My Lawyer Says That the Things I Think Are Important to My Divorce and Child Custody Case Are not Important (or Not Nearly as Important as I Believe Them to Be). Is My Lawyer Right? How Can I Know? What Do I Do?

Do you wonder whether your divorce lawyer is ignoring what really matters in your divorce or custody case? With this post you will learn why your concerns may be legally…

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Can I Stop My Spouse from Bad Mouthing Me During Our Divorce? By Braxton Mounteer, Legal Assistant

It’s not uncommon during a divorce for one spouse to claim that the other is disparaging them—online, in conversations with mutual friends, or even in front of their children. We…

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Should You Have Your Spouse or Co-Parent Subject to a Psychological Evaluation in Your Divorce and Child Custody Dispute?

I. Introduction A psychological evaluation in a custody or divorce case sounds powerful. You may believe (or even know) your spouse to be manipulative, unstable, or even dangerous. So why…

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A Presumption of Equal Physical and Legal Child Custody Should Be the Norm

Most parents in Utah assume that when they separate or divorce, the court will start from a position of splitting custody evenly. That’s a reasonable assumption—shared parenting has become the…

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Reforming Child Custody in Utah Divorce: A Parental Fitness Approach

In Utah, divorce-related child custody disputes often escalate over parenting flaws that wouldn’t justify state intervention outside divorce. This approach is flawed because it creates a double standard that unfairly…

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Family Lawyers: Why Aren’t More of You Moving the Court to Interview Children Instead of Automatically Requesting PGALs or Custody Evaluators?

Most cases don't need a PGAL or evaluator appointment. Why are court interviews often the better choice?: Quality of evidence: Direct court interviews create objective, recorded testimony rather than subjective, unverifiable,…

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Can My Ex Legally Let a Sex Offender Be Around My Kids in Utah?

TL;DR: No, not without strict limits. In Utah, no parent may not allow a registered sex offender to be around your children—even in that parent’s own home—without the other parent’s…

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I Can’t Believe I’m Giving This Advice, but I Am: Why Every Divorced Parent Should Consider Background Checks on New Partners Who Are or Who Will Be Around Their Kids

If you're divorced and you are, or your ex is, introducing a new boyfriend, girlfriend, or spouse into your minor children’s lives, you should seriously consider running a background check…

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Child Custody and the “Primary Caregiver” Scam

Of the Utah domestic relations commissioners and judges who treat fathers as second-class parents in making temporary and permanent custody and parent-time rulings, they practically gush about the standard for…

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Can Your Spouse Legally Take Half of Everything That Is Yours if You Get Divorced?

It depends on what you mean by “yours,” by what you mean by “mine”. First you need to understand that there are two kinds of property in a divorce situation:…

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Sexual Discrimination in Utah Child Custody and Parent-time Awards – I’m just going to leave this here (Part 1 of 2)

See Pusey v. Pusey, 728 P.2d 117, 121 (Utah 1986): ZIMMERMAN, Justice (concurring in the result): [I] also believe it is time to discontinue any hint of support for the notion of…

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What Evidence Should You Request During the Discovery Process in Your Utah Divorce?

Divorce has many components, one of which often includes litigating in court. Ensuring a fair outcome in your divorce case requires more than just going to court and arguing. One…

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Do You Live in Salt Lake, Summit, or Tooele County and Are Being Denied Parent-time by a Non-compliant Co-parent?

Well, then, I have good news and bad news. Good news: you can file a motion with the court to seek relief. Bad news: prepare to wait a while before…

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Equal Physical Custody – Give It a Chance . . . a Fair Chance

Equal physical custody should be awarded far, far more often than it is currently in Utah. There are so many situations in which we have two loving, fit parents who…

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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…

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Making the Expedited Parent-time Enforcement Program Truly Expedited

Given that the 3rd District requires mediation under § 81-9-102(a). (Expedited Parent-time Enforcement Program (emphasis on “expedited”), before it will hear motions to enforce and for sanctions (MTEs) that allege court-ordered…

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Do I Receive Alimony if I’m the One to File for Divorce?

I cannot speak as to what the law is on all jurisdictions, but I can answer this question based upon the law of the jurisdiction where I practice divorce and…

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Dividing Retirement Assets in a Utah Divorce

In a Utah divorce, retirement assets are often among the most valuable marital assets to divide. Retirement accounts such as 401(k)s, IRAs, pensions, and government or union retirement plans are…

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Can My Spouse Keep My Property After I Have Been Removed or Moved Out of the Marital Home? By Braxton Mounteer

This is a common and important question that arises in a divorce. If you are out of the marital home—whether by court order (such as a protective order) or voluntarily—and…

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Do We Need More and Better Court Intervention in Domestic Relations Cases?

In many types of civil litigation, the core issue is not whether time is of the essence, but whether one will eventually recover compensation, and if so, how much. Yes,…

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Is it a good idea to major in sociology, social work, community, and health? I want to become a family lawyer.

Family law is, for most lawyers, a miserable practice area. You have to have the right personality and constitution for it. If you want to be a family lawyer to…

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An Interesting and Troubling Article on the Topic of Family and Family Law From the Salt Lake Tribune

This is an interesting and troubling article on the topic of family and family law from the Salt Lake Tribune: Mother of teen killed in Salt Lake City murder-suicide pushed…

Continue ReadingAn Interesting and Troubling Article on the Topic of Family and Family Law From the Salt Lake Tribune