Ineffective Counsel in Utah TPR Cases: In re A.H.
In re A.H., 2026 UT App 88 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS STATE OF UTAH, IN THE INTEREST OF A.H., J.H., J.H., L.H., N.H., S.H., AND E.H., PERSONS UNDER EIGHTEEN…
PGALs Are Almost Always Appointed for the Court’s Convenience, Not the Child’s Benefit or for the Benefit of Seeking the Truth
For many parents involved in child custody disputes, the phrase “appointing a PGAL” comes up before anyone explains what it means. “PGAL” is short for private guardian ad litem. In…
Child Custody and Parent-time Awards Need to Incorporate More Humility
Many parents (I’d say even most parents) enter family court hoping someone will fix everything. Believing that: the judge will see through the lies. the custody evaluator will identify the…
How Extended Summer Parent-Time Actually Works Under Utah Code §§ 81-9-302 and 81-9-303
Not every Utah parent is subject to the default parent-time schedules found in Utah Code §§ 81-9-302 and 81-9-303. Many parents operate under customized custody and parent-time provisions created by agreement or court…
Co-Parenting Apps: Useful Tool or Expensive Solution in Search of a Problem?
Parenting apps are now everywhere in modern child custody disputes. Lawyers recommend them. Parenting coordinators recommend them. Guardians ad litem recommend them. Courts sometimes order them. And the companies behind…
When Joint Legal Custody Parents Disagree About an IEP in Utah
Some of the strongest child custody disputes are no longer fought primarily through parent-time schedules, exchange disputes, or even direct allegations of abuse. Increasingly, they are fought through institutions. Schools.…
Credibility Determinations Belong to Courts, Not Custody Evaluators
In a surprising number of child custody disputes, courts make major decisions based heavily on conversations nobody else gets to see or hear. A custody evaluator interviews the child privately.…
Why “Reasonable Parent-Time” Often Turns Into Unnecessary Conflict
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…
The “Custom-Tailored” Holiday Schedule vs. Utah’s Statutory Plan
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…
Parens Patriae: Why the Court Gets Involved in Your Family
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…
Parenting Apps: A (Paid) Solution Looking for a Problem
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…
The Lack of a Record of Child Interviews in Child Custody Disputes
A 5-part series Series Introduction Modern legal systems run on records. Depositions are transcribed. Hearings are recorded. Police interrogations are preserved. Financial transactions generate digital trails. Making and preserving records…
The Calendar and the Calculator in Harmony: Fully Serving the Best Interest of the Child
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…
Perception Isn’t Everything in Divorce Court, But It Often Decides the Close Calls
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…
The Difference Between “Joint Custody” and Equal Custody in Utah Child Custody Disputes
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…
When Help Becomes Substitution: Where Utah’s Use of Best-Interest Professionals Breaks Down Legally
This post is the second in a four-part series examining Utah courts’ reliance on guardians ad litem (GALs), private guardians ad litem (PGALs), and custody evaluators, and the legal, procedural,…
Kelly v. Johnson, 2025 UT App 175 – Child Custody and Relocation
Kelly v. Johnson - 2025 UT App 175 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS SHAYNE KELLY, Appellee, v. IRIS JOHNSON, Appellant. Opinion No. 20240857 Filed November 28, 2025 Second District Court,…
A Better Approach to Utah Divorce and Child Custody Litigation
If Utah’s domestic-relations legal system is serious about accuracy, fairness, and reducing unnecessary conflict, then the system needs processes that beneficially affect how cases are litigated and how evidence is…
How to Protect Your Child From Being Manipulated Into Making False Accusations During a Custody Dispute
A candid, experience-based guide for parents who need the truth without varnish or theatrics. Not every case involves manipulation. Not every professional fails. But when these problems occur—and they do—the…
When Is It Time to Take Your Ex Back to Court to Terminate Parental Rights?
If the other parent has dropped out of your kids’ lives—no support, no visits, no calls—for six months or more, you may have a legal basis to seek termination under…
Evidence, Not Guesswork: The Case for Testing Proposed Child Custody and Parent-time Schedules Before Making Final Custody and Parent-time Orders in Utah
Utah courts are tasked with making custody and parent-time decisions based on the best interest of the child. But you cannot know what schedule truly serves a child’s best interest if…
What Should I Do If I Have to Have a Custody Evaluation, Psychological, or Other Evaluation Conducted?
Utah family courts often order custody, psychological, or substance-abuse evaluations. Learn what to expect, how to prepare, and how to protect yourself during these high-stakes assessments. _________ When a Utah…
Beyond Specific Legal Arguments, What Is One Significant Way the Court System Could Better Ensure Fairness for All Parents in Child Custody Disputes?
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…
Judicial Overreach in Utah Child Custody Order: Return to Restraint
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…
Don’t Let This Happen to You When Drafting a Legal Custody Child Custody Award
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…
Alcohol Use Monitoring in Custody and Divorce Cases and Which Monitoring Device and Service to Use: BACtrack vs. Soberlink
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…
Should You Have Your Spouse or Co-Parent Subject to a Psychological Evaluation in Your Divorce and Child Custody Dispute?
I. Introduction A psychological evaluation in a custody or divorce case sounds powerful. You may believe (or even know) your spouse to be manipulative, unstable, or even dangerous. So why…
Reforming Child Custody in Utah Divorce: A Parental Fitness Approach
In Utah, divorce-related child custody disputes often escalate over parenting flaws that wouldn’t justify state intervention outside divorce. This approach is flawed because it creates a double standard that unfairly…
The Overrated Book, The Understated Truth: Atomic Habits and the Indispensable Role of Quantity in “Quality” Parent-time
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…
What Are the Biggest Challenges Men Face During Divorce, and Why Do Some Believe the System Is Unfair to Them?
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…
Child Custody and the “Primary Caregiver” Scam
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…
How Do Fathers Fight for Child Custody?
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…
Sexual Discrimination in Utah Child Custody and Parent-time Awards – I’m just going to leave this here (Part 1 of 2)
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…
Do You Live in Salt Lake, Summit, or Tooele County and Are Being Denied Parent-time by a Non-compliant Co-parent?
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…
How to Handle Child Custody When the Mother Is Negatively Influencing the Child?
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…
If the Other Parent Is Withholding Parent-Time, Can I Bypass Having to Deal With Him/Her and Pick Up Our Child After School Instead?
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…
Do Kids Like 50/50 Custody Schedules?
Some do, some don't. Generally, however, when both parents live in the same neighborhood, so that their children are able to get to school, interact with the same friends, attend…
What Are the Most Effective Strategies for Parents to Ensure Their Child Feels Equally Loved by Both Parents in a 50-50 Custody Arrangement?
The key is that both parents place the child’s best interest above any bad blood between them; children are more likely to feel secure, loved, and emotionally connected to both…
What Do Children Whose Parents Were Awarded Equal Physical Custody (50/50) of Them Think of Such a Schedule?
Children's perspectives on shared custody arrangements (equal physical custody being one such arrangement) are complex and nuanced, seeing both benefits and challenges to them. Here is what children typically report about…
Having Experienced 50-50 Custody as a Child to Teen, What Do You Want Parents to Know?
Simply put, normal children of divorced or separated parents want their parents: not to make custody a turf war. Honor your children’s right to a strong loving and trusting, relationship…
In re D.S. – 2025 UT 11 – termination of parental rights – standard of proof
This opinion is subject to revision before final publication in the Pacific Reporter In re D.S. - 2025 UT 11 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF UTAH STATE…
Yes, Equal Custody Is a Great Idea and Should Be Awarded Far More Often Than It Is Now, but That Doesn’t Mean Equal Custody Can Always Work.
Where both parents are fit parents and want to be as involved as possible in rearing that child—both out of a personal interest in enjoying parenthood and out of commitment…
Yes, Equal Custody Is a Great Idea and Should Be Awarded Far More Often Than It Is Now, but That Doesn’t Mean All Judges Agree.
Where both parents are fit parents and want to be as involved as possible in rearing that child—both out of a personal interest in enjoying parenthood and out of commitment…
The Case for Fault-Based Divorce: A Perspective from the Trenches of Family Law
As a legal assistant at a family law firm (and as a soon to be law school graduate), I see firsthand how the current no-fault divorce regime can create problems…
What Are the Chances My Child’s Father Will Get 50/50 Custody in Utah if I Only Knew Him for a Few Months Before Getting Pregnant and He Was MIA Until He Was Ordered to Pay Child Support?
If you are a fit parent (not abusive, not neglectful, not suffering from any disability that renders you unable to provide the care and support the child needs, and can…
If You Are Not Happy With the Current Child Custody Arrangement, Can You Change It?
I cannot answer this question as it applies to all jurisdictions, but I can answer it as it applies to the jurisdiction where I practice family law (Utah): Merely because you are…
How Can an Unfair Child Custody Arrangement Be Corrected in Utah?
It depends on how you reached this point, and how much time, if any, you have to fix it. If circumstances relevant to the child custody award have materially and…
Why Does My Ex Want Full Custody Now That I Filed for Child Support?
If a parent has sole or primary physical custody of the children, then not only does that parent typically not end up having to pay child support to the other…
My Dad and I Want Changes to My Child Custody Orders. Dad Says It Will Be Months Before a New Order Can Be Written. Is That Right?
Probably. If your question is, “Does it take a long time to obtain a court order modifying a child custody award?,” the answer is, generally, “Yes.” I can't speak for…
In re K.M. – 2025 UT App 17 – parents regaining custody from guardian
In re K.M. - 2025 UT App 17 Oral argument (Utah Court of Appeals archive): https://youtu.be/e8OUzlARvZk THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS IN THE INTEREST OF K.M., A PERSON UNDER EIGHTEEN…
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