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…
When Would It Be Appropriate to Modify a Utah Custody Order?
Child custody orders are not etched in stone, but neither are they revolving doors. Utah law makes that clear. Parents often assume that if circumstances “change” at all (no matter…
What Type of Couple Has the Highest Divorce Rate?
People love simple answers. “Couples who marry young.” “Couples without money.” “Couples in second marriages.” “Couples who don’t share hobbies.” You’ve seen the lists. The question itself is flawed. There…
What Is the Average Age for Men and Women Who Divorce?
United States Generally In 2020, the median age at first divorce was 42.6 for men and 40.1 for women (Bowling Green State University).[1] The median age varies by demographics: Among…
Law Needs Fewer Hired Guns and More Straight Shooters: Why the Legal Profession Must Stop Treating Argumentation as a Contest and Start Treating It as a Path to Truth
Plato’s irritation with the Sophists was never about style. It was about moral purpose. As Jonny Thomason discusses in his Big Think essay (it’s a short read and well worth your time), Plato’s frustration…
Even the Best Divorce Lawyer Can’t Turn a Weak Case Into a Strong One
There’s a persistent belief in the divorce and custody world that the “right” divorce and child custody lawyer can work miracles. That if you hire someone clever enough, aggressive enough,…
A Better Approach to Utah Divorce and Child Custody Litigation
If Utah’s domestic-relations legal system is serious about accuracy, fairness, and reducing unnecessary conflict, then the system needs processes that beneficially affect how cases are litigated and how evidence is…
Utah Law Does Not Bar Children From Testifying—Even When a PGAL Is Appointed
Utah law allows a child to be represented by an attorney—either a guardian ad litem (GAL) when there are allegations of child abuse, or by a private guardian ad litem…
How to Protect Your Child From Being Manipulated Into Making False Accusations During a Custody Dispute
A candid, experience-based guide for parents who need the truth without varnish or theatrics. Not every case involves manipulation. Not every professional fails. But when these problems occur—and they do—the…
If Your Spouse Hid Assets by Titling Them in a Parent’s Name, Is That “Smart Protection” or Financial Fraud? How Do You Prove It in Utah Divorce Court?
This is not unusual: a spouse suddenly “doesn’t own anything,” yet somehow pays the taxes, insurance, maintenance, or mortgage on a house that’s titled in Mom’s name. Or money gets…
Is Alimony Still Necessary? Or Is It an Outdated Relic? A Utah Divorce Lawyer’s Honest, Earnest Take
If you have spent any time searching for information about alimony, you already know the truth: most people hate the idea of paying it, most people love the idea of…
A Shield, Not a Gag: Utah’s PGAL Statute Authorizes Representation, Not Substitution
When Utah courts face high-conflict custody disputes, one common suggestion is to appoint what is known as a Private Guardian ad Litem (PGAL)—an attorney ostensibly tasked with “representing the best interests of…
You Must Follow Court Rules, and You Cannot Be a Law Unto Yourself
People often come into court thinking they can game or “outsmart the system.” They’ve read something online, talked to a friend who claims to have “pulled one over on the…
Evidence, Not Guesswork: The Case for Testing Proposed Child Custody and Parent-time Schedules Before Making Final Custody and Parent-time Orders in Utah
Utah courts are tasked with making custody and parent-time decisions based on the best interest of the child. But you cannot know what schedule truly serves a child’s best interest if…
How to Protect Yourself from False Abuse Accusations During Custody Exchanges and Other Interactions
False allegations of abuse—whether physical, emotional, or “stalking”—are among the most destructive things that can happen to a parent in a custody dispute. Once the words “abuse” and/or stalking is/are…
Utah Courts Don’t Appoint Lawyers in Divorce Cases. Here Is What That Really Means.
In Utah, you don’t get a court-appointed lawyer for a divorce case because a divorce case is a civil, not a criminal, matter. That means even if your divorce case affects your…
What Should I Do If I Have to Have a Custody Evaluation, Psychological, or Other Evaluation Conducted?
Utah family courts often order custody, psychological, or substance-abuse evaluations. Learn what to expect, how to prepare, and how to protect yourself during these high-stakes assessments. _________ When a Utah…
What Are Attorney Bar Numbers, and What Can They Tell You?
In Utah, each licensed attorney is assigned a bar number. Mine, for example, is 7559. An attorney bar number (also often called a bar license number or registration number) is…
Utah Discovery Rules: What Every Divorce or Custody Litigant Should Know
Discovery is the stage of your Utah divorce, custody, or support case where both sides gather evidence. It’s not optional, and it’s not endless. Utah’s Rule 26 sets strict standards…
How to Reopen Discovery for Good Cause in Utah Family Law Cases
Once discovery closes in your Utah divorce, child custody, or support case, it’s supposed to stay closed. The court expects both sides to be finished gathering evidence and ready for…
What Counts as “New Evidence” After Discovery Closes in a Utah Divorce Case?
When discovery closes in your Utah divorce, child custody, or support case, you can’t keep gathering (or using at trial) new evidence unless it fits a very narrow exception.Many people…
When Discovery Closes, It’s Really Closed: What That Means in Utah Family Law Cases
When discovery closes in your Utah divorce, child custody, or support case, that’s the official end of the evidence-gathering phase. You can’t send out new discovery requests, And you can’t…
The False Economy of the Cheap Divorce Lawyer
A cheap divorce lawyer almost always costs more in the long run. Low-fee lawyers keep prices low by cutting corners (reusing boilerplate, outsourcing analysis and judgment, and rushing cases to…
Paralegals and Legal Assistants Aren’t Your Lawyer, but They Are a Lifeline
When you hire a divorce lawyer, you aren’t usually hiring one person, you’re hiring a team. That’s by design, and it’s not meant to be “shortcut” for your lawyer to…
The Absentee Lawyer Problem: When Your Attorney Isn’t Being Fully Responsible for the Work
The Absentee Lawyer Problem: When Your Attorney Isn’t Being Fully Responsible for the Work A growing number of divorce clients are unknowingly paying for work their lawyer never actually did.…
Going it Alone? Bad Idea: Why Your Support Network Matters in Divorce
When people think of divorce, they tend to picture lawyers, judges, and endless e-mails and paperwork. But that’s just the legal side of the divorce ordeal. The emotional strain, the…
Understanding Judicial Discretion and Its Abuses in Utah Family Law
Utah judges and commissioners can—and many often do—bend or ignore laws/rules and facts. Learn how this happens, why appellate oversight rarely corrects it, and what litigants can do to protect…
Pushing Back Against Judicial Micromanagement: Divorce Courts Need to Enforce Law, Not Parent the Parents
Utah divorce and family courts sometimes wander into nanny-court social engineering, issuing orders that treat parents like fools and/or helpless children who can’t be trusted to act sensibly without judicial…
Are There Rules About What You Can File With the Court and When? Deadlines, Page Limits, and Filing Rules in Utah Family Law Cases
In a Utah divorce or custody dispute, you can’t just file whatever you want with a court and whenever you feel like it. The Utah Rules of Civil Procedure, plus orders…
My Spouse Has Disappeared During the Divorce Process, How Can I Find Him/Her?
In Utah, you can still get divorced if your spouse disappears, but only after proving you made a diligent search and using court-approved alternative service of process methods. Missing spouse…
Don’t Count on Do-Overs: Meet Your Court Deadlines or Lose Your Rights
Courts (and the orders that govern them) mean it when they set deadlines. If you miss one, you can lose claims, defenses, evidence, or even your entire case. Excuses like…
I Just Found Out My Former Spouse Won the Lottery—Can I Get Some of That Money?
In Utah, you can share in your spouse’s lottery winnings if the divorce is still pending. After the divorce is final, you cannot reopen the property settlement, but the winnings…
What Impact Are Current Economic Conditions Having on Alimony and Property Division Outcomes in Divorce Cases?
If you’re divorcing now, the economy matters more than you may think. Economic forces shape divorce outcomes in Utah. Current economic conditions are having a very real, measurable effect on…
The Most Common Non-Legal Mistakes Divorce Clients Make That Complicate Their Cases
One’s divorce case rarely falls apart just because it is legally or factually weak. More often, it’s the divorcing parties themselves who complicate their cases through avoidable mistakes. Courts in…
My Divorcing Spouse and I Are Drowning in Debt. How Do We Apportion Responsibility for It All in the Divorce Case?
In Utah divorce, debt is divided equitably, not equally. Mortgages, credit cards, student loans, and medical bills are treated differently, and creditors can still pursue you even if your ex…
Beyond Specific Legal Arguments, What Is One Significant Way the Court System Could Better Ensure Fairness for All Parents in Child Custody Disputes?
I apologize in advance; I cannot limit myself to just one answer, but I will start off with the “top” idea and then share others. Courts could make custody disputes…
Judicial Overreach in Utah Child Custody Order: Return to Restraint
In Utah, as in other states, courts deciding child custody and parent-time disputes are charged with applying the “best interests of the child” standard. That standard is necessary, but it…
Setting a Litigation Budget in Family Law Cases: An Idea Worth Developing
Setting a Litigation Budget in Family Law Cases: An Idea Worth Developing
Divorce lawyers have long grappled with one of the most disheartening realities of our practice: watching a marital estate, built over years, dissolve not into two separate households, but go…
Don’t Let This Happen to You When Drafting a Legal Custody Child Custody Award
If a parent is awarded sole legal custody of a child, does that award not carry with it an implicit obligation to exercise that sole legal custody power in good…
Can You “Buy” a Quicker Divorce Settlement in Utah?
Will offering your spouse more money guarantee a quick Utah divorce settlement? Sometimes. But it often backfires. Here’s how Utah divorce law treats lopsided settlements, when “buying peace” makes sense,…
Guardians ad Litem and Custody Evaluators in Utah: Too Often Biased, Flawed, and Beyond Accountability
In Utah custody disputes, Guardians ad Litem (GALs) and custody evaluators can have enormous influence over the outcome, often so much so that it’s far more than the law actually…
Should I Tell My Spouse Before I File for Divorce? Or Will That Put Me at a Disadvantage?
Telling your spouse you are considering divorce before filing can either open the door to a cooperative, low-drama split—or give them time to get the jump on you and hurt…
Arbitration–Mediation in Utah Divorce and Family Law: What It Is and When It Works Best
TL;DR: Arbitration–mediation (arb-med) in Utah divorce and family law starts with arbitration, then gives the parties a final chance to settle in mediation before the arbitrator’s decision becomes binding. It saves…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…