Sometimes a husband/father is legitimately ruled against in a child custody case because he is unfit to exercise custody. Sometimes that unfitness may be his own fault (he’s abusive and/or…
No, not simply by virtue of their being custody evaluators. Sometimes custody evaluators and other mental health professionals give the impression (either deliberately or inadvertently) that they have magic, infallible…
What can a parent do if, after the divorce, the other parent who has custody of the child turns the daughter against that parent? A parent in this situation can…
How much input do you let your child have in deciding who they're going to live with or which parent they'll be spending more time with? This is a question…
How do you feel about the fact that in divorce, the mother seems to get custody of the child almost by default? Wouldn't it make more sense to have 50/50…
Simply (but accurately) put: they may intimidate, shame, and/or fool the other party into settling the custody case such that they agree to the abuser being awarded custody ; their…
Let’s indulge an analogy to answer this question. Is sugar good for you, or bad for you? It depends upon the circumstances. An occasional slice of cake or pie is…
Pulham v. Kirsling - 2018 UT App 65 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS KRISTEN PULHAM, Appellee, v. WILLIAM KIRSLING, Appellant. Opinion Nos. 20150577-CA and 20160236-CA Filed April 12, 2018 Third…
Not many. In fact, in many jurisdictions this has already occurred (many states have, in the past few years, passed laws that presume joint equal custody is in the child’s…
Can you re-file for custody after a judgment has been made? Yes. In the context of a divorce or child custody action (not a termination of parental rights case), the…
2019 UT App 104 - Ross v. Ross THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS JESSECA RAE ROSS, Appellee, v. TIMOTHY RONALD ROSS,Appellant. Opinion No. 20170916-CA Filed June 13, 2019 Third District…
I'm a mother of 3. The father has custody and I have visits and overnights. The father told me not to post videos of our children on my social media,…
2018 UT App 181 – Chaparro v. Torero THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS ELDA CHAPARRO, Appellant, v. ENRIQUE TORERO, Appellee. Opinion No. 20170494-CA Filed September 20, 2018 Second District Court,…
Nebeker v. Orton - 2019 UT App 23 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS SHANE NEBEKER, Appellant, v. TRISHA ANN ORTON, Appellee. Opinion No. 20170438-CA Filed February 14, 2019 Sixth District…
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Welcome back to our feature on new laws from the 2019 Utah Legislative Session. There were a lot of changes in family law in 2019. The legislature amended section 78B-15-610…
2019 UT App 82 – Blocker v. Blocker THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS KIRSTEEN DIDI BLOCKER, Appellee, MICHAEL PHILLIP BLOCKER, Appellant. Opinion No. 20170167-CA Filed May 16, 2019 Fourth District…
2019 UT App 81 – In re A.R. THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS STATE OF UTAH, IN THE INTEREST OF A.R., R.R., AND V.R., PERSONS UNDER EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE.…
Section 30-3-10 provides some of the criteria the court must consider in analyzing and making its custody award. With the legalization of medical marijuana, the Utah legislature amended Section 30-3-10…
Welcome back to our feature on new laws from the 2019 Utah Legislative Session. In 2019 the legislature amended section 30-3-34 rather extensively. We discussed some of those changes in…
New laws from 2019 Utah Legislative Session - Section 30-3-34 - "best parent"? Welcome back to our feature on new laws from the 2019 Utah Legislative Session. In 2019 the…
Welcome back to our feature on new laws from the 2019 Utah Legislative Session. In 2019 the legislature amended section 30-3-34. That code section provides that a noncustodial parent will…
If I'm married with a child (separated for 4 years), how do I get a divorce and establish a child support order, if I don't know where my spouse is?…
As a single father I can only afford a one bedroom apartment for me and daughter, what alternatives do we have? Most courts will not penalize you for having a…
In response to the question, “If my spouse cheats, and we divorce, will I get custody of the children because of my spouse’s infidelity?,” the answer is unequivocally “no.” No…
I’ll tell you one thing, it’s not the illusory “standard” (that’s not really a standard in the first place) of the “best interest of the child” that everybody talks about.…
As a legal matter, whoever the court would deem to serve the best interest of the child. If the biological father could prove to the court that he is the…
Should I attempt to / is it possible to have my court order my NPD to undergo psychological testing before he can get access to our child? First, let’s break…
2019 UT App 42 - THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS - LeFevre v. Mackelprang AMELIA GAYATREE LEFEVRE, Appellee, v. CASEY LEE MACKELPRANG, Appellant. Opinion No. 20171006-CA Filed March 28, 2019…
2019 UT App 23 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS SHANE NEBEKER, Appellant, v. TRISHA ANN ORTON, Appellee. Opinion No. 20170438-CA Filed February 14, 2019 Sixth District Court, Richfield Department The…
Many spouses and parents going through a divorce and child custody case may believe there is value in using mental health professionals. This can be true, if you use mental…
Question: I’m going through a divorce. A day ago, I recorded my husband telling me that he “wants to hit me in the face.” Will this evidence help me obtain…
Question: If a child's parents were to lose custody of him, and the only family member left was the stepparent's family (not legally related), would the stepparent(s) get the child?…
It’s largely a matter of age and size/strength or resourcefulness. Technically a child never legally has the power to choose with which parent he/she will live (the only person with…
If it's so terrible to separate children from parents at the border, why is it so acceptable to separate children and parents in divorce? Utah Family Law, LC | divorceutah.com…
Question: Amazon boss Jeff Bezos and wife MacKenzie are divorcing. Who do you think will get the custody of their 4 kids? I don’t know enough about the family’s circumstances…
Almost, but not yet. Until recently, it wasn’t just a cultural norm, but a legal principle that presumed during a child's "tender" years (generally regarded as the age of four…
What do I do? My ex-wife tonight, in a fit of anger, told me that she and the kids will be moving out of state. There's no reason--like a job…
In Utah, almost certainly not. I cannot think of a scenario in which a parent (mother or father) has sole physical custody of the children and would have to pay…
No matter what you're told, marijuana use is STILL ILLEGAL in this state. Illegal use of street drugs, including but not limited to marijuana, can and surely will be used…
One of the biggest worries (perhaps the biggest) for a parent going through divorce is the question of child custody. A common misperception is that “child custody” means simply who…
Can Utah modify the child custody order of a different state? Under certain circumstances, yes. Below is a summary of the laws that govern whether Utah can exercise jurisdiction to…
In Utah, where I practice family law, there are no laws governing an unmarried father’s obligations to a child born out of wedlock. So regardless of whether the father has…
How do you feel that a mother can take a child from their father without any legal repercussion just because she chose to string along an engagement and never get…
How does child custody work if one parent needs or wants to move out of the current state? Is it better to let the court know up front of the…
My husband placed a protection order on me and my son’s name is on it, we are in the divorce process, is it possible that I can still get custody…
Some couples actually realize that while their marriage is a failure, that does not mean that they are bad people. They can care enough about each other to divorce amicably.…
As a man, what steps can I take to safeguard my interests before telling my wife I want a divorce? There are two types of men who ask this question:…
Do you think fathers should have the right to 50/50 split custody from birth, even if mom is breastfeeding and the separation will likely affect her ability to do so…
Parent-Time During the Holiday Season 2018 The holiday season is upon us, and many divorced and single parents need to prepare and plan for your holiday season parent-time this time…