No one is required to hire a lawyer to represent him/her in a child custody dispute.
If you are involved in a termination of parental rights or child abuse case (as opposed to a divorce or child custody dispute with the other parent), the juvenile court will provide you with a court-appointed attorney if you cannot afford to hire an attorney.
The district courts in Utah do not provide a parent with a court-appointed attorney in divorce or child custody disputes with the other parent.
But you are permitted to proceed on your own, representing yourself (known as proceeding “pro se” or “pro per” or “in propria persona”) in the court case. You are not required to hire an attorney or to be represented by an attorney in the court proceedings.
As to the question of, “How can I fight effectively for visitation and to protect my parental rights without a lawyer,” that is an altogether different matter. Proceeding pro se is, for the overwhelming majority of people, very difficult. The courts usually do not treat pro se litigants differently from lawyers—they are both held to the same rules and procedures. Most people cannot learn the rules and procedures, let alone learn to apply them properly and effectively.
Some will tell you about “unbundled” and “limited scope” legal services as a cost-effective alternative to hiring a lawyer on a full-time basis. Unbundled and limited scope legal services are what their names denote: limited, as opposed to full representation of a client for specific services or assistance of the attorney to reduce the costs of legal services. It sounds like a great idea, but in practice it often results in wasting money on services and assistance that don’t do enough for the client. Don’t get me wrong: even if the attorney scrupulously does everything he or she contracted to do on an “unbundled” or “limited scope” services basis, it’s what was not done that often results in failure when success could have otherwise been achieved. Still, you have nothing to lose by exploring whether you can find an “unbundled” or “limited scope” arrangement that you can afford and that meets your needs.
Utah allows non-lawyers (specially licensed paralegals or technicians) to provide “limited scope” legal services and representation. This option suffers from the same shortcomings of having “unbundled” or “limited scope” services provided by lawyers, except that non-lawyers are typically less knowledgeable than lawyers.
Still, you have nothing to lose by exploring whether you can find an “unbundled” or “limited scope” arrangement that you can afford and that meets your needs.
Utah courts provide legal forms to help non-lawyers represent themselves. They are quite good and worth reviewing. You can find them here: Forms [https://www.utcourts.gov/en/forms.html]
There are also online and AI-powered form generation sites of varying cost, quality, and value. Buyer beware.
If I were needing legal services and didn’t have money to pay a good attorney for his/her services, I’d see whether the attorney I wanted to help me would allow me to trade my goods (if you make things) or services (if you provide or can provide valuable services) for their value. Does the attorney need yard work done? Need his/her house repainted? Windows replaced? Office parking lot snowplowed? Need a party catered? You get the idea. It may not offset all of the costs of the attorney’s fees, but it might help make them affordable when you don’t have enough cash on hand.
Utah Family Law, LC | divorceutah.com | 801-466-9277
