Utah has enacted a meaningful improvement in access to court proceedings. Beginning January 1, 2027, Utah Code § 78A-1-203 will require an audio recording of each public court proceeding in…
Most parents assume child support stops the moment a child turns 18. In Utah, that assumption is wrong more often than it's right. High school graduation timing controls the termination…
It often begins with a request that sounds perfectly reasonable. “We need some space.” “The fighting isn’t good for the kids.” “Why don’t you stay somewhere else for a while…
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…
Utah's entire system for dividing property, setting alimony, and calculating child support runs on one assumption: both parties are telling the truth about their finances. When that assumption breaks down,…
Signing Form I-864 is a life-altering federal commitment. A Utah divorce decree court cannot terminate your obligation to support an immigrant ex-spouse, and ordinary prenuptial agreements and alimony waivers generally will…
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…
An innocent respondent in a protective-order case often faces a problem that courts do not acknowledge clearly enough: The more fully he explains what happened, the more material he may give…
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…
I recently encountered a Facebook Reel that is funnier—and probably truer—than many people will be comfortable admitting. Watch the original Reel here. The Reel’s creator identifies what she calls the…
Viewing Pre- and Post-Nuptial Agreements Through the Humanity Lens A premarital agreement is sold to clients as a piece of financial engineering. It provides certainty. It protects separate property. It…
Judge Kasey Wright deserves more credit than ridicule for refusing to pretend that chronic triage is competent judging. On July 13, 2026, Utah Fourth Judicial District Judge Kasey Wright submitted…
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…
At a recent hearing, a commissioner explained why she was appointing a private guardian ad litem instead of interviewing the child herself: "Given the age of the child, the statutory…
Christine Miller recently made a point about family court that deserves more attention: the appearance of independent professional agreement where no genuine independence exists. When a court appoints a private guardian…
A fit parent is awarded equal custody of two teenagers. Nothing in the record suggests he's dangerous, neglectful, or unfit—the court has already said so. A few months in, the…
“A woman's greatest strength [in divorce court] is her ability to be a victim.” It’s a statement that immediately makes people boil over—either in furious agreement or absolute outrage. But…
A recent podcast clip I saw this week made a deliberately provocative claim: “A woman’s greatest strength is her ability to be a victim.” Taken literally, the statement is too…
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,…
One of the most complex, high-stakes scenarios occurs when federal immigration policies collide head-on with state domestic relations law. Under the federal Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), a non-citizen spouse…
Anyone who practices Utah family law has watched it happen. A child custody dispute is going badly for one parent, or hasn't started yet, and a protective order petition appears.…
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…
A low evidentiary burden is still a burden. That should be obvious. In Utah temporary protective order practice, however, it is often treated as optional. The preponderance of the evidence…
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…
For many Utah couples, the family home is the largest asset in the divorce. It is also often the most emotional one. That combination can make it dangerous. A spouse…
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…
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…
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…
I don’t have all the facts about this. None of us do at this point. And what facts we have may not even be fully “factual,” but we’ve seen this…
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…
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…
In most courtrooms, a litigant cannot restrict another person’s fundamental rights by repeating untested, out-of-court accusations. If a party tries to prove serious allegations through “someone told me” evidence, the…
Utah grandparent visitation rights can be court-ordered, but they are hard to win. A grandparent can ask a Utah court for visitation, but Utah law starts with a strong presumption in…
That eagerness to cross the finish line can be so seductive in reaching a divorce settlement agreement. If the division of assets looks 50/50 on paper, it is easy to…
On the surface, family court looks like a place of reason. There are statutes, rules of evidence, financial declarations, parenting plans, sworn testimony, judicial findings, and orders written in the…
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…
When a spouse earns less after divorce is filed, the court does not have to accept the lower number just because it appears on a paycheck. That is one of…
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…
Few courtroom phrases are more soothing—or more dangerous—than this response to a valid hearsay objection: “I’ll admit it, but I’ll give it the appropriate weight.” The phrase sounds disciplined. It…
For many parents involved in child custody disputes, the phrase “appointing a PGAL” comes up before anyone explains what it means. “PGAL” is short for private guardian ad litem. In…
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…
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…
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…
Not every Utah parent is subject to the default parent-time schedules found in Utah Code §§ 81-9-302 and 81-9-303. Many parents operate under customized custody and parent-time provisions created by agreement or court…
Parenting apps are now everywhere in modern child custody disputes. Lawyers recommend them. Parenting coordinators recommend them. Guardians ad litem recommend them. Courts sometimes order them. And the companies behind…