In Utah divorces, casting your spouse as the villain without proof can wreck your credibility and your custody case. Self-reflection and evidence—not drama—win the day. Divorce brings out strong emotions.…
False allegations of abuse—whether physical, emotional, or “stalking”—are among the most destructive things that can happen to a parent in a custody dispute. Once the words “abuse” and/or stalking is/are…
In re P.M.- 2025 UT App 155 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS STATE OF UTAH, IN THE INTEREST OF P.M., A PERSON UNDER EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE. O.D.M., Appellant, v.…
2025 UT App 154 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS STATE OF UTAH, IN THE INTEREST OF P.M., A PERSON UNDER EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE. M.M., Appellant, v. STATE OF UTAH…
2025 UT App 153 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS STATE OF UTAH, Appellee, v. DEVIN STIRLING BARNEY, Appellant. Opinion No. 20240178-CA Filed October 23, 2025 Fifth District Court, Cedar City…
In Utah, you don’t get a court-appointed lawyer for a divorce case because a divorce case is a civil, not a criminal, matter. That means even if your divorce case affects your…
Utah family courts often order custody, psychological, or substance-abuse evaluations. Learn what to expect, how to prepare, and how to protect yourself during these high-stakes assessments. _________ When a Utah…
Stephenson v. Stephenson - 2025 UT App 149 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS SHAUNA H. STEPHENSON, Appellee, v. KERRY KAY STEPHENSON, Appellant. Opinion No. 20220469-CA Filed October 17, 2025 Third…
Discovery is the stage of your Utah divorce, custody, or support case where both sides gather evidence. It’s not optional, and it’s not endless. Utah’s Rule 26 sets strict standards…
Once discovery closes in your Utah divorce, child custody, or support case, it’s supposed to stay closed. The court expects both sides to be finished gathering evidence and ready for…
When discovery closes in your Utah divorce, child custody, or support case, you can’t keep gathering (or using at trial) new evidence unless it fits a very narrow exception.Many people…
When discovery closes in your Utah divorce, child custody, or support case, that’s the official end of the evidence-gathering phase. You can’t send out new discovery requests, And you can’t…
People rarely ask plainly the tough questions they actually need answered. In divorce and custody cases, clients often ask surface questions (“How much will this cost?” “Can I get full…
A cheap divorce lawyer almost always costs more in the long run. Low-fee lawyers keep prices low by cutting corners (reusing boilerplate, outsourcing analysis and judgment, and rushing cases to…
The Absentee Lawyer Problem: When Your Attorney Isn’t Being Fully Responsible for the Work A growing number of divorce clients are unknowingly paying for work their lawyer never actually did.…
When people think of divorce, they tend to picture lawyers, judges, and endless e-mails and paperwork. But that’s just the legal side of the divorce ordeal. The emotional strain, the…
Utah judges and commissioners can—and many often do—bend or ignore laws/rules and facts. Learn how this happens, why appellate oversight rarely corrects it, and what litigants can do to protect…
Utah divorce and family courts sometimes wander into nanny-court social engineering, issuing orders that treat parents like fools and/or helpless children who can’t be trusted to act sensibly without judicial…
Disappointment Is Not Synonymous with Misunderstanding Divorce and custody cases are full of hard choices, unfamiliar rules, and outcomes no one loves. It’s normal to be disappointed when a judge…
In a Utah divorce or custody dispute, you can’t just file whatever you want with a court and whenever you feel like it. The Utah Rules of Civil Procedure, plus orders…
In Utah, you can still get divorced if your spouse disappears, but only after proving you made a diligent search and using court-approved alternative service of process methods. Missing spouse…
Courts (and the orders that govern them) mean it when they set deadlines. If you miss one, you can lose claims, defenses, evidence, or even your entire case. Excuses like…
Divorce is hard enough without turning it into a credibility war. Alimony — what Utah law calls “spousal support” — exists to help a financially disadvantaged spouse transition without being…
In Utah, you can share in your spouse’s lottery winnings if the divorce is still pending. After the divorce is final, you cannot reopen the property settlement, but the winnings…
Utah judges and domestic relations commissioners reassure parents that early custody, parent-time, and support orders issued during the pendency of the child custody case are “just temporary.” Don’t believe it.…
“Remember that most people will pretend to operate in your interest while operating in their own.” —Ray Dalio Dalio wasn’t talking about family courts when he wrote this, but he…
Utah law does not impose a mandatory “standard parent-time” schedule. The schedules in Utah Code § 81-9-302 are only possible options for courts to consider. In practice, however, judges often adopt them with little…
The explosion of text messages, emails, and social media has had a significant impact on divorce litigation. The Shift: From He Said/She Said to Digital Receipts Not long ago, custody…
Yes. The term “neurodivergent” is increasingly being used in family law not only as a genuine descriptive category but also as a rhetorical and strategic tool. Here’s how it’s being manipulated: As…
If you’re divorcing now, the economy matters more than you may think. Economic forces shape divorce outcomes in Utah. Current economic conditions are having a very real, measurable effect on…
Divorce is a legal process, yes, but it’s also financial, practical, and personal. The smartest moves you can make in divorce are those you make before you file that petition…
One’s divorce case rarely falls apart just because it is legally or factually weak. More often, it’s the divorcing parties themselves who complicate their cases through avoidable mistakes. Courts in…
In Utah divorce, debt is divided equitably, not equally. Mortgages, credit cards, student loans, and medical bills are treated differently, and creditors can still pursue you even if your ex…
In Utah today, custody evaluations are often conducted behind closed doors. The evaluator interviews the parents, the children, and collateral witnesses (neighbors, teachers, extended family, therapists, coaches, pastors, etc.), but…
I apologize in advance; I cannot limit myself to just one answer, but I will start off with the “top” idea and then share others. Courts could make custody disputes…
Divorce is almost always harder, slower, more expensive, and more damaging—financially and emotionally—than people expect. Unless you are married to someone truly abusive or irreparably toxic, the better course is…
Too often (and increasingly as a means of mediators trying to differentiate themselves and offer “higher value propositions”), mediation it is oversold as something “deep” and “transformative”—but that is not…
In Utah, as in other states, courts deciding child custody and parent-time disputes are charged with applying the “best interests of the child” standard. That standard is necessary, but it…
After 28 years of divorce practice (as of the date this post is shared), I've watched countless cases that could have and should resolve in months drag on for a…
Why this comes up Divorce makes parents hyper-vigilant. A child’s smartphone can feel like the master key to what’s really happening—messages with the other parent, photos, social media, location history.…
Don’t divorce lawyers make mediation harder and more expensive? I'm a divorce lawyer, and I'll be the first to admit it: sometimes lawyers can do more harm than good in the…
Love vs. Law In Utah, stepparents have no inherent visitation rights during the pendency of divorce proceedings or after the court issues the divorce decree. Unless you qualify under the…
(For educational purposes only. Consult your attorney before you considering using these in your own case.) GAL Acting Like a Witness Without Being Sworn “Your Honor, I object. The Guardian…
For generations, the billable hour has been the dominant billing tool of the legal profession. Consequently, courts, attorneys, and even clients have assessed “reasonableness” of an attorney’s fees against the…
World War II’s silk shortage forced the military to abandon a comfortable default; nylon parachutes—stronger, cheaper, and mass-producible—started as a substitute and became the superior standard. COVID-19 did the same…
When people discover that his or her husband or wife is committing crimes or has been convicted of crimes, they often panic. One of the first questions we hear in…
Divorce lawyers have long grappled with one of the most disheartening realities of our practice: watching a marital estate, built over years, dissolve not into two separate households, but go…
When a Utah divorce case is commenced, life doesn’t stop while the case is pending. Children still need a consistent schedule. The mortgage, utilities, and insurance bills still come due.…
If a parent is awarded sole legal custody of a child, does that award not carry with it an implicit obligation to exercise that sole legal custody power in good…
Will offering your spouse more money guarantee a quick Utah divorce settlement? Sometimes. But it often backfires. Here’s how Utah divorce law treats lopsided settlements, when “buying peace” makes sense,…