Today’s post on proposed family law legislation under consideration during the 2024 Utah legislative session is House Bill 140 (HB0140 (utah.gov)), “Amendments to Custody and Parent-Time”. This bill, according to…
Today’s blog post treats another proposed law that is up for consideration during the 2024 Utah legislative session: House Bill 129 (HB0129 (utah.gov)), entitled “Child Support Requirements”. This bill would,…
Today’s blog post treats House Bill 20, one of several proposed family law-related pieces of legislation for the 2024 Utah legislative session. H.B. 20 is entitled “Parental Rights Amendments” According…
Here's a very, very short news report on the subject of when allegations of child abuse are countered with allegations of parental alienation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44hJ8zWRrik I welcome sincere and rational comments…
Here is a list of the current proposed family law legislation for the 2024 Utah State Legislative session, along with a (very) brief description of the proposed legislation. If you…
Divorce is already hard enough on the parties involved, but it is even harder on the children of the recently separated family. I speak as a child of divorce, who…
According to the "General Description" of H.B. 272, what's not to like?: Highlighted Provisions: This bill: ▸ defines terms; ▸ in certain proceedings involving child custody: specifies requirements for the admission of expert…
I have been asked by a reader to answer two questions. The first: whether I believe courts generally apply a double standard in the treatment of mothers and fathers when…
I will start out my answer by acknowledging that reasonable minds can differ on the merits of a “parenting app,” also known as a “co-parenting app”. I will continue my…
Most attorney websites that contain “articles” on prenuptial agreements aren’t really articles but thinly veiled sales pitches for prenuptial agreements. This post is not one of those. I have always…
Regardless of your feelings towards your ex-spouse, if you have children, you will have to talk or otherwise communicate to your ex (and do so often) about the minor children…
I can’t speak for all jurisdictions, but in the jurisdiction where I practice divorce and family law (Utah), child support awards are generally, in my opinion, 1) too high, 2)…
Whether you “get the child” (meaning whether you will be awarded physical custody of the child) has little to no relevance to the fact that your spouse is seeking child…
Before you read another word, know this: the answer in these situations is, “It depends on many and varying factors.” Nobody likes that kind of answer, but it’s the truth…
2023 UT App 137 - Lobendahn v. Lobendahn THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS MARCUS JAMES LOBENDAHN, Appellant and Cross-appellee, v. LEEYEN MOEVAI LOBENDAHN, Appellee and Cross-appellant. Opinion No. 20210278-CA…
That's a good question. One that I've wondered about myself, but I don't know of any such studies. That doesn't mean they don't exist, it's just that I don't know…
As any attorney can do with any client, a PGAL clearly has the right to argue on a child client's behalf, and the Utah Code makes clear that a PGAL…
Utah Code § 78A-2-705 provides that, “The court may appoint an attorney as a private attorney guardian ad litem to represent the best interests of the minor in any district…
Divorce is corrosive. What it does not destroy it almost always affects adversely whatever it touches. The things that survive divorce’s initial devastation are forever changed. This effect is seen…
In re H.M. - 2023 UT App 122 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS STATE OF UTAH, IN THE INTEREST OF H.M. AND D.M., PERSONS UNDER EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE. G.B., Appellant, v.…
If I understand your question correctly, you're wondering if the court will fault for your ex-spouse's claims that you are failing to act responsibly when it comes to making and…
Your question is too vague to understand and answer. You need to consult with an attorney in your jurisdiction to get the correct answers to your questions (both the questions…
John v. John - 2023 UT App 103 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS LUCAS ALLEN JOHN, Appellee, v. CASSANDRA KATHLEEN JOHN, Appellant. Opinion No. 20210506-CA Filed September 14, 2023 Third…
It does not matter whether or how the legal system could support or better support parents who lose child custody cases because it is not the purpose of the legal…
Absolutely. No question about it. Now, don’t confuse “he has every right to ask for receipts” with “he has every right to receipts”. If a child support payor (known in some jurisdictions as the…
Your spouse must be served with the summons and divorce complaint or petition before the case can proceed. In my jurisdiction (as I believe it to be the case in…
Effectively, you can’t. You might be able to verify whether your lawyer is telling the truth about his/her winning record if the lawyer is willing to give you the information…
Why? You’ll hear the argument that a PGAL should be appointed for a child because we don't want to traumatize children by having them testify on the record. Where is the…
I really don’t understand why this question gets asked, and it is asked frequently. Actually, that’s not true. I do know why. The people who usually ask this question are…
There are so many things wrong with this question. But thank you for asking it because it can be the start of a beneficial conversation and lead to a better…
I will answer this question in the context of Utah law because I am licensed as an attorney and practice divorce and family law in the state of Utah. For…
It could mean many things when a parent avoids a legal fight in court for child custody. To identify a few things, it could mean: that the parent does not…
Unless a court were to order that a parent was barred from traveling out of state or out of the country with the children on vacation, a joint legal and…
There are two kinds of child custody, not just one. Those two different kinds are legal custody and physical custody. Legal custody is the power of a parent to make…
2023 UT App 60 - Martinez v. Sanchez-Garcia THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS DAISY MARTINEZ Appellant, v. FERNANDO SANCHEZ-GARCIA, Appellee. Opinion No. 20210829-CA Filed June 2, 2023 First District Court,…
In Utah, the law does not require divorced parents to pay for an adult child’s education. Divorcing parents can agree that one or both parents will fund some or all…
Adoptive parents cannot lose custody of the children they adopted merely because they divorce. The children of adoptive parents are treated no differently in divorce than children who are issue…
This is a complicated question. If there is no statute or court order in place that bars you from taking your child out of state with you for a vacation,…
There are many ways one might interpret what your question is. If you are asking whether a child of divorced parents has, as a result of the divorce, more or…
Allow me to start my answer to your question by acknowledging how unfair it is to children of divorce when courts refuse to hear from the children and refuse to…
What can I legally do if my child's mother picks up our child in an Uber without a car seat? She is 5 years old, about 50 lbs. She is…
There can be many aims. Such as (in no particular order of popularity): gaining or saving money If the children “side” with a parent, that could influence the child custody…
Answers to this question could take up an entire book (actually, it could take up many entire books, and it does—literally millions of pages have been written on this subject).…
My name is Stephanie from flingorlove.com and honestly, I usually wouldn't bother emailing about this, but I researched and gathered as much data and stats as I could about various divorce statistics…
There is far more to this story than the headline reveals. From Pro Publica: Barricaded Siblings Turn to TikTok While Defying Court Order to Return to Father They Say Abused…
From KSL.com: New Utah law brings confusion, contention for some divorced parents this holiday season https://www.ksl.com/article/50538686/new-utah-law-brings-confusion-contention-for-some-divorced-parents-this-holiday-season Utah Family Law, LC | divorceutah.com | 801-466-9277
Unless: there is a statute or court order that permits it; or this kind of statute or court order could be the kind that permits the temporary denial of contact…
That does not bode well for you, if in fact the child will be in the courtroom at the same time you and the judge assigned to your case are…
Thank you for your question, and forgive me for approaching this question in a way that may not answer your question as directly as it could be; I hope you…
My guess is that this question applies in two distinct contexts: 1) what does the court do in a child custody case where both parents try to alienate the child from the…