I’m 14 and my mom is making me live with my dad. How do I stop this?
I'm 14 and my mom is making me live with my dad and is giving him custody. What can I do to prevent this from happening? I’m a divorce and…
I'm 14 and my mom is making me live with my dad and is giving him custody. What can I do to prevent this from happening? I’m a divorce and…
I have studied this question throughout my career, and I've been a divorce and family lawyer for 25 years. If there is one family law question to which I know…
I can’t speak for all jurisdictions, but I can tell you that in the jurisdiction where I practice divorce and family law (Utah), currently the child’s preference for one parent…
Law from a legal assistant’s point of view, week 40: Recording family law hearings By Quinton Lister, legal assistant My time as a legal assistant to a divorce and family…
Twitchell v. Twitchell - 2022 UT App 49 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS JAZMIN S. TWITCHELL, Appellee, V. JOSEPH N. TWITCHELL, Appellant. Opinion No. 20200546-CA Filed April 14, 2022 First…
Corona-Leyva v. Hartman - 2022 UT App 45 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS SERGIO CORONA-LEYVA, Appellee, JESUS HARTMAN, Appellant. Opinion No. 20200948-CA Filed April 7, 2022 Fourth District Court, Provo…
Is it damaging for a child to witness a divorce or witness their parents fighting constantly? Yes. Yes, of course. Utah Family Law, LC | divorceutah.com | 801-466-9277 https://www.quora.com/Is-it-damaging-for-a-child-to-witness-a-divorce-or-witness-their-parents-fighting-constantly/answer/Eric-Johnson-311
Widdison v. Widdison - 2022 UT App 46 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS NICOLE WIDDISON, Appellant, LEON BRYANT WIDDISON, Appellee. Opinion No. 20200484-CA Filed April 7, 2022 Third District…
By Quinton Lister, legal assistant For those following along at home, you are aware that I have posted about judges before. Through the course of my current employment as a…
Knowles v. Knowles - UT App 47 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS DUANE CROFT KNOWLES, Appellant, v. CELIA FERN KNOWLES, Appellee. Opinion No. 20200032 Filed April 7, 2022 Second District…
I cannot answer this question as it applies in all jurisdictions, but I can answer the question as it applies in the jurisdiction where I practice divorce and family law…
First, the divorce rate is not currently higher than ever. It has been higher in the past. Unfortunately, the reason the divorce rate is declining is likely because fewer people…
By Quinton Lister, legal assistant Last week I wrote a post about Arb-med and how it can benefit practitioners of law, particularly family law. In this post I will be…
Not merely for having a warrant out for your arrest, no. Utah Family Law, LC | divorceutah.com | 801-466-9277 https://www.quora.com/Do-you-lose-child-custody-if-you-have-a-bench-warrant/answer/Eric-Johnson-311
By Quinton Lister, legal assistant I have mentioned in previous posts that I am interested in the field of alternative dispute resolution, or “ADR”. What is ADR? Its any means…
My sons father and I have joint custody but I have final say over his well being health and education. How can I enforce my power? If you are asking: “How do I enforce in good…
Pending divorce spouse has moved out and stopped paying bills. Should I report to my attorney or just wait until we go to court? Report this to your attorney immediately. There are…
Can my ex ask for child support? I have a 50/50 custody and no child support divorce agreement, but his mother alienated him against me and now he refuses to visit…
By Quinton Lister, legal assistant Planning is something that I have always aspired to do in my life but being a legal assistant has helped me realize that there is…
Because the work: requires a lot of knowledge of both the written (and unwritten*) rules that most people don’t have the time, interest, or ability to learn and apply correctly;…
There are many websites with lots of free information that is good. The problem is being able to tell the good content from the bad. This is why, whether you…
What advice would you give to someone who has just become one of the parties in a divorce proceeding? #1. Know this: divorce law and the divorce process are almost…
If you find an attorney who knows a sure-fire, fail-safe way to defend an ex-spouse or an ex-boyfriend/ex-girlfriend against “false accusations,” that attorney is likely a multimillionaire because possessing such…
THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS DEAN ERICKSON, Appellee, v. JANICE ERICKSON, Appellant. Opinion No. 20200193-CA Filed March 3, 2022 Third District Court, Salt Lake Department The Honorable Todd M. Shaughnessy…
How can I help my 12-year-old step-daughter get away from an emotionally abusive mother? Tell the child’s father (your husband) about the trouble and have him handle it. It’s not…
2022 UT App 24 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS JOHN DINSDALE HILLAM, Petitioner, v. TARA HILLAM, Respondent and Appellant, v. DUSTIN HANCOCK AS INVESTMENT TRUSTEE, Respondent and Appellee. Opinion No.…
By Quinton Lister, legal assistant One part of my job as a legal assistant that I have yet spoken of has been my day-to-day interaction with potential clients. When you…
Is it true that family courts get paid from child support payments? Can someone explain it to me or link me to an article that explains it? The courts do…
There isn’t one. There can’t be. I’ll explain why and what you can and should do if you want to go the DIY divorce by the book route. The main…
Merely use them? I don’t see the harm in being familiar with them. Reading, watching, listening. Learning. That’s a good thing. A very good thing. Being dependent upon only free resources? No. That’s…
2022 UT App 15 - Miller v. DaSilva http://www.utcourts.gov/opinions/view.html?court=appopin&opinion=Miller v. Dasilva20220203_20200719_15.pdf THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS LISA M. MILLER, Appellant, v. AMY ELIZABETH DASILVA, Appellee. Opinion No. 20200719-CA Filed February…
More proposed family law-related proposed laws from the 2022 Utah Legislative Session Last week I covered four family law bills proposed during the 2022 session of the Utah State Legislature.…
Hinds v Hinds-Holm - 2022 UT App 13 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS BRADLEY HINDS, Appellee, v. RACHEL HINDS-HOLM, Appellant. Opinion No. 20200586-CA Filed January 27, 2022 Third District Court,…
What will happen if the court ruled in favor of a mother to have the custody of her child but the child refuses to go with her and she prefers…
Commencing May 21, 2022, a new rule of the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure will be in force: Rule 100A. While I love the intention behind Rule 100A, reviewing the…
Family Law Legislation 2022 - Part 1 This blog post reviews four bills among new proposed legislation during the 2022 session of the Utah State Legislature that deal with divorce…
What is the legal basis for all the hoops I have to jump through in my Utah divorce case? This is a great question. It’s a question I often ask…
My lawyer asked me to get letters of my character from my friends for family court to introduce as evidence, but do they really matter and is 12 enough? Do…
2022 UT App 5 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS CANDI WADSWORTH, Appellant, v. GUY L. WADSWORTH, Appellee. Opinion No. 20190106-CA No. 20200430-CA Filed January 13, 2022 Third District Court, Salt…
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 …
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…
By Quinton Lister, legal assistant Lying is corrosive. Lying does not allow us to be the best version of ourselves. Lying keeps us in denial about the actual state of…
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 …
Divorce generally creates far more chaos in individual families than it alleviates, but sometimes a divorce is the best thing to happen to a family. But that’s like saying sometimes its good…
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…
What would you think of a parent who makes the last child support payment prorated 7 days because the child’s 18th birthday falls on the 7th? I see nothing illegal…
What’s one thing you’ve heard a lawyer say that made you question their expertise? I was in court for a hearing in a divorce action where opposing counsel objected to…
I just received and responded to a survey from Alyx Mark, assistant professor at Wesleyan University and a law and society scholar. After completing the survey, I sent this e-mail to Professor Mark:…
Miserable. Narcissists know how to game the system, to exploit its weaknesses, to exploit all that is good in human nature and institutions for destructive ends. It’s virtually impossible to prove that a narcissist is engaging in such misconduct because one of the things that makes a narcissist a narcissist, and so maddeningly effective…