If a divorced parent doesn’t want visitation rights (i.e. doesn’t want to see his/her child), is that legal, or would the court order the unwilling parent to have visits? This…
2018 UT App 137 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS BRANDON CHRISTOPHER LAY, Appellant, v. CORINNA NICOLE LAY, Appellee. Opinion No. 20170230-CA Filed July 12, 2018 Third District Court, West Jordan…
Perspective of a Law Student: How my views on court decisions have changed after 2 years of law school by Alyssa Miller Before law school I perceived court cases and the…
Noncustodial Parents: Understanding Parent-Time When going through a divorce, one of the most common issues is child custody. A common misperception about child custody is that it is simply who…
QUESTION: Is it unreasonable for me to assume my kids would have their own clothes at their dad's place? He has been requesting that I send specific items with the…
QUESTION: What can I file in court for custodial interference? Is it just a matter of filing a motion for order to show cause? Or is there more to it?…
How much does it cost to divorce on average, with two kids and contested custody? On average? I’d say around $20,000, if the case is contested. But, as you will see…
Child Custody: How do courts provide for parents to take care of their children after divorce? When parents divorce, one of the biggest potential conflicts is the question of child…
If somebody’s wife gets pregnant by another man will it be easy for the husband to gain custody of their children? In my opinion, 9.5 times out of 10 the…
QUESTION: From a lawyer’s perspective, why do women get child custody almost 90% of the time? Is there really a bias? What factors come into play when deciding about it?…
What happens if a non-custodial parent habitually brings a son back days late from a visitation, resulting in unexcused absences from school (kindergarten)? Am I responsible for the truancy? The…
What are your favorite child custody schedule? Alternating weeks, 2–2–3, 3–3–4–4, or something else? Without regard to any other considerations that would affect a custody schedule, my favorite schedule generally…
Wednesday, March 7, 2018 I recently saw this post on a child custody Facebook group: If [fathers] want to piss and moan, and whine online about injustice and not being…
QUESTION: My ex keeps bringing up snow days and teacher development days and claims he gets them all. How does Utah law govern this? ANSWER: First, do unto others as…
How can I convey to the judge how damaging it would be for my 3-year-old to have unsupervised visits with her father? He’s delusional: says he killed about 400 people…
Why does the mom usually win custody of her kids in a divorce? Why are mother's awarded child custody so often? There is one main reason, and many ancillary reasons,…
QUESTION: How can I call my 10-year-old as a witness in family court to say where she would like to live, and why? ANSWER: First, you may want to re-think your…
2017 UT App 216 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS MICHAEL W. RISHER III, Appellant, AMY M. EMERSON, Appellee. Opinion No. 20160389-CA Filed November 24, 2017 Third District Court, Tooele Department…
A minor child of divorced parents need not be a party to the divorce action to be subject to the court’s contempt power. See Crank v. Utah Judicial Council, 20…
I wonder which state in the U.S. has the highest rate of awarding joint physical custody of children in divorce. Unfortunately, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if Utah…
NOTE: this will explain how to calculate Christmas break parent-time for any period, in any year (but we'll use 2017 as an example). QUESTION: I'm trying to figure out what day…
Vanderzon v. Vanderzon - 2017 UT App 150 - August 17, 2017 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS HEIDI KIRSTEN VANDERZON, Appellant, v. JOHN MATTHIAS VANDERZON, Appellee. Opinion No. 20140946-CA Filed…
As a matter of basic human rights and human nature, unless they are unfit then divorced and separated parents and their children deserve joint custody. "[A] parent's right to the…
What are the biases shown in family law? Every human bias imaginable can affect a family law case, but the ones that I find most common and most troubling are…
What advice do you have for a mother who is forced to share custody of a 13 year son with covert narcissist? The longer I practice the more I come…
QUESTION: Dear Eric, My ex and I have been separated for a while now. He has not given us any money for child support. I am supporting my child and…
BULLET PROOF ADVANCE NOTICE Note: This is the first of four blog postings on bullet proofing your summer parent time, that I’ll publish in as many weeks. You will want…
BULLET PROOF YOUR HEARING Note: This is the fourth of four blog postings that I’ll publish in as many weeks. You will want to read them all (and likely want…
BULLET PROOF YOUR REQUEST FOR COURT ASSISTANCE Note: This is the second of four blog postings that I’ll publish in as many weeks. You will want to read them all.…
BULLET PROOF YOUR MOTION YOU FILE WITH THE COURT AND YOUR ARGUMENT IN COURT Note: This is the third of four blog postings that I’ll publish in as many weeks. …
One of the ways you can enforce your parent-time or custody rights is through a Writ of Assistance. You should know up front that most judges and court commissioners consider…
KIRSTEEN D. BLOCKER, Appellee, v. MICHAEL P. BLOCKER, Appellant. 2017 UT App 10 The Utah Court of Appeals Memorandum Decision No. 20150720-CA Filed January 12, 2017 Fourth District Court, Provo…
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…
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…
All biological parents have the right to petition for custody of their child or children whether they have ever been married to the other parent, or not. Additionally, all parents…
Can a step-parent get visitation or custody of a child who is neither his/her natural nor adopted child in Utah? The short answer is that it’s legally possible, but just…
Question Detail: My granddaughter's father is divorced from her mother, my daughter. The father remarried. His new wife is emotionally, verbally and at times physically abusive to my granddaughter. When…
Bullet Proofing Your Holiday Time: Send Notice in Writing NOW Many divorced or single parents have issues with parent-time, not because they can’t use a calendar or make a plan,…
Request mediation (move to compel it, if need be)! Our previous posts ensuring you enjoy and enforce your holiday parent time dealt with giving your ex as much advanced notice…
"The fairest rules are those to which everyone would agree if they did not know how much power they would have.” — John Rawls Quarreling means trying to show that…
This blog post covers provisions that are not required by Utah law to be in a parenting plan but that you either are allowed to include in the parenting plan…
Every Utah parenting plan must contain the following minimum provisions: Provisions for resolution of future disputes between the parents. This means: A process for resolving disputes, unless precluded or limited by…
Utah Law requires that all joint legal and/or joint physical custody arrangements have a “parenting plan”. “Parenting plan”. It has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? I mean who…
So what can you do the battle custodial interference if local law enforcement and the city and county attorneys won’t? Check out our blog posting on motions for order to show…