Make Honesty the Selfish Move
Designing divorce and custody settlements that resist gaming Most child custody disputes — and most of the financial fights that ride alongside them — run on bad incentives. The system…
The Pitfalls of Co-Parenting “Help”: Are Special Masters and Parent Coordinators Worth the Cost in a Utah Custody Dispute? Not Usually.
Special masters and parent coordinators sound like practical solutions to exhausting parenting disputes. When parents keep fighting over exchanges, expenses, holidays, phone calls, school issues, and extracurricular activities, the idea…
Utah Child Custody and Long-Distance Relocation: “The 150 Miles or More Rule”Explained
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…
Does Child Support Cover School Fees and Extracurricular Activities in Utah?
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…
The “Best Interests” Standard: Common Factors Judges Consider in Utah Child Custody and Parent-time Disputes
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…
No Remedy Without a Wrong: Why Family Courts Must Stop Rewarding Fabricated Grievances
There is a basic principle at the heart of equity: where there is a legal wrong, there should be a remedy. But the inverse matters just as much: where there…
Child Custody and Parent-time Awards Need to Incorporate More Humility
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…
Why “Reasonable Parent-Time” Often Turns Into Unnecessary Conflict
ABSTRACT: Vague parenting plans built around “reasonable parent-time” often create more conflict, not less. When schedules, holidays, exchanges, and responsibilities are left undefined, parents frequently end up arguing about expectations…
Parenting Apps: A (Paid) Solution Looking for a Problem
Everyone in family law has heard the pitch: download a parenting app, pay a monthly fee, and suddenly your co-parenting problems become organized, documented, and “court-ready.” It sounds responsible. It…
Can You Win Child Custody If Someone Else Is Raising Your Kids During the Week?
This question is more common than you might think. Some may be in this situation: “I want custody for stability.” “I need custody because it affects support.” “I’m the better…
The Thing One Rarely Says Out Loud When Divorce Starts
When divorce or a child custody dispute begins, most people think they know what they’re fighting for. The house. The retirement account. The business. Parent-time. Child support. Alimony. Those are…
When Divorced or Separated Parents Can’t Agree: A Serious Look at Tie-Breaking in Joint Legal Custody
One of the least discussed problems in joint legal custody is not conflict, it’s stalemate. Joint legal custody means both parents share decision-making authority over major issues like education, non-emergency…
The Stranger in a Robe: 6 Things Divorce Litigants Do to Their Own Detriment
For most who are going through a divorce, whether as the petitioner or as the respondent, they worry about the big, immediate questions: “Who gets the kids? Who gets the…
The Myth of Utah’s “Standard Parent-Time”
Utah law does not impose a mandatory “standard parent-time” schedule. The schedules in Utah Code § 81-9-302 are only possible options for courts to consider. In practice, however, judges often adopt them with little…
If the Other Parent Is Withholding Parent-Time, Can I Bypass Having to Deal With Him/Her and Pick Up Our Child After School Instead?
If the other parent of your child is withholding court-ordered visitation (often now called “parent-time”) with the child from you, can you solve this problem by circumventing/bypassing having to pick…
Family Law Legislation 2022 – Part 1
Family Law Legislation 2022 - Part 1 This blog post reviews four bills among new proposed legislation during the 2022 session of the Utah State Legislature that deal with divorce…