I am not licensed as an attorney in Indiana, but I will give you my personal opinion (it’s not legal advice) as it applies to the law in the jurisdiction…
This is a good question and one that often comes up in divorce cases. I cannot speak for the law in all jurisdictions, but as this question applies in the…
Like many people, I am a child of divorce. While I may not understand every reason why my parents chose to end their marriage (I was too young to understand…
Even if you trust your former spouse to deal with you honestly and in good faith in any matter pertaining to your divorce, why should you communicate in writing with…
Throughout the divorce process you will have to meet many deadlines. The court will even provide you with a list of due dates known as a notice of event due…
This is a great question. Go find a good (a good, not just any) retired divorce attorney (a divorce attorney, not some other kind of attorney who has no idea…
Elder v. Elder - 2024 UT App 68 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS BRITTANY LEE ELDER, Appellee, v. MATT BLAKE ELDER, Appellant. Opinion No. 20210902-CA Filed May 9, 2024 Second…
Whether you should be or try to be friends with your spouse after a divorce is a tough question to answer. Many divorced people continue to care about each other…
I would say this: By law I cannot grant a request for a protective order unless a preponderance of the evidence supports the request. If the request lacks the support…
If you want to know your options and have the time to exercise them, then you need to meet with an attorney immediately to find out what the law requires of you,…
See parent question. I am a divorce lawyer, and after a divorce case ends (meaning a decree of divorce has been issued and case essentially closed), I literally never know…
Have you ever heard that having a child will fix certain problems in marriage? That it will help bring a couple in a strained marriage closer together and thus fix,…
2024 UT App 54 - Tilleman v. Tilleman THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS MICHAEL ROBERT TILLEMAN, Appellant, v. MICHAL CHRISTINE TILLEMAN, Appellee. Opinion No. 20210637-CA Filed April 11, 2024 Fourth…
I recently accompanied my boss to the trial of a divorce case. If I had had to place a bet on what the judge was thinking at given moment or…
Talk to a good (a good) lawyer about whether you even have the right to “inherit” from your ex-husband’s brothers. Unless there are bizarre circumstances at work here, odds are…
Many people ask what the benefits of a legal separation are. Aside from the obvious "it gives us the option of staying together, if we want to," are there other…
One of the arguments that some fathers make when they encounter the double standard applied to mothers and fathers in child custody disputes (resulting in a denial of equal legal…
The family law legal system likes to portray itself as a shining beacon of justice and equity, but I have seen first-hand that it is not. Whether it is opportunistic…
We all know the aphorism, "If it looks/sounds to good to be true, it probably is [not true]." This also means, however, that if it looks/sounds too 𝙗𝙖𝙙 to be true, it…
If you want just my direct answer to this question, skip to the last paragraph, but I submit that you’ll have a much better understanding of the answer if you…
2024 UT App 28 - Smith v. Smith THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS JACQUELINE P. SMITH, Appellee, v. DANIEL H. SMITH, Appellant. Opinion No. 20220697-CA Filed March 7, 2024 Third…
If you’re anything like I am, you don’t like being ignorant and confused about terms aren’t familiar with and do not understand. If you are contemplating divorce or find yourself…
The easiest of these two questions to answer is the second one, i.e., “Can child support be waiver retrospectively by the child support payee? The answer is yes, if the…
Recently an attorney posed a question on a forum for fellow Utah family law attorneys. The question involved how to find out what the children’s experiences have been with one…
Whether you believe that everyone needs (or could benefit from) therapy or that it is only for the most dysfunctional families, you, like most people, likely agree some therapy has…
The point of a psychological evaluation isn’t to establish if someone merely suffers from any mental or emotional disorder or disorders, but to help determine whether such disorders, if they…
When those who will be ordered to divide assets with a spouse and/or pay child and/or spousal support (alimony) confront the matter, many try to lie about and to misrepresent their…
Some people believe that child support is the same for all parents. They believe that every parent who is ordered to pay child support pays the same amount of money…
Like winning the lottery, it does happen, but not very often. Parties rarely fail to appear for proceedings in family court. But if and when they do, the court can…
Thomas Sowell said (in a discussion of politics and governance), “There are no solutions. There are only tradeoffs, and whatever you do to deal with one of man's flaws it…
Utah, like many states, has struggled with the very concept of equal (“50/50”) custody of children for years. While progress has been made (especially in the past few years), we…
What do I do If custody order says visitation is from 4 - 8 meeting at police station when there is no school but if there is school that day…
What do you do when your spouse threatens to walk out and take the children even though you have been an equal and contributing partner in the marriage? It is…
What are the child custody factors that judges consider when determining what's in a child's best interest in custody disputes according to Utah’s family law statutes? The main factors are…
I received a notice from opposing counsel that looks (or contains) something like this: “You are hereby notified of your responsibility to appear personally or appoint counsel.” What does this…
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…
Hard truths incoming. When dealing with a co-parent who is afflicted with a personality disorder, do these things, and do them all at the same time: 1) Examine your own…
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…
Holt v. Holt - 2024 UT App 6 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS RHONDA S. HOLT, Appellee, v. CHRISTOPHER JOHN HOLT, Appellant. Opinion No. 20220090-CA Filed January 11, 2024 Third…
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…
If you described your wife accurately, she’s probably trying to do to you exactly what you suspect: annoy, worry, anger, embarrass, and provoke you. You’re wiser than most to ask…
2023 UT App 160 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS EDWIN M. CLARKE, Appellee, v. ANGOZI R.S. CLARKE, Appellant. Opinion No. 20220067-CA Filed December 29, 2023 Third District Court, Silver Summit…
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…
How does filing for divorce affect relationships with family members and friends who don't agree with the decision? Poorly, generally. That should come as no surprise. Do people tend to…
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…
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.…
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…
Clark v. Clark - 2023 UT App 111 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS SUSAN JEANNE CLARK, Appellee, v. RICHARD LEE CLARK, Appellant. Opinion No. 20210713-CA Filed September 28, 2023 Fourth…
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…