# If I Leave the Marital Home, Have I Abandoned It? | Brown Family Law

Often, one spouse will leave the marital home before the divorce actually starts.

When this happens, sometimes, the other spouse will say, “You abandoned the home, so you don’t get any of the equity.”

That’s not how things work in Utah. If you leave the marital home before the divorce starts, you still get your share of the equity in the home.

Now, if you left the home three years ago, that might be a different story. If have been gone a long time, in my experience over a year, and the spouse who stayed has been paying all of the mortgage and the utilities, then Utah courts may start taking away some of the equity in the house from you.

So, you can leave, but don’t be gone too long before you start the divorce process.

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Source: https://www.brownfamilylaw.com/faqs/if-i-leave-the-marital-home-have-i-abandoned-it/