suggest that you speak with a divorce lawyer about where your divorce court is located so that you go to the right place for your court hearing. If you are filing documents on your own, it is a really good idea to call the court clerk to make sure you have the correct address and are going to the right location. I can tell you that if you are going to a Justice Court in Utah, you are going to the wrong place. The justice courts in Utah do not have the jurisdiction to decide a divorce case. There are many more Justice Courts in Utah than District Courts. Justice Courts handle class B and class C misdemeanor crimes, traffic offenses, and small claims court or claims less than $10,000 with monetary damages only.

The main address for the Third District Court – Salt Lake Department is 450 South State Street, Salt Lake City, Utah. The Third District Court – West Jordan Department is at 8080 South Redwood Road, West Jordan, Utah. In Utah County, the Fourth District Court – Provo Department is at 125 North 100 West, Provo, Utah 84601.

The Administrative Office of the Courts maintains a website which has the listings for all state courts (not federal courts or immigration courts) and that website is:

https://www.utcourts.gov/directory/

From this website directly, you can search and hopefully locate the right divorce court for you.

If you need assistance to find the correct Utah court to file your divorce case, give us a call 801-676-5506.

Where is divorce court taped?

In some courts, there is what is regularly called a court reporter or a stenographer. A stenographer is a person who types down everything that is being said during a court hearing. In Utah, the District Courts and Justice Courts no longer have stenographers. Instead, they use digital audio and video recording equipment. All of the equipment is located at the courthouse where the recording takes place. Not all of the recording systems are the same, but most courts seem to use a similar system. I was at the Smithfield Justice Court for a client once a few years ago and the recording equipment there was much different than what you see at the Third District Court, Salt Lake Courthouse. What is important is that if you need to get a copy of the audio or video recording you can do so. Each courthouse has a court clerk that you can call. You usually need to fill out a written form to request the recording. The recording is provided on CD or compact disc. The cost is usually $10 but it can be more if the clerk cannot put the entire audio on the CD. If the court has to mail the CD to you, it will also cost more money. Usually the CDs are ready in a day or two and then you can stop by the courthouse and pick them up. Keep in mind that although divorce records are private and parts of the divorce case is public – meaning the fact that you are divorced can be discovered by anyone looking – unless you are a party to the divorce case or the attorney representing the party, you will not be able to get it because it is a private proceeding.

When you need help your divorce, call us at 801-676-5506.

Where are divorce records kept?

Divorce records in the State of Utah are kept on computer systems and servers. Long gone now are the days when paper court files exist in Utah. I am sure that in other states, like California for example, paper court files still exist – but that is no longer the case in Utah. All District Court records are digital files on computers. For this reason, you should be able to go to any district court and obtain the divorce record that you seek. If for whatever reason the district court that you are at does not have the information or the record; then, the worst case scenario is that you would have to go to the court were you got divorced to get it. I find that to be rare and since the divorce court has gone digital in Utah – I’ve never had a problem getting any divorce record digitally.