Utah judges and commissioners can—and many often do—bend or ignore laws/rules and facts. Learn how this happens, why appellate oversight rarely corrects it, and what litigants can do to protect…
Utah divorce and family courts sometimes wander into nanny-court social engineering, issuing orders that treat parents like fools and/or helpless children who can’t be trusted to act sensibly without judicial…
Disappointment Is Not Synonymous with Misunderstanding Divorce and custody cases are full of hard choices, unfamiliar rules, and outcomes no one loves. It’s normal to be disappointed when a judge…
In a Utah divorce or custody dispute, you can’t just file whatever you want with a court and whenever you feel like it. The Utah Rules of Civil Procedure, plus orders…
In Utah, you can still get divorced if your spouse disappears, but only after proving you made a diligent search and using court-approved alternative service of process methods. Missing spouse…
Courts (and the orders that govern them) mean it when they set deadlines. If you miss one, you can lose claims, defenses, evidence, or even your entire case. Excuses like…
Divorce is hard enough without turning it into a credibility war. Alimony — what Utah law calls “spousal support” — exists to help a financially disadvantaged spouse transition without being…
Utah judges and domestic relations commissioners reassure parents that early custody, parent-time, and support orders issued during the pendency of the child custody case are “just temporary.” Don’t believe it.…
“Remember that most people will pretend to operate in your interest while operating in their own.” —Ray Dalio Dalio wasn’t talking about family courts when he wrote this, but he…
Utah law does not impose a mandatory “standard parent-time” schedule. The schedules in Utah Code § 81-9-302 are only possible options for courts to consider. In practice, however, judges often adopt them with little…
Marri v. Rizwan - 2025 UT App 137 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS MIR MARRI, Appellant, v. RABIA RIZWAN, Appellee. Opinion No. 20230034-CA Filed September 18, 2025 Third District Court,…
In Utah divorce, debt is divided equitably, not equally. Mortgages, credit cards, student loans, and medical bills are treated differently, and creditors can still pursue you even if your ex…
I apologize in advance; I cannot limit myself to just one answer, but I will start off with the “top” idea and then share others. Courts could make custody disputes…
Too often (and increasingly as a means of mediators trying to differentiate themselves and offer “higher value propositions”), mediation it is oversold as something “deep” and “transformative”—but that is not…
In Utah, as in other states, courts deciding child custody and parent-time disputes are charged with applying the “best interests of the child” standard. That standard is necessary, but it…
World War II’s silk shortage forced the military to abandon a comfortable default; nylon parachutes—stronger, cheaper, and mass-producible—started as a substitute and became the superior standard. COVID-19 did the same…
When people discover that his or her husband or wife is committing crimes or has been convicted of crimes, they often panic. One of the first questions we hear in…
Divorce lawyers have long grappled with one of the most disheartening realities of our practice: watching a marital estate, built over years, dissolve not into two separate households, but go…
When a Utah divorce case is commenced, life doesn’t stop while the case is pending. Children still need a consistent schedule. The mortgage, utilities, and insurance bills still come due.…
If a parent is awarded sole legal custody of a child, does that award not carry with it an implicit obligation to exercise that sole legal custody power in good…
When alcohol use (or accusations of it) becomes a custody or parent-time issue, courts want two things: reliable measurements and confidence that the right person took the test. BACtrack and…
One of the most painful parts of a divorce can be if children seem to pull away from you. It’s a situation many divorced and separated parents face: after a…
In Utah custody disputes, Guardians ad Litem (GALs) and custody evaluators can have enormous influence over the outcome, often so much so that it’s far more than the law actually…
Forgiveness is a deeply personal decision, and in the context of abuse it can be a life-altering one. But understand that “forgiving” your spouse for abusing you or your children…
Divorce or custody litigation often brings out the worst in people. Some spouses can't resist the urge to play the victim or the hero in every story they tell, especially…
It’s not uncommon during a divorce for one spouse to claim that the other is disparaging them—online, in conversations with mutual friends, or even in front of their children. We…
Most parents in Utah assume that when they separate or divorce, the court will start from a position of splitting custody evenly. That’s a reasonable assumption—shared parenting has become the…
Ross v. Kracht - 2025 UT 22 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF UTAH JULIE ROSS and GERALD ROSS, Appellees, v. STEVEN KRACHT and DENIELLE KRACHT, Appellants. No. 20230389…
In re Adoption of B.C. - 2025 UT 23 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF UTAH In the Matter of the Adoptions of B.C., K.J.C., D.W.C., and B.C.,…
People rave about Atomic Habits by James Clear. I do not. It’s not a bad book, but not life-changing, at least not for me. Maybe it didn’t move me much…
A single mistake shouldn't cost a parent his or her relationship with his/her child. Yet too often, family courts award sole custody based on isolated incidents or "aberrant behavior" that…
2025 UT App 105 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS DEBRA JEAN REAM, Appellant, v. JACOB M. REAM, Appellee. Opinion No. 20230799-CA Filed July 10, 2025 Fourth District Court, Provo Department…
If you get divorced in Utah, you may be surprised to learn that you are required—unless you are excused for good cause—to attend at least one session of mediation before…
It is not a matter of beliefs that men are generally (not in every single case, but generally) treated unfairly in divorce. It is a fact. This is why many…
Of the Utah domestic relations commissioners and judges who treat fathers as second-class parents in making temporary and permanent custody and parent-time rulings, they practically gush about the standard for…
It depends on what you mean by “yours,” by what you mean by “mine”. First you need to understand that there are two kinds of property in a divorce situation:…
‘Can be. ‘Often is, but is not necessarily a war of attrition in all situations. Some divorce cases come to an end not because the court ruled on and resolved…
Yes. Why? Contempt of court is defined as: 1) a valid court order; 2) of which the parent has notice; 3) that the parent is capable of obey; 4) but…
Do you mean to ask, How do deserving fathers fight: for sole child custody? for joint child custody? for equal child custody? Or do you mean to ask: “How do fathers ‘win’ their…
Taylor v. Taylor - 2025 UT App 94 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS JACQUELINE KEMPTON TAYLOR, Appellant, v. MARK BENNETT TAYLOR, Appellee. Opinion No. 20230868-CA Filed June 26, 2025 Third…
Subject: Please Fund Courtroom Live Streaming I’m writing to ask that you support the $450,000 one-time funding request to enable live streaming of district court proceedings statewide. Live streaming public court…
See Pusey v. Pusey, 728 P.2d 119-121 (Utah 1986): Opinion DURHAM, Justice: Plaintiff cross-appeals from that portion of the divorce decree awarding custody of the older son of the marriage to defendant…
See Pusey v. Pusey, 728 P.2d 117, 121 (Utah 1986): ZIMMERMAN, Justice (concurring in the result): [I] also believe it is time to discontinue any hint of support for the notion of…
Well, then, I have good news and bad news. Good news: you can file a motion with the court to seek relief. Bad news: prepare to wait a while before…
Do you want the truth? Or, more accurately, the truth as I see it, having practiced divorce and family law for the past 28 years as of the date I…
Equal physical custody should be awarded far, far more often than it is currently in Utah. There are so many situations in which we have two loving, fit parents who…
If the other parent of your child is withholding court-ordered visitation (often now called “parent-time”) with the child from you, can you solve this problem by circumventing/bypassing having to pick…
I cannot speak as to what the law is on all jurisdictions, but I can answer this question based upon the law of the jurisdiction where I practice divorce and…
In a Utah divorce, retirement assets are often among the most valuable marital assets to divide. Retirement accounts such as 401(k)s, IRAs, pensions, and government or union retirement plans are…
This is a common and important question that arises in a divorce. If you are out of the marital home—whether by court order (such as a protective order) or voluntarily—and…