If everyone agrees that the judge needs to know what the child is experiencing, observing, and feeling, why won’t the judge interview the child? This post is the seventh…
Which Is Better: spending thousands on GAL/custody evaluator or $0 on a judge interview? How could it be better to spend thousands on a GAL or custody evaluator when the…
Does having the judge interview the children traumatize the children? This post is the second in series of 15 posts on the subject of custody evaluations and the appointment…
When a lawyer drops a client, is the reason shared with the judge and/or opposing counsel (i.e., the client refused to be reasonable, etc.)? In Utah, where I practice divorce…
Does a Restraining Order Prevent Me from Communicating with the School? If a school age child has a restraining order against a parent prohibiting him from coming within a certain…
How can I choose which of my parents gets custody of me? In Utah, a child can’t choose. At least not anymore. Under current Utah law, children do not get…
2020 UT App 88 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS KAREN HARDY, Appellee, v. BRIAN NEIL HARDY, Appellant. Opinion No. 20190496-CA Filed June 11, 2020 Fifth District Court, St. George Department…
2020 UT App 114 https://www.utcourts.gov/opinions/appopin/In%20re%20C.M.R...20200806_20190808_114.pdf THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS STATE OF UTAH, IN THE INTEREST OF C.M.R., B.T.R., P.J.R., F.S., AND O.S., PERSONS UNDER EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE. C.S.,…
This opinion is subject to revision before final publication in the Pacific Reporter 2020 UT 54 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF UTAH JILLIAN SCOTT, Appellant, v. BRADLEY…
I recently participated in a hearing before a domestic relations commissioner in which the commissioner refused to interview a child and ordered a guardian ad litem (GAL) appointed, even though…
What would happen if a witness in court was asked if they will swear to tell the truth and they said no? If the witness were unwilling to swear or…
Retirement now a potential ground for modifying alimony award In the 2020 legislative session the Utah State legislature amended the Utah Code to provide that “regardless of whether a party's…
New Law: Collection Fees for Unpaid Child Support and Alimony In the 2020 legislative session the Utah State legislature passed a new law, Utah Code section 30-3-3.5, which provides that…
New Child Support Enforcement Penalties! In the 2020 legislative session the Utah State legislature passed a new Utah Code section, section 23-19-5.5. This new law--effective July 1, 2021--provides that an…
When the fall school break parent-time period begins was a common question that the Utah State legislature addressed in the 2020 legislative session by making a clarifying change to the…
2020 UT App 77 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS CARMELITA VOLK, Appellee, v. JOHN VECCHI, Appellant. Opinion No. 20180776-CA Filed May 14, 2020 Third District Court, West Jordan Department The…
Is having an affair illegal in Utah? It used to be, but as of the 2019 legislative session, it's not anymore. Adultery used to be a class B misdemeanor. Utah…
2020 UT App 73 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS ALICIA W. KOEHLER, Appellee, MARK STEWART ALLEN, Appellant. Opinion No. 20190395-CA Filed May 7, 2020 Fourth District Court, Provo Department The…
What is the "right of first refusal"? Is it a statutory right in Utah? Many of you dealing with child custody disputes may have heard the time "right of first…
2020 UT App 35 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS V.M., Appellant, v. DIVISION OF CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES, Appellee. Opinion No. 20180906-CA Filed March 5, 2020 Fourth District Juvenile Court,…
2020 UT App 34 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS PEGGY PETRZELKA, Appellee, v. JAMES E. GOODWIN, Appellant. Opinion No. 20180923-CA Filed March 5, 2020 First District Court, Logan Department The…
2020 UT App 21 - THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS JULIE RIVET, Appellant, v. LOUIS HOPPIE, Appellee. Opinion No. 20181018-CA Filed February 13, 2020 First District Court, Logan Department The…
2019 UT App 208 - THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS STATE OF UTAH, IN THE INTEREST OF E.R., A PERSON UNDER EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE. J.R., Appellant, v. STATE OF…
2019 UT App 204 - THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS STATE OF UTAH, IN THE INTEREST OF H.F., A PERSON UNDER EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE. J.F., Appellant, v. E.F., Appellee.…
2019 UT App 202 - THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS STATE OF UTAH, Appellee, v. NATHAN DAVID BAIZE, Appellant. Opinion No. 20180326-CA Filed December 12, 2019 Fourth District Court, American…
This opinion is subject to revision before final publication in the Pacific Reporter 2019 UT 73 UTAH SUPREME COURT JIMMY OLGUIN, Appellee, v. MARIE ANDERTON and CHRISTOPHER ANDERTON,Appellants. No. 20180098…
2019 UT App 201 – Bradshaw v. Pelley-Whelan THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS CAIRO BRADSHAW, Appellant, v. CHRISTOPHER PELLEY-WHELAN, Appellee. Opinion No. 20181003-CA Filed December 12, 2019 Third District Court,…
This opinion is subject to revision before final publication in the Pacific Reporter 2019 UT 72 - Utah Supreme Court - Hinkle v. Jacobsen THERESA I. HINKLE, Appellee, v. KOREY…
This opinion is subject to revision before final publication in the Pacific Reporter 2019 UT 71 – Utah Supreme Court OSCAR CASTRO, Appellant, v. MARI TERESA LEMUS, Appellee. No. 20180094…
2019 UT App 207 - THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS ADAM LEGRANDE PEEPLES, Appellee, v. ANNALEISE T. PEEPLES, Appellant. Opinion No. 20180713-CA Filed December 19, 2019 Third District Court, Salt…
No. There are two kind of grounds for divorce: fault and no-fault. Irreconcilable differences are an example of no-fault grounds for divorce. Before no-fault divorce laws were passed (and every…
Inability to care for a child is not the same as abandoning a child. If a parent (father or mother) were to “refuse custody” of his/her child, that would be…
2019 UT App 195 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS CAROL BURGGRAAF, Appellee, v. BRIAN JOSEPH BURGGRAAF, Appellant. Opinion No. 20180405-CA Filed November 29, 2019 Second District Court, Ogden Department The…
Not absolutely, but it can be illegal to video record someone in your home without his/her knowledge. Here is the answer for my jurisdiction (Utah): Utah Code § 76-9-401. Definitions.…
2019 UT App 147 – McQuarrie v. McQuarrie THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS MELVIN C. MCQUARRIE, Appellant and Cross-appellee, v. JANETTE COLLEDGE MCQUARRIE, Appellee and Cross-appellant. Opinion No. 20170956-CA Filed…
Child Support Purposes. What are they? Black’s Law Dictionary defines child support as: child support (1939) Family law. 1. A parent's legal obligation to contribute to the economic maintenance and…
2019 UT App 114 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS TODD EBERHARD, Appellant, v. LORI ANN EBERHARD, Appellee. Opinion No. 20170721-CA Filed June 27, 2019 Third District Court, Salt Lake Department…
Pulham v. Kirsling - 2018 UT App 65 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS KRISTEN PULHAM, Appellee, v. WILLIAM KIRSLING, Appellant. Opinion Nos. 20150577-CA and 20160236-CA Filed April 12, 2018 Third…
I can’t speak for all states, but I can answer the question for the state where I practice law (Utah): Utah Code § 78B-15-109. Limitation on recovery from the obligor.…
Higley v. Buhler - 2019 UT App 96 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS JEDEDIAH WELLS HIGLEY, Appellee, v. BRYAN DEAN BUHLER,Appellant. Per Curiam Opinion No. 20180925-CA Filed June 6, 2019…
2018 UT App 224 – In re Adoption of B.N.A. THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS IN THE MATTER OF THE ADOPTION OF B.N.A., A PERSON UNDER EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE…
2018 UT App 181 – Chaparro v. Torero THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS ELDA CHAPARRO, Appellant, v. ENRIQUE TORERO, Appellee. Opinion No. 20170494-CA Filed September 20, 2018 Second District Court,…
Nebeker v. Orton - 2019 UT App 23 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS SHANE NEBEKER, Appellant, v. TRISHA ANN ORTON, Appellee. Opinion No. 20170438-CA Filed February 14, 2019 Sixth District…
Welcome back to our feature on new laws from the 2019 Utah Legislative Session. There were a lot of changes in family law in 2019. The legislature amended section 78B-15-610…
2019 UT App 83 – Nave Free v. Free THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS LINDA LEE NAVE-FREE, Appellee, WENLOCK DUANE FREE JR., Appellant. Opinion No. 20170751-CA Filed May 16, 2019…
Welcome back to our feature on new laws from the 2019 Utah Legislative Session. There were a lot of changes in family law in 2019, and one amendment was made…
Welcome back to our feature on new laws from the 2019 Utah Legislative Session. There were a lot of changes in family law in 2019, and were going to tell…
Section 30-3-10 provides some of the criteria the court must consider in analyzing and making its custody award. With the legalization of medical marijuana, the Utah legislature amended Section 30-3-10…
Welcome back to our feature on new laws from the 2019 Utah Legislative Session. In 2019 the legislature amended section 30-3-34 rather extensively. We discussed some of those changes in…
New laws from 2019 Utah Legislative Session - Section 30-3-34 - "best parent"? Welcome back to our feature on new laws from the 2019 Utah Legislative Session. In 2019 the…