National Parents Organization Celebrates Landmark Kentucky Shared Parenting Law NATIONAL PARENTS ORGANIZATION | PRESS RELEASE April 26, 2018 NATIONAL PARENTS ORGANIZATION CELEBRATES LANDMARK KENTUCKY SHARED PARENTING LAW With Governor Bevin’s…
Who has more rights to claim the custody of their child after divorce, a mother or father? The answer the legal profession wants you to believe and that the law…
Should I feel "guilty" and "ashamed" because a “friend of the court” determined my soon to be ex-wife should pay me child support as part of the divorce settlement? It…
How could a mother or a father claim a child's custody? Custody is not something a parent usually “claims”. Biological parents of child already legally have custody of their children.…
Do any women have to pay child support? Not only she can women pay child support, if the couple are divorced or the court adjudicates child custody in a parentage…
Can the court allow parents to decide on their own for the custody of their child? Yes! Not only are parents allowed to decide what the child custody award will…
Why you should settle the issue of child custody out of court, if you reasonably can: Shuman v. Shuman, 406 P.3d 258, ¶ 10, 2017 UT App 192: We are,…
Family court to father: No guns in the house until child is 18 Washington Post By Eugene Volokh March 17, 2015 https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2015/03/17/family-court-to-father-no-guns-in-the-house-until-child-is-18/?utm_term=.ef6b700d1996 But last week’s In re Parentage of M.A.R.R. (Ill. Ct. App. Mar.…
Do underage children have any say in custody in the U.S.? In my jurisdiction where I practice family law (Utah), the answer may be hard to discern by reading the…
Do experts help in divorce cases? Specifically custody evaluators? That depends on how you define “help,” and if you define “help” as “dramatically improve your chances of success,” then generally…
The court awarded my ex custody of our kids, but they live with me. Can I legally claim them on my taxes? Here’s the answer as it applies under Utah…
What happens if a non-custodial parent habitually brings a son back days late from a visitation, resulting in unexcused absences from school (kindergarten)? Am I responsible for the truancy? The…
How is the school that a child will be attending decided if the parents are separated and live in two different school zones? Real-world, gritty answer that you may not…
How would child support be calculated for a father who remarried and has 4 other children living with him? Here is the law in Utah: If the children are stepchildren…
Will a narcissist ever stop hating me for having custody of our child? It’s possible, but not likely. It is easier to cure a person of heroin addiction than to…
What are your favorite child custody schedule? Alternating weeks, 2–2–3, 3–3–4–4, or something else? Without regard to any other considerations that would affect a custody schedule, my favorite schedule generally…
In which developed country is there equal rights for moms and dads in child custody cases? What an astute question (whether you realize it fully). I live in the United…
Wednesday, March 7, 2018 I recently saw this post on a child custody Facebook group: If [fathers] want to piss and moan, and whine online about injustice and not being…
Can I represent myself in child custody matters of my own children and win? What you really mean is, “Can I represent myself in child custody matters of my own…
QUESTION: My ex keeps bringing up snow days and teacher development days and claims he gets them all. How does Utah law govern this? ANSWER: First, do unto others as…
What happens if a child does not sleep in another room? I am a divorce lawyer who encounters this (rather silly) “issue” in child custody cases frequently. And here is…
What if I don't want custody of my child post-divorce? If the other parent is 1) fit to exercise custody of the child(ren) and 2) willing to take custody of…
Why does the mom usually win custody of her kids in a divorce? Why are mother's awarded child custody so often? There is one main reason, and many ancillary reasons,…
2018 UT App 5 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS K.P.S., Appellee, v. E.J.P., Appellant. Opinion No. 20160164-CA Filed January 5, 2018 Third District Court, Salt Lake Department The Honorable Paul…
Question: What if two divorced parents have joint legal custody, but one parent has physical custody of the children more than 50% of the time? What effect can this have…
QUESTION: My ex-wife tonight, in a fit of anger, told me that she is going to move to another state with our kids (her current boyfriend lives there). I’m not…
QUESTION: I have a question about parent-time inference. My ex-husband is taking the children out of town last minute and his plans overlap and will interfere with my holiday parent-time.…
QUESTION: Can I sue my child's mother for the child support that was deducted from my pay after our child started living with me, in my home? ANSWER: Utah Code…
I had a child from an affair but my husband is raising the baby and is on the birth certificate, can the other man get custody of my child? I…
QUESTION: How can I call my 10-year-old as a witness in family court to say where she would like to live, and why? ANSWER: First, you may want to re-think your…
2017 UT App 216 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS MICHAEL W. RISHER III, Appellant, AMY M. EMERSON, Appellee. Opinion No. 20160389-CA Filed November 24, 2017 Third District Court, Tooele Department…
What if my spouse will not complete the divorce orientation and education courses for parents? Can the judge still grant the divorce? Yes. You can file a motion notifying the…
A minor child of divorced parents need not be a party to the divorce action to be subject to the court’s contempt power. See Crank v. Utah Judicial Council, 20…
2017 UT App 192 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS CATHERINE JANE SHUMAN, Appellee, WESLEY ROBINSON SHUMAN, Appellant. Opinion No. 20160226-CA Filed October 19, 2017 Third District Court, West Jordan Department…
2017 UT App 197 2017 UT App 197 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS STATE OF UTAH, IN THE INTEREST OF J.S., A PERSON UNDER EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE. N.P., Appellant, v. STATE OF UTAH,…
Is it really true that the child support award leaves you literally with $6 per month? Let me explain why I ask. In Utah, where I practice, we have statutory…
Do you think the current divorce laws are biased against men? In my experienced opinion, yes (and I speak as one who represents both women and men in divorce where…
I wonder which state in the U.S. has the highest rate of awarding joint physical custody of children in divorce. Unfortunately, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if Utah…
QUESTION: The court gave my mom full custody of me, can I live with my father without her doing anything about it? ANSWER: First, we start with the obligatory “don’t…
What are the chances of a ballot measure in CA for a rebuttable presumption that child custody should be 50/50 if both parents wish at least 50%? Slim. This isn’t…
NOTE: this will explain how to calculate Christmas break parent-time for any period, in any year (but we'll use 2017 as an example). QUESTION: I'm trying to figure out what day…
Can a former guardian of a child be ordered to pay child support? If the child was cared for by a grandparent, and now in foster care, would the grandparent…
Question: Can you sign a prenup legally forfeiting rights to child support if you divorce? Answer: I practice in Utah, so this is my response from a Utah law perspective.…
How do I get my child support money from my mother? To clarify: My mom has been receiving child support from my Dad of $2000 per month for the past…
Vanderzon v. Vanderzon - 2017 UT App 150 - August 17, 2017 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS HEIDI KIRSTEN VANDERZON, Appellant, v. JOHN MATTHIAS VANDERZON, Appellee. Opinion No. 20140946-CA Filed…
If I have evidence of my spouse cheating on me, how likely am I to get full custody of my children? Most divorce/custody cases are complicated and rarely are decided…
Can my ex force me not to pay for my child's college tuition, even though I can afford to pay it in full? My ex and I have a growing…
Can a parent get custody of a child if he has a domestic violence protection order against him? Nothing in Utah law prohibits a parent against whom a protective order…
What happens if someone doesn't answer their discovery questions in a child custody battle? What CAN happen (in Utah, where I practice family law): (See Rule 37—particularly Rule 37(b)—of the…