Will my husband be legally an owner of a company that I start just because he is my husband?
Will my husband be legally an owner of a company that I start just because he is my husband? It is possible to obtain an interest in a spouse's business.…
My spouse cleaned out the joint account, can I get the money back?
If your spouse cleans out the joint account before a divorce, can you legally get that money back? Answer: Maybe, even likely. Sometimes the court will let your spouse keep…
2020 UT App 34 – Petrzelka v. Goodwin – alimony, income, retirement funds
2020 UT App 34 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS PEGGY PETRZELKA, Appellee, v. JAMES E. GOODWIN, Appellant. Opinion No. 20180923-CA Filed March 5, 2020 First District Court, Logan Department The…
Burggraaf v. Burggraaf – 2019 UT App 195 – imputing income, vacating alimony
2019 UT App 195 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS CAROL BURGGRAAF, Appellee, v. BRIAN JOSEPH BURGGRAAF, Appellant. Opinion No. 20180405-CA Filed November 29, 2019 Second District Court, Ogden Department The…
How did you cleanly separate your online accounts with your divorce?
This comes up most commonly in two scenarios: 1) non-financial online accounts (like Netflix, Amazon, a social media account, etc.) and 2) separating financial accounts. 1) Non-financial online accounts (like…
Oldroyd v. Oldroyd – 2019 UT App 155 – premarital property interest, unjust enrichment
Oldroyd v. Oldroyd - 2019 UT App 155 - THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS ROBBEN ANN OLDROYD, Appellant, v. FARRELL LYNN OLDROYD, Appellee. Opinion No. 20180257-CA Filed September 26, 2019…
Why doesn’t family law immediately use collaborative law practices to reach decisions?
Because 1) paradoxically, those for whom the true collaborative law process would work best are those who really don’t need collaborative law; and 2) “collaborative law” as it is practiced (as opposed to how…
Plaia v. Plaia – 2019 UT App 130 – enforcing stipulation, unvested shares, mutual mistake, abuse of discretion
Plaia v. Plaia - 2019 UT App 130 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS MICHAEL ALLEN PLAIA, Appellee, v. ALINA VICTORIA PLAIA, Appellant. Opinion No. 20170948-CA Filed July 26, 2019 Third…
Janson v. Janson – 2019 UT App 106 – setting aside settlement agreement
2019 UT App 106 - Janson v. Janson - setting aside stipulation THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS DEIDRE SUE JANSON, Appellant, v. JEFFREY ALAN JANSON, Appellee. Opinion No. 20170541-CA Filed…
Marroquin v. Marroquin – 2019 UT App 38 – business valuation, findings
Marroquin v Marroquin - 2019 UT App 38 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS HEATHER MARROQUIN, Appellant, v. RENSON AMILICAR MARROQUIN, Appellee. Opinion No. 20170454-CA Filed March 14, 2019 Third District…
Hartvigsen v. Hartvigsen – 2018 UT App 238 – alimony, marital property
2018 UT App 238 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS DANIELLE MARIE HARTVIGSEN, Appellant, v. RICHARD MYERS HARTVIGSEN, Appellee. Opinion No. 20160069-CA Filed December 28, 2018 Fourth District Court, Provo Department…
As a man, what steps can I take to safeguard my interests before telling my wife I want a divorce?
As a man, what steps can I take to safeguard my interests before telling my wife I want a divorce? There are two types of men who ask this question:…
Dole v. Dole – 2018 UT App 195 – imputed income, child tax exemption, property division
2018 UT App 195 The Utah Court of Appeals JULIE ANN DOLE, Appellee, v. CHRISTOPHER PATTON DOLE, Appellant. Opinion No. 20160702-CA Filed October 12, 2018 Third District Court, Salt Lake…
A list of common, but very good, Utah divorce questions (with answers)
ERIC, MY HUSBAND AND I HAVE BEEN MARRIED FOR 20+ YEARS. WE HAVE 4 CHILDREN TOGETHER 3 OF WHOM ARE STILL MINOR CHILDREN. I WAS WONDERING IF YOU MIGHT BE…
Why is dividing money in a divorce so difficult? Shouldn’t it be as simple as take what each earned?
Why is dividing money in a divorce so difficult? Shouldn’t it be as simple as each takes what each earned? In Utah (where I practice law), the law is not…
Which lawsuit judgments can be considered marital property?
When lawsuit judgments may or may not be marital property: lessons from Utah appellate case law In the Utah divorce case of Andersen v. Andersen, 379 P.3d 933 (Utah Court…
Can a wife expect a property to be split equally if she cheated?
Can a wife expect a property to be split between partners if she cheated on her partner in the US (assuming no contract has been signed)? Yes. People who are…
Who gets the house, if one of us had an affair?
After 1.5 years trying to reconcile after my wife's 5 year affair, we are ending our 20-year marriage. Despite two teenage kids and her being a stay-at-home mom, she had…
Sandusky v. Sandusky – 2018 UT App 34 (23-Feb-2018) – bifurcation, separation agreement, court discretion
2018 UT App 34 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS KYLEE J. SANDUSKY, Appellee, GEORGE A. SANDUSKY, Appellant. Opinion No. 20160131-CA Filed February 23, 2018 Third District Court, Silver Summit Department…
Is the money I earn at my job during the marriage marital property?
Are my earnings from my job that I earned during the marriage marital property? Almost certainly. Black’s Law Dictionary defines “marital property” as follows: Property that is acquired during marriage…