Did I make a mistake hiring a lawyer outside of my county to handle my child custody case? The question is whether the attorney you hired is experienced in the…
Question: Can I hire an attorney after to review the documents from mediation before I sign anything? What if I hire an attorney before we meet mediation? Do I have…
Could a class action suit by divorced fathers who were unfairly denied custody of their children due to gender bias be successful in a state court? In my humble opinion,…
Personal service is getting scarce. That's not necessarily a bad thing. Some services we're happy to accept from a machine: a quick car wash, the convenience of an ATM. But…
Consulting Martindale-Hubbell for the AV rating certainly can’t hurt a potential client in helping him or her to assess a divorce or family lawyer’s qualifications, skills, and “fit” with you,…
Question: How can I get a fair child custody arrangement when my ex has an attorney and I am unable to pay the initial retainer for my own attorney? I…
I'm Brian Godfrey, a legal assistant for Utah Family Law, LC. I often take calls from potential clients who ask myriad questions. Some I can answer, others I can't. I…
Today's video is taken directly from Seth Godin's blog because it applies so well and so crucially to how both lawyers and clients approach divorce in the wrong ways. The link to…
Small hinges swing large doors. I recently listened to a podcast featuring Peter carry an us (Carayiannis), whose firm has been twice nominated for the most innovative law-firm award. And although…
The Availability of Free Online Divorce Law Information is Great! Really, We’re Not Kidding. You can find an abundance of very and useful and interesting legal information online for free,…
You often hear divorce lawyers saying that there are “special challenges” for virtually everybody in divorce: special challenges for men, special challenges for women, for the young, special challenges for…
An act of domestic violence could lead to civil court action, criminal court action, or both. So first, let’s make sure you understand the difference between civil and criminal court…
This blog post is taken from a blog posting by Seth Godin. The link to his post and to his blog is: https://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/123780515/0/sethsblog~Natural-light.html. He wrote: Natural Light (by Seth Godin) If…
So you don't like the terms of your divorce settlement and you're wanting to modify those terms. I hope that when you signed that settlement agreement you didn't agree to…
I’ve never been one to avoid elephants in the room, so let’s examine this one. We’ve met in an initial consultation. You’re a potential client. We’ve discussed your problems, reviewed…
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…
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…
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…
You may have wondered what the difference is between a “family law attorney” and a “divorce attorney.” Not really, although differences do exist, and often depend on the context in…
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…
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):…
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…
Potential divorce and family law clients want to know my “win/loss record.” Frankly, until just now, I’ve never thought to keep track of this information. Why? Not because I am…
It is my opinion, based upon 18 years of practice as a Utah divorce attorney, that the quality and competence of most of the Utah attorneys who practice in the…
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,…
Note: I am not anti-mediation and I never have been. I am anti-mandatory mediation. And I object to flawed and fraudulent arguments in favor of mediation. Appeals to authority (“courts…
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…