Will ORS automatically adjust the child support withheld from my paycheck when my child support obligation changes? The short answer to this question is no. ORS will not automatically review…
Does Utah law require divorced or single parents to pay child support in the form of college tuition for their children? Require it? No. Utah does not require divorced or single…
This question perennially arises at graduation time, and it’s graduation time when I write this post. Unless your Utah-issued decree of divorce contains provisions for child support that deviate from…
There are actually three different but related types of child support in Utah for divorced and unmarried parents who obtain child support orders either through administrative means or through a…
If you are a fit parent (not abusive, not neglectful, not suffering from any disability that renders you unable to provide the care and support the child needs, and can…
Several important provisions are frequently overlooked in divorce decrees, despite their significant impact on post-divorce life. If you are contemplating divorce, but have not considered these issues yet, thinking them…
If a parent has sole or primary physical custody of the children, then not only does that parent typically not end up having to pay child support to the other…
“Quid rides? Mutato nomine et de te fabula narrator. [Why do you laugh ? Change only the name and this story is about you.]” Here’s a deeply disturbing but all…
In divorce litigation, strong, compelling evidence is the cornerstone of successfully navigating critical legal determinations. When significant issues such as child custody, child support, property division, marital debt allocation, and…
Good point, and good question. Although the amount of time fathers are being awarded with their children is increasing in child custody dispute cases (and has been for the past…
How is child support calculated in Utah? How long does child support last? How is child support enforced? How child support in Utah is calculated. I will explain it both…
2024 UT App 156 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS AMANDA GODFREY, Appellee, v. RANDY GODFREY, Appellant. Opinion No. 20210871-CA Filed October 31, 2024 Third District Court, Silver Summit Department The…
Lerman v. Lerman - 2024 UT App 155 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS DEREK LERMAN, Appellee, v. MICHELLE LERMAN, Appellant. Opinion No. 20230913-CA Filed October 31, 2024 Second District Court,…
Lunt v. Lunt - 2024 UT App 148 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS MEGAN LUNT, Appellee, v. DREW E. LUNT, Appellant. Opinion No. 20220596-CA Filed October 18, 2024 Third District…
In Utah, a parent is not required to have a job and it's likely that a court cannot order a parent to get a job and earn money. If that parent…
My ex-spouse is the primary custodial parent, and I am ordered to pay child support. My ex wastes child support money and/or doesn't spend it on the needs of our…
Paragraph four of your financial declaration deals with your gross monthly income. Your gross monthly income is your income from all sources. This includes, your income from employment, your work,…
2024 UT App 84 - Corn v. Groce THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS JANETTE CORN, Appellee, v. BLAKE GROCE, Appellant. Opinion No. 20220526-CA Filed May 31, 2024 Second District Court,…
If you find yourself involved in a Utah divorce action (whether child support will be an issue or not) or an action over the support of minor children in Utah…
An accusation that gets thrown around a lot in a divorce action is that a parent doesn’t actually want to spend time with his or her children. Usually it's an…
Recently a Quora.com reader commented on my answer to this question: Is there a primary parent in joint custody in Utah which is also known as “equal” or “50/50” custody? They…
See parent question. I am a divorce lawyer, and after a divorce case ends (meaning a decree of divorce has been issued and case essentially closed), I literally never know…
The easiest of these two questions to answer is the second one, i.e., “Can child support be waiver retrospectively by the child support payee? The answer is yes, if the…
When those who will be ordered to divide assets with a spouse and/or pay child and/or spousal support (alimony) confront the matter, many try to lie about and to misrepresent their…
Some people believe that child support is the same for all parents. They believe that every parent who is ordered to pay child support pays the same amount of money…
When those who realize they may be ordered to pay child and/or spousal support (alimony) confront the matter, many try to lie about and to misrepresent their income in the hope…
Today’s blog post treats another proposed law that is up for consideration during the 2024 Utah legislative session: House Bill 129 (HB0129 (utah.gov)), entitled “Child Support Requirements”. This bill would,…
I can’t speak for all jurisdictions, but in the jurisdiction where I practice divorce and family law (Utah), child support awards are generally, in my opinion, 1) too high, 2)…
Whether you “get the child” (meaning whether you will be awarded physical custody of the child) has little to no relevance to the fact that your spouse is seeking child…
In my time as a legal assistant in the family law profession, I have observed many different kinds of client behaviors, some better than others. Those behaviors that cause the…
Many people complain (justifiably) about child support in this regard: parents who qualify to receive child support or to receive more child support by being unemployed, underemployed or who deliberately…
This is a subject that comes up frequently. It comes up frequently not because misappropriating child support is a hard problem to mitigate but because the courts don’t have the…
I think I know why you think it’s weird. Why have the children live with one parent instead both parents on an equal custody basis? In other words, “I’ll bear…
I think I know why you think it’s weird. Why have the children live with one parent instead both parents on an equal custody basis? In other words, “I’ll bear…
Question: I am ordered to pay child support to my ex. My ex and I are both ordered to share the cost of our child’s health, medical, dental, and hospital care…
If I understand your question correctly, you're wondering if the court will fault for your ex-spouse's claims that you are failing to act responsibly when it comes to making and…
Absolutely. No question about it. Now, don’t confuse “he has every right to ask for receipts” with “he has every right to receipts”. If a child support payor (known in some jurisdictions as the…
I really don’t understand why this question gets asked, and it is asked frequently. Actually, that’s not true. I do know why. The people who usually ask this question are…
There are so many things wrong with this question. But thank you for asking it because it can be the start of a beneficial conversation and lead to a better…
Blake v. Smith - 2023 UT App 78 2023 UT App 78 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS DEJUAN BLAKE, Appellee, v. JILLYN SMITH, Appellant. Opinion No. 20210779-CA Filed July 20,…
This is a more complex question than it might at first appear. First, we need to address the matter of people who confuse beliefs with facts. If I had a…
There is more than one question to answer here. First, does a parent have the unilateral power simply to “give up” his or her parental rights (and accompanying obligations)? No. The…
Good question. First, there are federal laws and regulations that govern the states in setting their child support calculation and collection laws. Second, any parent (father or mother) can be…
It appears that your question is: can child support be awarded to a parent even if a divorce or child support action has not yet been filed? If that is…
2023 UT App 62 - Cox v. Cox THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS BLANCHE COX, Appellee, v. JAMES A. COX, Appellant. Opinion No. 20210455-CA Filed June 8, 2023 Fourth District…
2023 UT App 38 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS STASHIA NELSON, Appellee, v. ISAAC SCOTT NELSON, Appellant. Opinion No. 20210345-CA Filed April 13, 2023 First District Court, Logan Department The…
I will answer this question in the context of Utah law because Utah is the jurisdiction where I practice divorce and family law. It could be that other jurisdictions have…
There are many weird twists that a case like the one you’ve described can take, but generally speaking (and I must speak generally because I do not know how the…
Unless: there is a statute or court order that permits it; or this kind of statute or court order could be the kind that permits the temporary denial of contact…
Free or inexpensively? Yes, there are ways. Each jurisdiction has different ways of providing these free and/or inexpensive legal services. With rare, if any, exception, these free and/or inexpensive legal…