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…
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…
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…
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…
Child Custody Defiance Should Not Cost a Fit Parent Both the Children and More Money Suppose a court orders equal custody. Both parents are fit. One parent is ready, willing,…
A temporary protective order should do one thing well: protect against the danger actually alleged and shown by nothing less than a preponderance of the evidence. It should not become…
Few legal proceedings can rearrange a person’s life as quickly as an ex parte protective order. A judge can remove someone from the family home, restrict contact with children, limit access to…
This post is a companion to The Bloodletting of Family Law. That post diagnosed a system that mistakes itself for the cure. This one is about the cure the system…
For centuries, physicians bled their patients and called it medicine. The patients got weaker; the doctors, confident in their training, prescribed more bleeding. Medicine now has a name for harm…
If you are in a child custody dispute and the court appoints a "guardian ad litem," it sounds reassuring. A lawyer appointed for the child? What could there be not…
New ideas are rarely adopted by the average person first. That is a useful point Seth Godin recently made in his blog recently. When you ask ordinary people whether they like a…
When a parent isn't active in a child's life, most people think they already know why. He must not care. She must have checked out. He must have wanted something…
Few child custody disputes create more uncertainty than relocation. A parent may wantto move for a new job, remarriage, school, lower housing costs, or to be closer to family.Those reasons…
One of the most common sources of conflict between co-parents is not just custody exchanges, holiday schedules, or even the monthly child support payment. Often, it is the steady stream…
When parents separate or divorce, one of the most important questions is how custody of their children will be determined. Many parents enter the process believing the court will automatically…
Family court is not ordinary litigation. In a business dispute, the parties may fight hard, settle, and never see each other again. In divorce and child custody disputes, the parties…
Many parents (I’d say even most parents) enter family court hoping someone will fix everything. Believing that: the judge will see through the lies. the custody evaluator will identify the…
If you’re dealing with a divorce or a child custody dispute, there’s something you need to understand early: This is not just your case. That’s not rhetoric. It’s how the…
The Fragility Rationale The most common justification for not making and keeping a record of child testimony rests on fragility. Knowing that the interview will be recorded, it is said,…
Utah’s 2026 legislative session includes a proposal that deserves attention well beyond juvenile court. House Bill 372—particularly its substitute versions—revisits Guardian ad Litem (GAL) duties and standards in child welfare proceedings.…
Divorce is hard enough on its own. Add in legal paperwork packed with unfamiliar terms, and it can feel like you’re suddenly expected to speak a completely new language. For…
Seth Godin observed that every important medical innovation of the last several centuries—handwashing, antibiotics, acknowledging the dangers of smoking—was initially resisted by the medical establishment. Not because the ideas were…