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…

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Parens Patriae: Why the Court Gets Involved in Your Family

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…

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Trust Without Verification: The Custody Evaluation Transparency Problem

When the interviews that shape custody decisions remain inside a black box, the court is asked to trust what it cannot independently verify. In Utah child custody disputes, custody evaluations…

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Perception Isn’t Everything in Divorce Court, But It Often Decides the Close Calls

Utah divorce law is statutory. Judges don’t invent custody standards or alimony rules on a whim. They apply what the Legislature has enacted. But statutes do not apply themselves. Judges…

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What Utah Law Actually Says About Hearing From Children in Custody Cases

In the prior discussion, I described a common feature of Utah custody and parent-time proceedings: courts routinely make findings about a child’s needs, attachments, and lived experience without hearing directly…

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What Counts as “Testimony” When the Court Hears From a Child

In the prior two posts, I described a common feature of Utah custody and parent-time proceedings: courts routinely make findings about a child’s needs, relationships, and lived experience without hearing…

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