Remarriage does not make your new spouse's paycheck yours for child support purposes. But money your spouse actually gives you presents a different question. And if those gifts stop, a…
A family's division of labor does not establish a hierarchy of parenthood. That should be obvious, but custody disputes often proceed as though it were not. One parent may have…
Why should an ordinary divorce or child custody dispute take a year or longer to resolve? "These cases are complicated" is an explanation for some cases. It is not an…
Courts do not cause people to lie in divorce and child custody disputes. Courts do, however, have enormous influence over whether lying works. That distinction matters. Most people do not…
In American life marriage is both intensely personal but also a legal institution. Two people decide privately that they want to build a life together, but the state recognizes that…
Some Utah judges and domestic relations commissioners instruct lawyers to hold their evidentiary objections until opposing counsel finishes presenting. One commissioner explained that objections during proffer were unnecessary because the…
"Err on the side of caution" sounds sensible in divorce and child custody disputes. Who wants to be accused of taking chances with someone's safety? But before accepting that explanation,…
Suppose two people have the same drinking habits. Both drink socially, occasionally overdo it, hold steady jobs, and have no pattern of alcohol-related impairment. One consults a professional on his…
A child needs lunch whether it comes from a parent’s kitchen or the school cafeteria. Yet many divorced parents try to claim (transparently, disingenuously, and greedily) those alternatives as legally…
In 2021, researchers at the University of Virginia published a study in Nature built around a Lego structure (Adams, Converse, Hales, and Klotz). Participants had to stabilize a platform so…
Summary: Divorce after 50 leaves fewer working years to rebuild retirement savings, recover from tax mistakes, replace lost earning capacity, or undo a poor housing decision. The most important question…
Summary: Divorce after 50 leaves fewer working years to rebuild retirement, absorb tax mistakes, recover from a poor housing decision, or replace lost earning capacity. The most important question is…
Family litigation takes time. Some delay is inevitable and some is justified. Judges have crowded calendars. Lawyers have conflicting trials. Discovery takes time. Serious child-safety allegations may require investigation before…
Summary: Proffers save time by letting lawyers tell the court what witnesses would say. That works well when the parties agree to proceed that way or when the court assumes…
Executive Summary: Most divorce cases are not damaged because clients lack legal knowledge. They are damaged by avoidable mistakes in judgment: hiding bad facts, treating suspicion as proof, creating damaging…
Summary: Learn when you can claim Social Security benefits on an ex-spouse’s record, why the 10-year marriage rule matters in divorce, and what Utah courts can and cannot do with…
"Mom, why are you only setting one place for dinner tonight?" "Because your dinner’s at Dad's house tonight. It's your night with him tonight, and I know he's got dinner…
A parent tells the police that the other parent assaulted her. An officer responds, interviews people at the scene, and arrests the accused parent. Weeks later, the parties are in…
"Why hasn't your son been to his father's home since March?" "He's sixteen. I can't make him." Sometimes that answer is true. Sometimes it's the end of a long, ugly…
Executive Summary A law license is not a guarantee of your lawyer’s competence, preparation, judgment, or diligence. You should not assume the worst about your lawyer, but you should understand…
A hearing is coming up, and you are nervous. That is understandable. So you ask your lawyer: “Are we prepared for the hearing?” Before you ask that question, consider what…
Suppose you are asking for joint or equal physical child custody. The other parent opposes it. Why not ask the court to put your proposed schedule into effect temporarily so…
Summary. Family law increasingly describes ordinary misconduct in clinical terms. Selfishness becomes narcissism, and disagreement becomes gaslighting. When amateur psychology complicates a child custody dispute, courts and lawyers often respond…
Executive Summary: You do not save money in divorce simply by spending less on lawyers. You save money by using legal help where it adds value and avoiding work that…
Executive Summary: I draft legal documents the way a tailor fits a suit. I start with a proven structure, show the client an actual draft, and then adjust the approach,…
The strange economics of divorce mediation A Montblanc pen may be beautifully made and worth every penny to someone who wants one. But if the job is signing your name,…
Nobody has any business demanding perfection from judges, commissioners, lawyers, guardians ad litem, custody evaluators, therapists, or court clerks. These are human beings doing difficult work, often under time pressure,…
Disraeli said never apologize for feeling, because to do so is to apologize for truth. He was right, and Utah family law should take him seriously. A parent's fear for…
The Lindsay Clancy murder trial is about as far removed from an ordinary Utah divorce case as one can imagine. Clancy admitted killing her three young children in Massachusetts in…
There is a powerful argument for caution in family court, and it deserves to be taken seriously. When a judge or commissioner is confronted with an allegation that a parent…
Utah Courts Should Stop Paying an Intermediary to Tell the Factfinder What the Factfinder Can Hear Directly When a child's wishes, concerns, experiences, or perceptions matter in a Utah child…
(Guest blog by Joe Gordon) One of the biggest challenges in a gray divorce is finding a housing solution that works for both spouses without jeopardizing their retirement. For many…
Utah has enacted a meaningful improvement in access to court proceedings. Beginning January 1, 2027, Utah Code § 78A-1-203 will require an audio recording of each public court proceeding in…
Most parents assume child support stops the moment a child turns 18. In Utah, that assumption is wrong more often than it's right. High school graduation timing controls the termination…
It often begins with a request that sounds perfectly reasonable. “We need some space.” “The fighting isn’t good for the kids.” “Why don’t you stay somewhere else for a while…
There is a ritual that plays out with remarkable regularity in Utah family court proceedings. A divorce becomes ugly. A parent is angry. A child is anxious. Communication deteriorates. Someone…
What “Special Training” Does a Judge Really Need to Talk to a Child? In Utah child custody disputes, one of the stock objections to having a judge interview a child…
One of the strangest objections to judges interviewing children in child custody disputes is that the interview might make the child anxious. Of course it might. The child’s parents are…
Mental-health awareness has helped people recognize genuine illness, obtain treatment, and speak about suffering without shame. That is real progress. But family law increasingly reveals the other side of the…
Utah's entire system for dividing property, setting alimony, and calculating child support runs on one assumption: both parties are telling the truth about their finances. When that assumption breaks down,…
Signing Form I-864 is a life-altering federal commitment. A Utah divorce decree court cannot terminate your obligation to support an immigrant ex-spouse, and ordinary prenuptial agreements and alimony waivers generally will…
Summary: 1. Proposed paragraph (b)(2) applies to judicial interviews substantially the same restrictive threshold the Legislature imposed on compelled child testimony. 2. Concerns about litigation abuse and judicial workload justify…
Here is the objection this post is going to draw, so I deal with it directly instead of dodging it: raising questions about the reliability of memory sounds like it's…
An innocent respondent in a protective-order case often faces a problem that courts do not acknowledge clearly enough: The more fully he explains what happened, the more material he may give…
Utah's state court rules still prohibit litigants and attorneys from making their own audio recordings of court proceedings, even when a proceeding is open to the public and no legitimate…
A fit parent is awarded equal custody of two teenagers. Nothing in the record suggests that parent is dangerous, neglectful, or unfit—the court has already said so. A few months…
I recently encountered a Facebook Reel that is funnier—and probably truer—than many people will be comfortable admitting. Watch the original Reel here. The Reel’s creator identifies what she calls the…
Viewing Pre- and Post-Nuptial Agreements Through the Humanity Lens A premarital agreement is sold to clients as a piece of financial engineering. It provides certainty. It protects separate property. It…
Judge Kasey Wright deserves more credit than ridicule for refusing to pretend that chronic triage is competent judging. On July 13, 2026, Utah Fourth Judicial District Judge Kasey Wright submitted…
Judges in child custody disputes should hear from children more often. A lot more often. It should be routine, the presumptive course, the default. Not because children should decide custody…