Let’s talk about some of the ways you can prove key facts, protect yourself from false allegations, and stop contention and fighting over parent time in Utah. Recording key communications is a…
I experimented with fixed-fee pricing over the billable hour for over a year and a half before I got it down to a system that works for both my client…
What effects do divorce, alimony, child custody, child support, and property division have on your income taxes? Do these effects matter enough to consider? Yes. To be sure, when going…
Contents If you are the victim of serious or escalating domestic violence, get help and get to safety first. 2 Advance Planning, If You Have That Option. 2 Gather in…
I cannot find any case law in Utah on the subject of workers compensation awards and whether they are treated as marital or separate property in divorce. As for the…
This blog is excerpted from an article by TJ Carver at guyvorce.com entitled "How To Keep It Together When Divorce Blindsides You." We highlight those parts of his article that apply to…
Note: You do not need to be divorced or going through a divorce to find this article helpful. This article is not intended to benefit only those who have received…
In Dividing Military Pensions and Benefits Part 2, we covered formulas for splitting retirement pay for services members recommended by the Uniform Services Former Spouses’ Protection Act (USFSPA).[1] With this…
In Dividing Military Pensions and Benefits Part 1 we covered what Uniform Services Former Spouses’ Protection Act (USFSPA)[1] is and how it applies to you if you or your spouse…
Divorce is complicated enough without throwing into the mix the fact that one or more of the divorcing parties is a military service member or has military benefits. Fortunately, the…
My blog post here is inspired by a blog post by Karen Bigman, who identifies herself as a “divorce coach.” Here is the link to her post, there’s a link…
I recently read advice from a man I follow for a lot of good advice that I follow. He was recently asked a question about what do if you and…
You’ve heard the nightmare divorce stories: The divorces that go on and on for years with no end in sight, all the while costing tens of thousands of dollars; The…
Question: Are we still married? I tried to get a copy of a divorce decree from my ex husband, but found out there is no decree, because it was never…
Many people who seek free legal help do so because they tried the paid route and got burned (often burned baaaad). It’s true: lots of divorce lawyers (or I should…
When considering a divorce, there are a few fundamental steps that can help you avoid major pitfalls. Not every divorce is the same, but these five fundamental steps are a…
Let’s face it; sometimes it’s hard to communicate with your ex (or soon to be ex) about the kids. Feelings start to arise, and soon you are in another argument…
Most divorces are complicated by nature. Throw in the fact that one or more of the divorcing parties is a military service member, or has military benefits, and the divorce…
Is spying on a spouse legal in Utah? Certain kinds, yes. Can my spouse use the information from their surveillance against me? Oh yes. Are certain kinds of secret surveillance…
The value of settlement comes in resolving the dispute faster and more inexpensively than the litigation route. In most (not all) cases, it is better to compromise than to win…
It was in March of 2013, when I read this article, “False allegations of rape and domestic violence are rare, according to CPS” that I understood why certain people make…
Note: You do not need to be divorced or going through a divorce to find this article helpful. This article is not intended to benefit only those who have received…
“The will to win is worthless if you do not have the will to prepare.” - Thane Yost “Fortune favors the prepared mind.” - Louis Pasteur Planning for a divorce…
Equitable distribution of property in Utah divorce, and what that means Different states divide marital property in different ways. Utah (and other states’) law applies the principle of equitable distribution…
Summary of Zavala v. Zavala Zavala v. Zavala, 2016 UT App 6 Opinion No. 20141031-CA Filed January 14, 2016 SUMMARY: If a custody award has already been entered, custody…
Want to know what’s a burning topic of interest among the sheeple divorce lawyers out there these days? How are pets handled in divorce. Please. This is a real snippet…
Utah is (at least trying) to make child custody litigation less expensive and time-consuming with a relatively new rule (as of February 2014, when this blog posting was originally published):…
Can step-parents get custody or visitation of a child who is neither his/her natural nor adopted child in Utah? The short answer is that it’s legally possible, but just how…
By Scott Carter, CMHC Typically, when people think of narcissism, they think of people who are full of themselves and even people that love themselves more than anyone else. The…
When an assistant of mine was eight years old she was left in charge of her younger siblings (one of them 6 years old and the other two a pair…
Trial courts in Utah are authorized to interview children in child custody disputes (Utah Code Section 30-3-310(1)(e)). Most courts, however, refuse to do it, and instead usually order ruinously expensive…
Divorce can be, and for most people, usually is to one degree or another overwhelming, complicated, and expensive. Many people choose to hire an attorney to represent them in divorce…
Some might say that Utah is backwards, a little too old fashioned for these modern times. “After all,” some think, “as long as sexual intercourse occurs between two consenting adults,…
“The fairest rules are those to which everyone would agree if they did not know how much power they would have.” — John Rawls You being fair and honest in…
It would be a voluntary organization. Not everyone would need to join the cooperative, but those who do: Would have to have a minimum level of expertise, certain minimum qualifications,…
At the outset, know this: I am not anti-mediation. I am a trained mediator. I earnestly participate in mediation conferences with my divorce clients. Notwithstanding, the mediation profession at large…
There is much to know regarding mediation and family law, not all of it pleasant. Now that mediation is entrenched in the practice of law (particularly in family law), everyone…
Revenge Porn Is a Crime in Utah What is revenge porn, you ask? A form of non-consensual pornography—not that the acts depicted were non-consensual, but that their distribution after the fact was. If, for…
PROTECTION FROM DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN UTAH Numbers provided by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention reveal that one in three women in Utah will experience domestic violence, compared to…
Though Utah is a no-fault divorce state, and divorces are routinely—and almost exclusively—granted for “irreconcilable differences,” infidelity in Utah can still wind up costing you in divorce. The Utah Code…
As would be expected, family law actions are the perfect breeding ground for “he said she said” scenarios. Anyone who has been in a relationship that has ended poorly knows…
There are many points of contention in a divorce action, from child custody to asset and debt distribution. After child custody, one of the most contentious issues in a divorce…