I have a debit card in my name. Can my parents take it?
I’m assuming that this question comes from someone who is a minor child (i.e., someone who is under the age of 18 and not a legally recognized adult or legally emancipated). This…
I’m assuming that this question comes from someone who is a minor child (i.e., someone who is under the age of 18 and not a legally recognized adult or legally emancipated). This…
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,…
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…
If you have a lawyer: your lawyer can and should give you a copy. If you don’t have a lawyer: go to the courthouse (if the courthouse is open and allowing members…
Erring on the side of caution is not merely cowardly, not merely corrupt, it is evil. We are to look upon it as more beneficial, that many guilty persons should escape unpunished, than…
Why do the courts give full custody to a parent who refuses to work but yet reduces custody of the working parent, saying they work too much? In the belief…
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…
I’ve been a divorce attorney for 25 years, and I don’t see any difference in the divorce rate between the pre-and post-COVID-19 eras. That’s not a scientific study, just anecdotal…
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…
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…
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…
Law from a legal assistant’s point of view, week 18: Financial Declarations and Initial Disclosures By Quinton Lister, legal assistant My minimal exposure to the legal profession as a legal…
How can I obtain assistance in a custody matter when I have no money and my ex-husband is not following the current court order? In some jurisdictions there are legal…
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…
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…
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…
You may have a very difficult time finding free legal representation, BUT you may have a much easier time getting advice as to how you can and should proceed and…
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…
With rare exception in Utah (so rare that it might as well be non-existent), the way courts insist upon custody evaluations being conducted consists of: the court imposing one and…
If you want my answer, skip to paragraph three. 1. First, it may be the case (and it may be that you need to acknowledge) that the problem is not…
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…
I don’t want to appear immodest, but honestly, my book is probably the best source in one volume: https://store.legal.thomsonreuters.com/law-products/Treatises/Utah-Family-Law-2020-2021-ed-Vol-2-Utah-Practice-Series/p/106664782 You can also find the laws governing Utah divorce and family…
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…
By Quinton Lister, Legal Assistant My new job as a legal assistant to a divorce attorney has opened my eyes to the necessity of preparation. There are emergencies and surprises…
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…
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…
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…
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…
By Quinton Lister, Legal Assistant Part of what has drawn me to my current position as a legal assistant to a divorce attorney is that I wanted to learn more…
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…
MCQUARRIE v. MCQUARRIE - 2021 UT 22 In the Supreme Court of Utah. Melvin C. MCQUARRIE, Appellant, v. Janette Colledge MCQUARRIE aka Janette Kendall, Appellee. No. 20190902-SC Heard March 5,…
Here are some provisions that I have seen divorce litigants who did not include them in their divorce settlement agreements wish were included: a “loser pays” clause for 1) when…
By Quinton Lister, Legal Assistant It doesn’t take a lawyer to discover, and it doesn’t take long to realize, that the legal profession is by no means perfect. The legal system…
In Utah, the answer is: it’s likely that Mom will pay child support to Dad. Generally, unless the primary joint custodial parents makes orders of magnitude more than the other…
Thanks for the laugh. In 25 years of family law practice I’ve never heard of a man seeking custody of children (plural) that do not exist, nor have I ever…
Unless the child support order provides for a change in the child support obligation or benefit in the event and due to the parents moving out of the country, then…
I will answer this question based upon the law of the jurisdiction where I practice family law (Utah). So the question is: How can I get an emergency hearing for…
I don’t know, and I doubt that statistics are kept on such a question. If there are such statistics, I do not know of them. Generally, the reputation appointed counsel…
With money. And enough money to prove you can afford to pay the attorney to do the job well. Enough money to make the job worthwhile for the lawyer. That’s…
No. I do support that idea that one’s own child support entitlement should be an insurable interest in the amount of the entitlement itself (meaning that if you are the…
I will answer this question as it applies in my jurisdiction (Utah). First, no one has a right simply to choose your judge or choose to change the judge assigned to…
How do I prepare for family court mediation? There appears to be a lot of confusion and fear surrounding the divorce mediation settlement conference. There shouldn’t be. The two main…
First, unless there is a statute or court order that requires a parent to purchase a car for a child, or that requires both parents to share the costs of…
No, mothers are not being treated "worse" by the legal system these days, with more and more states leaning toward awarding joint custody to fathers more. Mothers do not have…
The FIRST questions most frequently asked of me are: “How much can I expect it to cost me in total to get a divorce?” “What is your hourly rate?” “What…
There could be at least two possible reasons. 1. Even though the child is living with you, if the court and/or the child support collection agency has not been made…
Any way that works for you (without running afoul of God or the law of the land, of course). Parental alienation is one of the most gut-wrenching miseries one can…
I get this question frequently. The answer: Sure, you can ask (you can always merely ask) the court to award you temporary custody of the child(ren) under such circumstances, but…
For the jurisdiction where I practice divorce and family law (Utah), the laws the court must consider are found in Utah Code § 30-3-10, 30-3-10.2, and, if the question of…
THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS STATE OF UTAH, IN THE INTEREST OF A.B., A PERSON UNDER EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE. K.T., Appellant, v.. S.T. AND T.T., Appellees. Opinion No. 20200342-CA Filed August 26, 2021 Third District Juvenile Court, Salt…