2021 UT App 122 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS KRISTINE L. SANDERS, Appellee, v. TRAVIS JAMES SANDERS, Appellant. Opinion No. 20200618-CA Filed November 12, 2021 Third District Court, Salt Lake Department The Honorable Todd M. Shaughnessy …
THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS GARY LEE FISCHER, Appellant, v. MELISSA KAY FISCHER, Appellee. Opinion No. 20200557-CA Filed December 30, 2021 Seventh District Court, Moab Department The Honorable Don Torgerson …
The way courts in Utah conduct custody evaluations nowadays is indefensible. There is nothing in UCJA rule 4-903 (the rule governing custody evaluations) that requires a custody evaluation to consist of little…
What affects the outcome of court cases more, the relative strengths and experience of the opposing lawyers, actual facts, relevant law, or some other factor? I answer this question in…
Every aspect of divorce. Every single one. Two cannot live separately and divorced for less than they did together. Litigation is mind-bogglingly expensive and protracted. Even an uncontested divorce can…
It’s easy if you know what you’re doing. And if you don’t know what you’re doing, it’s easy to find someone who does know what to do. In many jurisdictions,…
How do I get a copy of my restraining order that I have on my ex? I lost the original copy. My answer applies to how you can obtain a…
If you have a lawyer: your lawyer can and should give you a copy. If you don’t have a lawyer: go to the courthouse (if the courthouse is open and allowing members…
I just read the following comment made by a viewer of my UFLTV parental alienation interview with Kelly Peterson. This viewer wrote, “So basically, parental alienation is proved by documenting the instances…
By Quinton Lister, legal assistant I think one of the least understood facets of the legal system by lay people (like myself, a new legal assistant) is the concept of…
We all know that a protective order provides little to no substantive protection for the purported victim. The joke around the legal profession is that when a bullet, blade, bat, or fist is headed your…
By Quinton Lister, Legal Assistant My new job as a legal assistant to a divorce attorney has opened my eyes to the necessity of preparation. There are emergencies and surprises…
Here is an example of an important gotcha factor to be on guard against, if you are a good father being forced by the legal system to fight for joint…
In Utah, the answer to your question would be: Yes, in the form of the restraining order itself. The restraining order itself states that “[t]he order shall expire by its…
By Quinton Lister, Legal Assistant Part of what has drawn me to my current position as a legal assistant to a divorce attorney is that I wanted to learn more…
MCQUARRIE v. MCQUARRIE - 2021 UT 22 In the Supreme Court of Utah. Melvin C. MCQUARRIE, Appellant, v. Janette Colledge MCQUARRIE aka Janette Kendall, Appellee. No. 20190902-SC Heard March 5,…
By Quinton Lister, Legal Assistant It doesn’t take a lawyer to discover, and it doesn’t take long to realize, that the legal profession is by no means perfect. The legal system…
In Utah, the answer is: it’s likely that Mom will pay child support to Dad. Generally, unless the primary joint custodial parents makes orders of magnitude more than the other…
I don’t know, and I doubt that statistics are kept on such a question. If there are such statistics, I do not know of them. Generally, the reputation appointed counsel…
I will answer this question as it applies in my jurisdiction (Utah). First, no one has a right simply to choose your judge or choose to change the judge assigned to…
No, mothers are not being treated "worse" by the legal system these days, with more and more states leaning toward awarding joint custody to fathers more. Mothers do not have…
Pretty much impossible. Why? Two big reasons, generally: Narcissists are masters of deception. Being a narcissist generally not terribly relevant, if relevant at all, to most issues in a divorce…
Pro-fairness and Pro-child Recently, public service YouTube channel I run (UFTLV – Utah Family Law TV – not run by or run to support Utah Family Law, LC) received a…
Rarely, and when the judge does know, it’s usually because the other parent’s malicious behavior is so way over the top as to be impossible to detect or ignore or…
By Quinton Lister, Legal Assistant I attended my first trial this past week. I did not question any witnesses or argue the case at the trial or anything like that because I am not a lawyer…
2021 UT App 77 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS LISA P. MINER, Appellee, JOHN E. MINER, Appellant. Opinion No. 20200098-CA Filed July 15, 2021 Fifth District Court,…
021 UT App 58 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS BRUCE RAY MCFARLAND, Appellant and Cross-appellee, v. NICOLE S. MCFARLAND, Appellee and Cross-appellant. Opinion No. 20190541-CA Filed June 4, 2021 Second…
With the COVID-19 crisis essentially behind us now (please don't start on the Delta variant) the Utah courts are re-opening the courthouses. And there's nothing wrong with that . .…
Nakkina v. Mahanthi - 2021 UT App 63 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS SIREESHA NAKKINA, Appellee, v. PRODEEP KUMAR MAHANTHI, Appellant. Opinion No. 20190750-CA Filed June 17, 2021 Third District…
Ward v. McGarry - 2021 UT App 51 NOTICE: THIS OPINION HAS NOT BEEN RELEASED FOR PUBLICATION IN THE PERMANENT LAW REPORTS. UNTIL RELEASED, IT IS SUBJECT TO REVISION OR WITHDRAWAL. …
I frequently encounter comments made in child custody disputes to the effect that “courts favor the nurturing and detailed attentiveness of mothers over fathers.” I am as grateful for such comments as I am disheartened by them. Grateful…
It is not merely a question of how quickly the witness corrects his or her answer. Sometimes a lawyer will ask a witness for precise details simply not because those…
What can you do if you failed to get a prenup before getting married? Is there anything I can do that’s close to a Prenup when I’m already married? It…
My spouse opens accounts in my name, steals checks, forges my signature. How do I get my spouse to stop? Without telling me, my spouse opens store accounts in my…
I have custody of my child. He left to go to his mom's last Friday for the weekend. He is refusing to come home because he wants to live there.…
That is an interesting question. Before I answer it, know this: anyone who is motivated to marry on a “what’s in it for me?” basis and who stays married motivated…
I am a father who has exercised at least 50/50 custody with my ex. Now she's trying to take me to court for full custody and me getting every other…
Yes, in my experience, there are aspects of the legal system and the practice of law that some lawyers and judges see and treat as a game. You see lawyers…
How do I console a father who has lost custody of his child? “He’s [the father who lost custody] permanently damaged.” That’s what someone else wrote in response to your…
Good news, apparently, for parents deserving of joint equal physical custody of their children but who have, up until now, been fighting an unfair, unnecessarily uphill battle. The Utah Legislature passed,…
Do lawyers ever regret helping a client or obtaining a particular judgment? Yes, yes, of course. We all know that there are plenty of lawyers who will prostitute their professional skills for money…
Lawyers, why do some cases drag for years without a conclusive decision? Does it help to get a favorable outcome or not? Does delay help one to get a favorable…
I was divorced and lied to during my divorce and I am disabled can I take my ex back to court for spousal support? Can you try? Yes. Will you…
Why is it difficult for a father to get child custody? Because there is a pernicious and false belief in far too many of the courts (not, notably, in society…
I was divorced and lied to during my divorce and I am disabled can I take my ex back to court for spousal support? Can you try? Yes. Will you…
If I can’t find an attorney, can it honestly be said I got a fair trial? If a person seeks legal representation in a court, and every attorney they tries…
Why does someone need an attorney when they can just defend themselves in court (pro se)? Why does someone need an attorney when they can just defend themselves in court?…
2020 UT App 171 - Miller v. Miller THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS RYAN MILLER, Appellant, BRENDA MILLER, Appellee. Opinion No. 20190748-CA Filed December 24, 2020 Second District Court, Farmington…
If everyone agrees that the judge needs to know what the child is experiencing, observing, and feeling, why won’t the judge interview the child? This post is the seventh…
Utah Divorce Case Timeline Summary The greatest influence on how long a divorce case takes is usually how much and how severely the parties fight over the issues. The more…