In many Utah divorce, alimony, and child support cases, you may not need to spend thousands of dollars on a vocational evaluator to prove earning capacity. Courts determined whether people…
ABSTRACT: Vague parenting plans built around “reasonable parent-time” often create more conflict, not less. When schedules, holidays, exchanges, and responsibilities are left undefined, parents frequently end up arguing about expectations…
One of the most common mistakes parents make in Utah child custody disputes is assuming that a “custom-tailored” holiday schedule must automatically be better than Utah’s standard statutory holiday parent-time…
Deleting digital evidence during a Utah divorce can trigger sanctions, contempt findings, attorney fee awards, and devastating credibility problems. Learn how Utah courts treat destroyed evidence under URCP 26, 26.1,…
If you’re dealing with a divorce or a child custody dispute, there’s something you need to understand early: This is not just your case. That’s not rhetoric. It’s how the…
Divorce cases spiral and stagnate because the system allows for posturing and delay without consequence. The courts are overwhelmed and apathetic. Mediation, as typically structured, does not require resolution. Without…
Good behavior in a marriage is often the wrong behavior in a divorce action (and vice versa) Divorce changes the rules midstream. That is the part most people don’t see…
Ask some lawyers or clients what a divorce costs and you’ll get an estimate. But divorce doesn’t have a fixed price (often even when a lawyer quotes you a seemingly…
When a $100,000 asset can become $1,000 before trial, valuation timing—not ownership—is the real fight. If you’re holding NFTs and heading into a divorce, understand this: the court does not…
Family law emergencies do not follow business hours. What you do—or fail to do—in the first moments of a crisis often dictates your success in court months later. CRITICAL: If you…
“Temporary orders” sound harmless. Interim. A placeholder until the whole case gets decided. That’s not how they function in the real world. In virtually every Utah divorce and child custody…
Mediation is supposed to be where divorce cases get resolved. And to be fair, a lot of them do. But a surprising number don’t. Not because one or both people…
Everyone in family law has heard the pitch: download a parenting app, pay a monthly fee, and suddenly your co-parenting problems become organized, documented, and “court-ready.” It sounds responsible. It…
Before you file for divorce, your spouse may already have access to more of your life than you realize; your emails, financial accounts, personal documents, and even your private communications…
When most people think about divorce, many may picture a courtroom, a judge, and a decision. But this process is a long, costly, and discouraging one. A typical contested divorce or…
You’re sitting there with a domestic violence (DV) criminal charge hanging over your head. And you’re innocent. Yet you’re scared. You're distressed. You’re tired. You want it over. Then comes the…
This question is more common than you might think. Some may be in this situation: “I want custody for stability.” “I need custody because it affects support.” “I’m the better…
A few years ago, the concern was fake law; lawyers citing to AI-generated cases that didn’t exist. That already happened in Utah. See Garner v. Kadince. The next concern is worse:…
People hear “crypto” (cryptocurrency; Bitcoin, Ethereum, etc.) and assume “untraceable.” That assumption gets tested quickly in a divorce. In Utah divorce disputes over property division, cryptocurrency is treated like any…
The modern Utah home is a goldmine of digital data. In a divorce or child custody dispute, it often becomes something else: a surveillance system one spouse tries to weaponize…
When people think about a divorce or child custody dispute, they picture court—hearings, arguments, big decisions. And it’s the day-to-day work in most cases that decides whether cases are won…
The Missing Step Courts in child custody disputes routinely make determinations without ever hearing from the child directly—or even reviewing a complete and reliable record of someone who did. That…
When you are involved in a divorce, custody dispute, or protective order court case, the desire to talk about it can be strong. You may want advice, validation, or simply…
In Utah military divorces, TRICARE eligibility is governed by the rigid federal "20/20/20 rule," not state court discretion. This post breaks down the strict requirements for lifetime medical benefits, the…
In a Utah custody case, your conduct is not limited to what happens in your home—it extends to what you choose to share online. Social media is not personal or…
The Basic Logic of Factfinding The Protection Rationale The Expertise Rationale The Record Disappears Credibility Cannot Be Tested The Court’s Position: Real Constraints, Imperfect Tools Institutional Convenience One of the…
I. The System’s Logic When courts appoint custody evaluators and/or private guardians ad litem (PLALs), the justification is usually straightforward: The judge does not want children to testify.So instead, the…
After you’ve hired your attorney, the first meeting between attorney and client—whether in person or by video—is about orientation, risk assessment, and planning. Most people come in overwhelmed and discouraged…
Veterans often believe their VA disability pay is “untouchable” in divorce. Not exactly. While it cannot be divided as property, courts routinely treat it as income for alimony. Learn how…
Divorce is a legal process with emotional consequences—but the court does not care how you feel about your case. It cares about what you can prove, and how persuasively. In…
Before you file for divorce, your spouse may already have access to more of your life than you realize—your emails, financial accounts, personal documents, and even your private communications with…
This series has examined a focused procedural question: whether interviews with children in custody disputes should be preserved through authenticated contemporaneous verbatim record via unedited audio-visual capture. The discussion has…
Legal systems evolve. Practices that function adequately become routine. Routine hardens into assumption. Over time, assumption begins to resemble necessity. Unrecorded child interviews in custody and parent-time cases appear to…
The Fragility Rationale The most common justification for not making and keeping a record of child testimony rests on fragility. Knowing that the interview will be recorded, it is said,…
For Utah divorcing couples: A clear, practical discussion on how military retirement is divided under the Uniformed Services Former Spouses’ Protection Act (USFSPA) and Utah’s equitable distribution law — including…
When divorce or a child custody dispute begins, most people think they know what they’re fighting for. The house. The retirement account. The business. Parent-time. Child support. Alimony. Those are real issues. They matter. They need…
When parents separate, two instruments immediately begin to shape a child's future: the calendar (time) and the calculator (money). Both matter. Neither is optional. And neither compensates for the absence…
When the interviews that shape custody decisions remain inside a black box, the court is asked to trust what it cannot independently verify. In Utah child custody disputes, custody evaluations…
Utah’s 2026 legislative session includes a proposal that deserves attention well beyond juvenile court. House Bill 372—particularly its substitute versions—revisits Guardian ad Litem (GAL) duties and standards in child welfare proceedings.…
Utah divorce law is statutory. Judges don’t invent custody standards or alimony rules on a whim. They apply what the Legislature has enacted. But statutes do not apply themselves. Judges…
People who hire a lawyer tend to assume one of two extremes. Either: “I hired the lawyer, so the lawyer does what I say.” Or: “The lawyer is the professional,…
Bahsoun v. Mooney - 2026 UT App 18 2026 UT App 18 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS MAZEN BAHSOUN,Appellee, v. COLLEEN ELIZABETH MOONEY, Appellant. Per Curiam OpinionNo. 20251317-CA Filed February…
In Utah, "joint physical custody" doesn't have to mean a perfect 50/50 split, though that is increasingly common (increasingly common, not the default—the system still treats mothers more favorably than…
The "Rules for Thee, But Not for Me" Phenomenon The legal system is built on procedure. For an attorney, failing to file a motion on time or improperly authenticating a…
In child custody disputes, the judge acts as the final arbiter, but they rarely get to see the daily reality of a child's life. This is where appointing an attorney…
In the prior discussion, I described a common feature of Utah custody and parent-time proceedings: courts routinely make findings about a child’s needs, attachments, and lived experience without hearing directly…
Seth Godin observed that every important medical innovation of the last several centuries—handwashing, antibiotics, acknowledging the dangers of smoking—was initially resisted by the medical establishment. Not because the ideas were…
In discussions about protective orders and alleged domestic violence, I often hear a familiar refrain: “Protective orders should be granted liberally even when the question comes down to one person’s…
Guest post by Joe Gordon Broker / Owner / Certified Divorce Real Estate Expert Direct: 801-577-6304 Email: Joe@Gordon-RealEstate.com www.UtahDivorceRealEstate.com This practice tip comes to you after a heartbreaking case where the…
Questioning the Assumed Superiority of Custody Evaluators and Guardians ad Litem A foundational assumption in modern custody practice is rarely stated outright, but it governs nearly everything that follows: that…