Law from a legal assistant’s point of view, week 40

Law from a legal assistant’s point of view, week 40: Recording family law hearings By Quinton Lister, legal assistant My time as a legal assistant to a divorce and family…

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Twitchell v. Twitchell – 2022 UT App 49 – child custody and support

Twitchell v. Twitchell - 2022 UT App 49 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS JAZMIN S. TWITCHELL, Appellee, V. JOSEPH N. TWITCHELL, Appellant. Opinion No. 20200546-CA Filed April 14, 2022 First…

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Corona-Leyva v. Hartman – 2022 UT App 45 – civil stalking injunction

Corona-Leyva v. Hartman - 2022 UT App 45 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS  SERGIO CORONA-LEYVA,   Appellee,   JESUS HARTMAN,   Appellant.  Opinion  No. 20200948-CA  Filed April 7, 2022  Fourth District Court, Provo…

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Widdison v. Widdison – 2022 UT App 46 – custody modification

Widdison v. Widdison - 2022 UT App 46   THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS  NICOLE WIDDISON, Appellant,  LEON BRYANT WIDDISON,  Appellee.  Opinion  No. 20200484-CA  Filed April 7, 2022  Third District…

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Law from a legal assistant’s point of view, week 39: Judges, part III

By Quinton Lister, legal assistant  For those following along at home, you are aware that I have posted about judges before. Through the course of my current employment as a…

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Knowles v. Knowles – UT App 47

Knowles v. Knowles - UT App 47  THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS  DUANE CROFT KNOWLES, Appellant, v. CELIA FERN KNOWLES, Appellee.  Opinion  No. 20200032  Filed April 7, 2022  Second District…

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How easy is it to change your child’s last name?

I cannot answer this question as it applies in all jurisdictions, but I can answer the question as it applies in the jurisdiction where I practice divorce and family law…

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In re Adoption of E.M.F. – 2022 UT App 43 time in which to appeal

In re Adoption of E.M.F... - 2022 UT App 43 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS IN THE MATTER OF THE ADOPTION OF E.M.F. AND M.S.F., PERSONS UNDER EIGHTEEN YEARS OF…

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Our agreement says no child support, can my ex ask for it anyway?

Can my ex ask for child support? I have a 50/50 custody and no child support divorce agreement, but his mother alienated him against me and now he refuses to visit…

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Noel v. James – 2022 UT App 33 – civil stalking injunction

Noel v. James - 2022 UT App 33 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS MICHAEL EARL NOEL, Appellee, v. WILLIAM THOMAS JAMES, Appellant. Opinion No. 20200565-CA Filed March 10, 2022 Sixth…

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Does Utah ORS collect childcare by garnishing a paycheck?

Does the Utah Office of Recovery Services (ORS) collect childcare monthly reimbursement by garnishing a paycheck like it can to collect monthly child support? No.   ORS does and cannot collect…

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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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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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In re J.L… 2022 UT 12 – termination of parental rights

2022 UT 12  IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF UTAH  STATE OF UTAH, in the Interest of J.A.L. and J.O.L., Persons Under Eighteen Years of Age  J.L. and…

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Law from a legal assistant’s point of view, week 32: If I could redo the legal system

By Quinton Lister, legal assistant  My boss, Eric Johnson, a divorce attorney, thought it might be a good blog post to write about what I would do if I were…

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In re J.P. – 2021 UT App 134 – termination of parental rights

In re J.P. - 2021 UT App 134 2021 UT App 134 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS STATE OF UTAH, IN THE INTEREST OF J.P. AND T.P., PERSONS UNDER EIGHTEEN YEARS…

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2022 UT App 15 – Miller v. DaSilva – protective order objections

2022 UT App 15 - Miller v. DaSilva http://www.utcourts.gov/opinions/view.html?court=appopin&opinion=Miller v. Dasilva20220203_20200719_15.pdf THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS LISA M. MILLER, Appellant, v. AMY ELIZABETH DASILVA, Appellee. Opinion No. 20200719-CA Filed February…

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State v. Redden – 2022 UT App 14 – protective orders – enhanced penalties

2022 UT App 14 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS STATE OF UTAH, Appellant, v. JOEL CHANCE REDDEN, Appellee. Opinion No. 20200700-CA Filed January 27, 2022 Fifth District Court, Cedar City…

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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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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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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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In re J.P. – 2021 UT App 134 – termination of parental rights

2021 UT App 134  THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS  STATE OF UTAH, IN THE INTEREST OF J.P. AND T.P., PERSONS UNDER EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE.  T.L., Appellant, v. STATE OF…

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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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Are Licensed Paralegal Practitioners a good idea?

I just received and responded to a survey from Alyx Mark, assistant professor at Wesleyan University and a law and society scholar. After completing the survey, I sent this e-mail to Professor Mark:…

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Erring on the side of caution is not merely cowardly, it is evil

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…

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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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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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How do courts insist upon custody evaluations being conducted?

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…

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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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What are the divorce laws in Utah?

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…

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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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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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McQuarrie v. McQuarrie – 2021 UT 22 – termination of continuation of alimony

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,…

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