If you haven’t seen "Erasing Family" and you’re going through a child custody dispute, you should. You really should. Because you really don't have any idea what you're in for.…
How can we change the court system in order to make divorces easier on the children? In my opinion: Institute a “loser pays the prevailing party’s attorney’s fees” rule. make divorce…
A chance? Sure. You have a chance. And you have a chance of winning the lottery, just not a very good chance of it. You may not want to read…
How long does it typically take to get results for a psych evaluation in a divorce? There are many variables; just to name a few: how easily the kind of…
Should we award custody to the parent who is a lower risk for COVID-19? Is it reasonable to give custody to the parent who is a lower health risk to…
Here's a question many parents have: what is the legal definition of “joint legal custody” and “joint physical custody” in Utah when it comes to the custody of children? Is…
Why doesn't marriage come with a guarantee? It does, in a manner of speaking, but they are guarantees that few are willing to honor or enforce. An example of a…
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…
Must I engage in all-day mediation in my divorce action, or for some other specific time period? No, there is no mandatory minimum period of time you must spend in…
2020 UT App 21 - THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS JULIE RIVET, Appellant, v. LOUIS HOPPIE, Appellee. Opinion No. 20181018-CA Filed February 13, 2020 First District Court, Logan Department The…
I’ve been a divorce and family law attorney for 23 years and gone back and forth over the years on my opinion of how the courts feel about and how…
2019 UT App 207 - THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS ADAM LEGRANDE PEEPLES, Appellee, v. ANNALEISE T. PEEPLES, Appellant. Opinion No. 20180713-CA Filed December 19, 2019 Third District Court, Salt…
It depends upon the court rules of the jurisdiction in which you would be filing your divorce documents are to be filed. In Utah, where I practice divorce and family…
No. There are two kind of grounds for divorce: fault and no-fault. Irreconcilable differences are an example of no-fault grounds for divorce. Before no-fault divorce laws were passed (and every…
Lawyers (whether divorce lawyers or otherwise) are about as competitive inside the courtroom as outside the courtroom and vice versa. The work is competitive whether you're in court or not.…
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…
Yes, kindness is perceived as weakness among lawyers in many ways. And there are circumstances where kindness (or what may be thought of as kindness) would be an inappropriate response…
Can I protect marital assets from my spouse by “temporarily gifting” assets to somebody else until after the divorce is final? Can you? Like is it doable? Sure, you can do it. And many…
Yes. This is what is known as “no fault divorce”. Every state in the U.S. has no fault divorce laws. Many people believe that “no fault” divorce means that one…
Have you ever experienced a judge told you “Please sit down, Mr X” without listening to your argument, and then proceeded to question your opponent at length? Yes. Sometimes it’s…
You question has two parts. Part 1: can you legally record phone calls (or an in-person conversation)? ANSWER: It depends on the jurisdiction. Some states won’t allow you to record…
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…
I was in a divorce case in which the mother’s attorney was claiming that the father should have limited custodial and parent time with their children because, as the mother’s…
Do married lawyers ever fight each other in court? Do you mean to ask whether married lawyers sue each other in court? If that’s your question, the answer is: rarely.…
Martin v. Kristensen - 2019 UT App 127 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS YVONNE MARTIN, Appellant, v. PETTER KRISTENSEN AND FRANK O. KRISTENSEN, Appellees. Opinion No. 20160265-CA Filed July 26,…
Here's a "one-stop shopping" reference to the basic court rules you'll want to know about in a Utah divorce case: Utah Rules of Civil Procedure https://www.utcourts.gov/resources/rules/urcp/ Utah Rules of Evidence…
Sometimes a husband/father is legitimately ruled against in a child custody case because he is unfit to exercise custody. Sometimes that unfitness may be his own fault (he’s abusive and/or…
Should married couples have a mandatory cooling-off period before they can file for divorce? And if so how long should the cooling off period be? Society desperately needs to reverse…
2019 UT App 114 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS TODD EBERHARD, Appellant, v. LORI ANN EBERHARD, Appellee. Opinion No. 20170721-CA Filed June 27, 2019 Third District Court, Salt Lake Department…
UPDATE on new Utah Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 109: Utah Court Notices notices@utcourts.gov via usblists.utahbar.org 8:57 AM to utahstatebarnews Subject: [UtahStateBarNews] Notice of new effective date for Rule 109…
Pulham v. Kirsling - 2018 UT App 65 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS KRISTEN PULHAM, Appellee, v. WILLIAM KIRSLING, Appellant. Opinion Nos. 20150577-CA and 20160236-CA Filed April 12, 2018 Third…
Not many. In fact, in many jurisdictions this has already occurred (many states have, in the past few years, passed laws that presume joint equal custody is in the child’s…
I’m amazed at the number of people who believe, from what fictitious TV lawyers “accomplish,” that if the lawyers just try hard enough, do enough research, pound the pavement tenaciously,…
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…
If by your question you are asking whether a man can initiate divorce proceedings against his wife after she leaves the country without any indication that she intends to return,…
I'm a mother of 3. The father has custody and I have visits and overnights. The father told me not to post videos of our children on my social media,…
Yes, and most of the time when a client decides to take a case to trial over a client’s advice the client does worse than he/she would have if he/she…
2018 UT App 181 – Chaparro v. Torero THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS ELDA CHAPARRO, Appellant, v. ENRIQUE TORERO, Appellee. Opinion No. 20170494-CA Filed September 20, 2018 Second District Court,…
2019 UT App 83 – Nave Free v. Free THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS LINDA LEE NAVE-FREE, Appellee, WENLOCK DUANE FREE JR., Appellant. Opinion No. 20170751-CA Filed May 16, 2019…
Section 30-3-10 provides some of the criteria the court must consider in analyzing and making its custody award. With the legalization of medical marijuana, the Utah legislature amended Section 30-3-10…
Welcome back to our feature on new laws from the 2019 Utah Legislative Session. In 2019 the legislature amended section 30-3-34 rather extensively. We discussed some of those changes in…
New laws from 2019 Utah Legislative Session - Section 30-3-34 - "best parent"? Welcome back to our feature on new laws from the 2019 Utah Legislative Session. In 2019 the…
Welcome back to our feature on new laws from the 2019 Utah Legislative Session. In 2019 the legislature amended section 30-3-34. That code section provides that a noncustodial parent will…
If I'm married with a child (separated for 4 years), how do I get a divorce and establish a child support order, if I don't know where my spouse is?…
As a single father I can only afford a one bedroom apartment for me and daughter, what alternatives do we have? Most courts will not penalize you for having a…
2019 UT App 60 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS CAMERON MICHAEL COX, Appellee, v. PAIGE CHARISSA HEFLEY, Appellant. Opinion No. 20170903-CA Filed April 18, 2019 Second District Court, Ogden Department…
If a spouse "refuses to sign the divorce papers" would the divorce be in limbo? No. The days of a spouse preventing a divorce due to a refusal to agree…
In the jurisdiction where I practice (Utah), the law is: Utah 76-7-103. Adultery. (1) A married person commits adultery when he voluntarily has sexual intercourse with a person other than…
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…
The Utah Supreme Court has adopted a new effective date for newly created rule 109 of the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure. The rule was formerly effective May 1, 2019, but is…