One of the best evidence-gathering tools that a divorce litigant has at his/her disposal is a deposition. What is a deposition? To answer that question, you first need to understand that a…
Miner v. Miner - 2025 UT App 64 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS LISA P. MINER, Appellee, v. JOHN E. MINER, Appellant. Opinion No. 20230278-CA Filed May 8, 2025 Fifth…
In family law proceedings, particularly those involving child custody disputes, courts frequently order parents and children to engage in mental health therapy. While the ostensible intent behind these orders is…
Great, great question. First, fairly and accurately. Do not selectively cite the other parents communications with you and with others. If you do that, your credibility suffers. Second, relevantly. So…
With rare exception, the correct answer to any yes/no question (also known as a polar question) in your family law proceeding is: “yes,” “no,” or “I don’t know/I don’t remember”…
In divorce litigation, strong, compelling evidence is the cornerstone of successfully navigating critical legal determinations. When significant issues such as child custody, child support, property division, marital debt allocation, and…
In Utah child custody disputes, the voices of children are almost always filtered through court-appointed private guardians ad litem (PGALs) and/or custody evaluators. These intermediaries will claim to represent what…
Many individuals in a divorce consider hiring a private investigator, hoping to uncover information that could affect the outcome of the case. While hiring a private investigator (PI) may seem…
In your divorce case, you, your spouse (or other parent) and your children may be required to undergo a custody evaluation. The custody evaluation is governed by Utah Code of Judicial Administration Rule…
While every divorce case is unique, the following outlines the general stages and timeframes involved in a Utah divorce case. Understanding the basic timeline of a typical case in Utah…
The overwhelming majority of judges and domestic relations commissioners in Utah will refuse to have the interview of children who are the subject of child custody disputes recorded by sound-and-visual…
Staszkiewicz v. Thomas - 2024 UT App 183 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS MADISON STASZKIEWICZ, Appellee, v. TIFFANY N. THOMAS, Appellant. Opinion No. 20230229-CA Filed December 12, 2024 Third District…
Everyone has seen a trial portrayed in a movie or video. An actual trial (especially in a divorce case) is not like television or movies would have you believe. Initially,…
2024 UT App 156 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS AMANDA GODFREY, Appellee, v. RANDY GODFREY, Appellant. Opinion No. 20210871-CA Filed October 31, 2024 Third District Court, Silver Summit Department The…
Answer: Almost certainly no. See Dahl v. Harrison, 265 P.3d 139, 2011 UT App 389 (2011). Note: Under the current Utah Rules of Civil Procedure, responses to written discovery requests are due…
In my opinion (as a divorce and family law attorney for the past 27 years), a “less is more” approach is needed at this point. What do I mean? For…
Paragraph 6 of your financial declaration addresses your after-tax income. Your after-tax income is a simple calculation. Take your gross monthly income (calculated in paragraph 4) and subtract your monthly…
This is an area where the laws differ substantially from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. To know what options may be available to you in your jurisdiction, you need to consult with…
Paragraph two of your financial declaration details the documents that you must attach to your financial declaration (unless they don't exist). It is not optional; they are the documents you are required…
Merrill v. Merrill - 2024 UT App 94 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS LUTISHA MERRILL, Appellee, v. JOHN RICHARD MERRILL, Appellant. Opinion No. 20210785-CA Filed July 11, 2024 Third District…
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…
After you ask, “Is there anything I can do for winning custody after the GAL report is favoring my ex? Is paying more to my attorneys worth it or no?,”…
Yes, it is possible, but not always possible, and when it is possible it is often very difficult to accomplish. Difficult not because custody evaluators are particularly competent (they typically…
2024 UT App 51 - Bailey v. Bailey THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS AMY L. BAILEY, Appellee, v. DANNY RAY BAILEY, Appellant. Opinion No. 20220534-CA Filed April 11, 2024 Second…
A reduction in the alimony award obligation is extremely difficult to obtain. It's designed to be difficult to modify downward, so that only those who 1) are truly unable to…
When a custody evaluator and/or private guardian ad litem is/are appointed in a divorce case in which custody and parent-time of the children is disputed, they usually interview the children…
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…
Probably. The schemes and technology for providing fake urine samples have advanced so much and are available so easily to everyone that most urine collection that courts order is observed…
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…
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…
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…
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…
You have just decided to file for divorce. Or perhaps you have been served with divorce papers. At some point early on in the process you will likely think to…
In every Utah divorce case, the parties must prepare what is known as a financial declaration. The parties to a divorce action are required by the rules of court to…
In re A.S.G.-R. - 2023 UT App 126 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS STATE OF UTAH, IN THE INTEREST OF A.S.G.-R., A PERSON UNDER EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE. G.R., Appellant,…
I had lunch today with a former legal assistant of mine who is now a law student in Arizona. Over the summer he shadowed judges in Maricopa County during their…
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…
One of the hardest documents for a Utah divorce litigant to prepare is the financial declaration. I am amazed at the number of clients who don't take this document and…
Your attorney cannot do what only you can do. Your attorney cannot answer questions posed to you until you provide your attorney with the information and facts needed to answer…
Who would you believe more in a court case: a person who admits to his/her faults, who honestly discloses all of his/her relevant information (even the information that hurts his/her…
Knight v. Knight - 2023 UT App 86 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS JARED M. KNIGHT, Appellee, v. REBECCA B. KNIGHT, Appellant. Opinion No. 20210080-CA Filed August 10, 2023 Third…
Great question. Your question helped to clarify something I have started to notice more and more among many people who are not divorce and family law attorneys or experienced in…
Fox v. Fox 2022 UT App 88 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS DIANN SHERI FOX, Appellant, v. BENJAMIN DAVIS FOX, Appellee. Opinion No. 20200949-CA Filed July 14, 2022 Fifth District…
2022 UT App 83 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS JILL NIX, Appellee, v. ROLAND COMPTON NIX JR., Appellant. Opinion No. 20200691-CA Filed June 30, 2022 Fourth District Court, Provo Department…
2021 UT App 132 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS T.W., Appellant, v. S.A., Appellee. Opinion No. 20200397-CA Filed November 26, 2021 Third District Court, West Jordan Department The Honorable Dianna…
2021 UT App 130 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS COLTEN JOHANSEN, Appellee, KATHY JOHANSEN, Appellant. Opinion No. 20200234-CA Filed November 26, 2021 Second District Court, Ogden Department The Honorable Joseph…
With rare exception in Utah (so rare that it might as well be non-existent), the way courts insist upon custody evaluations being conducted consists of: the court imposing one and…
If you are asking whether there are “legitimate” ways to make truthful witness look inaccurate or dishonest (meaning there are ways to do it that won’t get you in trouble),…
Allow me to start this answer by clearing the air a bit: First, there are many fathers who are clearly unfit fathers but who nonetheless believe the only or the…