What advice would you give to someone whose divorce is going to court?

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…

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How do you win a case against your ex for false accusations?

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…

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Erickson v. Erickson – 2022 UT App 27

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…

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How can I help my step-child get away from an abusive mother?

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…

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Hillam v. Hillam – 2022 UT App 24 – final and appealable ruling, rule 54(b)

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.…

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True or false: Better to divorce than have a miserable life.

This blog post is in response to this question:  I don't think it's bad to get a divorce. I think it's more unhealthy to have miserable lives. — Ginger Wynn. What are…

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What is the best DIY book about divorce in the U.S.?

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…

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Hinds v Hinds-Holm – 2022 UT App 13 – child custody award factors

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,…

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What to do when child won’t comply with the custody award?

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…

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Why do spurned spouses refuse to participate in certain parts of divorce?

Why do spurned spouses often refuse to participate in certain aspects of their own divorce proceedings despite the headache it creates for all parties involved? Spurned spouses sometimes refuse to…

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What is the basis for everything I have to do for my Utah divorce case?

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…

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Do letters vouching for one’s character really matter?

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…

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Does the respondent get a copy of a restraining order?

Yes, the respondent gets one, as long as the respondent can be found so that he/she can be handed, mailed, or electronically provided with a copy. Indeed, if a respondent…

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Wadsworth v. Wadsworth – 2022 UT App 5 – marital estate

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…

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T.W. v. S.A. – 2021 UT App 132 – child custody

2021 UT App 132  THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS  T.W., Appellant, v. S.A., Appellee.  Opinion  No. 20200397-CA  Filed November 26, 2021  Third District Court, West Jordan Department  The Honorable Dianna…

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Sanders v. Sanders – 2021 UT App 122

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 …

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Johansen v. Johansen – 2021 UT App 130 – compliance with court rules

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…

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Fischer v. Fischer – 2021 UT App 145 – marital vs. separate property

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 …

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After a divorce, is it possible to stay friends with your now ex-in-laws?

After a bitter divorce, is it possible to stay on friendly terms with your now ex-in-laws? Likely? No. But that doesn’t mean you should abandon hope. Indeed, some divorces end…

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The way UT courts conduct custody evaluations nowadays is indefensible

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…

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Should a parent prorate child support to include the child’s 18th birthday?

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…

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What is it like to battle for custody with a narcissist?

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…

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What is a costly part of divorce that almost no one thinks of ahead of time?

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…

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How do I find out what my divorce case number was, if I’ve forgotten it?

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,…

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Does greed also have a role in most divorce cases?

In my experience, yes, in most cases. Not all cases, but most cases. And there are varying degrees of greed reflected in the way people approach their divorce cases. Some…

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Law from a legal assistant’s point of view, week 20: Lawyers

By Quinton Lister, legal assistant My boss at the law firm where I work (Utah Family Law, LC) has informed me more than once that, “divorce lawyers are, with few exceptions, terrible people”. I am…

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Christmas/Winter Break for Parents Under the Utah Code

Christmas/Winter Break for Parents Under Utah Code § 30-3-35 or (§ 30-3-35.5 for a child 18 months and older) If your Christmas/Winter break starts December 17, 2021 and ends January…

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Have you, or someone you know, ever had to share joint custody of a pet due to a breakup/divorce? If so, how did that work out? Was the time actually 50/50?

Many married couples are now foregoing having children but still feel a need for caring for something other than themselves individually and for each other, and so they get a…

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Parental alienation

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…

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How do I best explain to my daughters that I am divorcing their stepmom?

What is the best way for me to explain to my 3 daughters that the reason in which I am divorcing their Assistant Prosecutor stepmother is because I wouldn’t let…

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How do I get custody back of my child if the custodial parent is not keeping the child safe?

The best way to phrase this question is as follows, “How do I get an order awarding custody of our child to me, if I assert as the basis for…

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If two unwed people have a child and split up, is it treated like a divorce?

If two people have a child out of wedlock, and they split up, is it treated like a divorce?  I will answer this question for the jurisdiction of Utah.  The…

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Law from a legal assistant’s point of view, week 17: Fairness

By Quinton Lister, legal assistant Before I started working as a legal assistant I was a philosophy major at BYU. During that time I read a portion of John Rawls treatise on justice. Mr. Rawls…

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What is the first step if you get served with papers for divorce?

Rip off that band-aid and go see a lawyer immediately. Not “as soon as possible,” right now. Now. Without delay. Without any delay.  Yes, I know you don’t trust lawyers. I know…

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How to Avoid Hiring the Wrong Divorce Lawyer

So you've paid your divorce attorney $10,000 or so, it's been 6 months, and essentially nothing's getting done. What went wrong? It could be many things. If you have a…

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The Protective Order Deception

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…

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If a married couple divorces and neither one wants their child, what happens?

Great question. I have discussed this question with others. Their first reaction to the question is along the lines of “Oh, that’s terrible!,” but then we discuss the fact that…

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Why isn’t there a child support debit card, so the funds can be tracked and itemized to prevent mismanagement?

In Utah, such a thing can be done, but I have never, in 24 years of practice, seen it ordered or agreed to (I’ve heard rumors that some parents have…

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How Courts Can (and often do) Ensure There’s No Proof Joint Equal Custody Can Work

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…

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I’m a child whose parents are divorcing and fighting over custody. What can I do?

I’m 15, about to be 16, and my parents are getting a divorce. My father has full custody, but he doesn't want to take me to court to present my…

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When a restraining order expires, is there some documentation that the respondent can get to prove the expiration?

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…

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Why is disciplining a child a sign of parental alienation in the long-term?

This is an example of a logical fallacy; specifically, begging the question. It assumes the conclusion in the premise  It is not a given that disciplining a child is a…

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In Utah is there a minimum age at which minor children can be left at home or allowed to walk to school by themselves?

No. There is no minimum age at which child can be left unsupervised in Utah. Child and Family Services uses the following definition to evaluate each situation: Non-Supervision – The…

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