House adopts changes to alimony law, sponsor says measure closes loopholes

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah House adopted second substitute Senate Bill 59 on Wednesday, approving several changes to state alimony law that sponsors said will close opportunities for gamesmanship and better align state practice with federal tax treatment.

Representative Cutler, the House sponsor, outlined three principal updates: (1) judges should consider the federal tax treatment of alimony in light of tax‑law changes; (2) the bill restores the prior ‘‘foreseeable event’’ treatment for retirement for people whose decrees predate a 2020 statutory change; and (3) it closes a loophole relating to cohabitation and the formation or termination of alimony awards.

Representative Tuscher moved a second substitute to address a situation in which the same two people remarry and later divorce; the substitute directs courts to consider the aggregated duration of both marriages when appropriate, with a judicial exception where aggregation would be inequitable. Sponsors described the substitute as ‘‘friendly’’ and aimed at preventing perverse incentives.

Second substitute SB59 passed the House 55–0 and will be transmitted to the Senate for further consideration.

What the bill does
• Directs courts to account for federal tax treatment when determining alimony in light of the 2017 federal tax change.
• Restores prior treatment of retirement as a foreseeable event for qualifying decrees created before the 2020 change.
• Clarifies cohabitation rules to prevent manipulation (e.g., brief terminating of cohabitation to avoid alimony consequences) and allows aggregation of sequential marriages to the same person when appropriate.

The House adopted the substitute and moved the bill forward without further amendment. Sponsors emphasized the policy intent to close loopholes and preserve fair alimony determinations for long‑term marriages.