A temporary order is not required for every case. Temporary orders are generally used only when there is conflict and you and the other party cannot agree on what should happen right now. If you can agree, you should file a stipulation instead.
Motion for Temporary Order
⚠️ IMPORTANT: The instructions on this page and forms are for temporary orders in domestic cases only (divorce, parentage, custody, temporary separation, or modifications of those orders).
What is a temporary order and why you need one
A temporary order is a short-term, official court order that must be followed until the main case is finished. Because divorce or custody cases can take a long time to complete—sometimes a year or more—a Motion for Temporary Order is used to make critical decisions right away.
This motion asks a judge to give short-term orders while the parties await the final decision. If a temporary order isn't obtained, nothing will change until the entire case is finally over.
A temporary order can make important decisions about:
Children: Who has the kids, the schedule for visiting them (parent-time), and who pays child support.
Property & Money: Who can live in the marital home, who gets the family car, who pays for uninsured medical expenses, temporary payments (alimony), and who pays for attorney fees.
⚠️ IMPORTANT: A temporary order often carries significant weight. If the temporary arrangement is working well, the Judge may keep it and make it the final order.
Automatic orders (Domestic Relations Injunction)
When you file a new case, many rules start right away to protect people and property from sudden changes. You are required to follow these rules from the moment you file.
The rules are about money issues, insurance, travel, and talking with the other parent. If you do not follow them, the court can hold you responsible for breaking the rules. Read about the rules on our domestic relations injunction page.
How to ask for a Motion for Temporary Order
To file a Motion for Temporary Order, follow the steps below. A Motion for Temporary Order may only be filed at the same time or after a petition for divorce (or petition to modify) has been filed. This page has information to help you if you filing a Motion for Temporary Order or responding to a Motion for Temporary Order. Which one applies to you?
Your temporary order is based on whether your case is new or if you're trying to change a final order that already exists.
If your case is new (just starting a divorce, parentage or custody case), the court will make a temporary order based on the immediate needs of your family while the case moves forward.
If you filed a petition to modify and are asking for a temporary order during the modification case, continue to Step 3.
Either party can ask for a temporary order if something needs to be changed right away during the court case to change the original order (modification case).
The standard for getting a temporary change to a child support order is easier to meet than the standard for temporarily changing custody or parent-time.
Child Support: The court can make a temporary change to child support. This is based on the current financial facts you give the court on your forms.
Custody or Parent-Time: This is hard to change. The existing order stays in place unless you can prove one of these exceptions:
- Immediate harm: This means the child is an urgent and dangerous situation right now, and the court must step in quickly to fix it. Examples include:
- New evidence of abuse or severe neglect
- A parent's sudden drug or alcohol problem that makes the child unsafe
- A parent threatening to run away with the child
- Relocation: One parent is planning to move 150 miles or more away and needs a temporary order to set a new parent-time schedule for the child while the case is pending.
- Make changes official: Both parents have already been following a different schedule, and you want the court to make that change official.
A temporary order to change custody or parent-time is not for simple disagreements.
In addition to your Motion for Temporary Order, you might need to file extra forms or show proof that you have completed required classes. Use the chart below to see what classes you are required to complete if you are asking for money or time with the children.
You are required to complete both the Divorce Orientation Course and the Mandatory Parenting Course to finalize any divorce case involving children. The court cannot hear or decide a Motion for Temporary Order in a divorce case until you have filed your certificates for the required classes. Utah Code 81-4-02
|
If you are asking for... |
You need to... |
|---|---|
custody or parent-time in a divorce case |
take the required classes for parents and file your certificates of completition |
joint legal or joint physical custody |
file a Parenting Plan with your motion |
any money to be paid to you, like alimony or child support |
file a Financial Declaration with your motion and a child support worksheet if you are asking for child support |
After you have prepared your Motion for Temporary Order and collected all the required paperwork (including your certifications of completion for the classes, if required), you are ready to file and serve.
The specific forms and process you are required to follow depend on whether a commissioner or judge is assigned to your case. For detailed instructions on how to file and serve your motion, and to find the correct forms and timelines based on whether your case is heard by a Commissioner or a Judge, proceed to the "Will your motion be decided by a judge or commissioner" section below.👇
Responding to a Motion for Temporary Order
If the other person files a Motion for Temporary Order, you have two options for your response. Follow the steps below.
If you agree: Work with the other party to to complete and file a stipulation (which is an agreement).
Complete and file a statement opposing the motion and its supporting documents. If you want to ask the court for something different, you must also file your own motion (called a counter motion), which you can learn how to file on our motions page.
If your response involves money or children, you must also file any mandatory forms listed in the table above. If you want to file your own motion (called a counter motion), you must also file the certificates of completion for the required classes listed in the table above.
After you have prepared your response and collected all the required paperwork (including your certifications of completion for the classes, if required), you are ready to file and serve.
The specific forms and process you are required to follow depend on whether a commissioner or judge is assigned to your case. For detailed instructions on how to file and serve your motion, and to find the correct forms and timelines based on whether your case is heard by a Commissioner or a Judge, proceed to the "Will your motion be decided by a judge or commissioner" section below.👇
Forms
- 1101.8FA
- 1111FA
- 1103FA
- 1102.8FA
- Financial Declaration
Required if you are asking for money, such as temporary child support or temporary spousal support. - 1111FA
- 1924FA
Other required forms depending on what you are asking for
- Parenting Plan
Required if you are asking for joint legal and/or physical custody. - Standard Parent-Time Schedule Children 5 - 18 (Utah Code Section 81-9-302)
- Standard Parent-Time Schedule Children under 5 (Utah Code Section 81-9-304)
- Parent-Time Schedule Children 5-18 (optional schedule) (Utah Code Section 81-9-303)
- Parent-Time Schedule Children 5-18 (equal parent-time schedule) (Utah Code Section 81-9-305)
- Child Support Obligation Worksheet
Required if you are asking for child support.
Optional forms
- 1105FA
Used if the other party agrees with the motion. - 1106FA
If the other party has disagreed with the motion and presented a new matter in their response, and the moving party wishes to respond.
Required forms for the opposing party
- 1104FA
Optional forms for the opposing party
- 1105FA
- Financial Declaration
Required if you are asking for money, such as temporary child support or temporary spousal support. - Parenting Plan
Required if you are asking for joint legal and/or physical custody.- Standard Parent-Time Schedule Children 5 - 18 (Utah Code Section 81-9-302)
- Standard Parent-Time Schedule Children under 5 (Utah Code Section 81-9-304)
- Parent-Time Schedule Children 5-18 (optional schedule) (Utah Code Section 81-9-303)
- Parent-Time Schedule Children 5-18 (equal parent-time schedule) (Utah Code Section 81-9-305)
- Child Support Obligation Worksheet
Required if you are asking for child support. - 1106FA
If the other party has disagreed with the motion and presented a new matter in their response, and the moving party wishes to respond.
- 1926FA
- 1110FA
- 1103FA
Optional forms
- 1105FA
Used if the other party agrees with the motion. - 1106FA
If the other party has disagreed with the motion and presented a new matter in their response, and the moving party wishes to respond. - 1111FA
If a hearing is requested.
- 1925FA
- Financial Declaration
Required if you are asking for money, such as temporary child support or temporary spousal support. - 1110FA
- 1924FA
Other required forms depending on what you are asking for
- Parenting Plan
Required if you are asking for joint legal and/or physical custody. - Standard Parent-Time Schedule Children 5 - 18 (Utah Code Section 81-9-302)
- Standard Parent-Time Schedule Children under 5 (Utah Code Section 81-9-304)
- Parent-Time Schedule Children 5-18 (optional schedule) (Utah Code Section 81-9-303)
- Parent-Time Schedule Children 5-18 (equal parent-time schedule) (Utah Code Section 81-9-305)
- Child Support Obligation Worksheet
Required if you are asking for child support. - 1105FA
Used if the other party agrees with the motion. - 1106FA
If the other party has disagreed with the motion and presented a new matter in their response, and the moving party wishes to respond. - 1111FA
If a hearing is requested.
Required forms for the opposing party
- 1104FA
Optional forms for the opposing party
- 1105FA
- Financial Declaration
Required if you are asking for money, such as temporary child support or temporary spousal support. - Parenting Plan
Required if you are asking for joint legal and/or physical custody.- Standard Parent-Time Schedule Children 5 - 18 (Utah Code Section 81-9-302)
- Standard Parent-Time Schedule Children under 5 (Utah Code Section 81-9-304)
- Parent-Time Schedule Children 5-18 (optional schedule) (Utah Code Section 81-9-303)
- Parent-Time Schedule Children 5-18 (equal parent-time schedule) (Utah Code Section 81-9-305)
- Child Support Obligation Worksheet
Required if you are asking for child support. - 1106FA
If the other party has disagreed with the motion and presented a new matter in their response, and the moving party wishes to respond.
If you aren’t sure whether your case is assigned to a judge or commissioner, find out. Call the court or look at the caption of the complaint or petition. If a commissioner's name is listed in the caption, the motion likely will be decided by a commissioner.