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Utah Senate repeals 90‑day waiting period for divorce after floor debate
Summary
After a lengthy floor debate about whether the 90‑day statutory waiting period protects children or merely delays couples, the Utah Senate approved Senate Bill 25 to remove the waiting period; sponsors cited inconsistent judicial waiver practice and comparisons with other states.
The Utah Senate voted to remove the statutory 90‑day waiting period for divorce, approving Senate Bill 25 after floor debate about the policy’s purpose and effects.
Senator Weiler, sponsor of the measure, told colleagues the change aims to make the judicial process uniform across the state and reduce inconsistent waivers. “Our current statute allows the judge to waive the 90‑day waiting period for extraordinary circumstances,” Weiler said, adding the term “extraordinary circumstances” is undefined in Utah law and produces uneven outcomes between judges and judicial districts.
Opponents raised concerns about children’s welfare and the symbolic role of the waiting period. “We have children. And every divorce, I don't care how peaceful, how calm, will have a serious impact on the children,” a floor senator said, urging preservation of the statutory interval to discourage rash decisions. Senator Eskimia argued the 90‑day rule is not evidence‑based and said she did not see research showing a waiting period alters divorce outcomes: “There’s no evidence that 90 days will make two individuals… change their minds.”
Weiler and other supporters pointed to practices in other states and judicial inconsistencies. “The vast majority of states have no waiving period,” Weiler said in floor remarks, noting some states have shorter statutory waits while others have longer ones and asserting there is no clear data that waiting periods reduce divorce rates.
After debate and floor summation, the Senate recorded the final tally and advanced SB25 to the House. The Senate’s floor clerk recorded the outcome as 16 yea, 10 nay, 3 absent. The sponsor said the change will standardize access for couples who have already reached agreements and want the judicial process to proceed without delay.
Next steps: the bill will be transmitted to the Utah House of Representatives for consideration.
