Blog - Divorce Utah

2020 UT App 52 – In re J.M. – termination of parental rights

April 3, 2020

Juvenile Court, Parental Rights, Termination of Parental Rights, Utah Court of Appeals, Utah Court of Appeals Decisions, Utah Law

2020 UT App 52 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS STATE OF UTAH, IN THE INTEREST OF J.M. AND M.M., PERSONS UNDER EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE. M.M., Appellant, v. STATE OF UTAH, Appellee. Opinion No. 20190673-CA Filed March 26, 2020 Third…

2020 UT App 50 – In A.T. – parental presumption erroneously applied

April 2, 2020

Divorce Utah

Juvenile Court, Utah Court of Appeals, Utah Court of Appeals Decisions, Utah Law

Hutchison, juvenile court, natural parents, parental presumption, reunification, termination

2020 UT App 50 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS STATE OF UTAH, IN THE INTEREST OF A.T., J.T., AND K.B., PERSONS UNDER EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE. K.B., Appellant, v. STATE OF UTAH, Appellee. Opinion No. 20190591-CA Filed March 26, 2020…

There’s No Situation That Can’t Be Made Worse by Calling the Police

April 1, 2020

Divorce Utah

Coping With Divorce, Dirty Tricks, Divorce Fears, Divorce Mistakes, Divorce Preparedness, Protective Orders

bad, cops, police, worse

There’s No Situation That Can’t Be Made Worse by Calling the Police By Brian Godfrey I was talking with someone about divorce and family law situations the other day and the topic of police intervention came up. In course of…

Under My Skin But out of My Hands – Judicial Arrogance

March 31, 2020

Divorce Utah

Divorce Mistakes, Divorce Preparedness, Judges, Legal System

arrogance, COVID-19

Under My Skin But Out of My Hands – Judicial Arrogance It was recently reported by abajournal.com that a licensing company sought a temporary restraining order about a week before—before—the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois issued…

The bitter truth is better than the sweetest lie.

March 30, 2020

Divorce Utah

Judges, Legal System

censure, crude, double standard, equity, freedom, judge, justice, private, public, speech, taste

The bitter truth is better than the sweetest lie. It was recently reported that a California judge has been censured after commenting on “smoking hot” women, proclaiming that he had the “biggest balls in the courthouse” and making other inappropriate…

Do opposing attorneys ever make bets on how a judge will rule?

March 27, 2020

Divorce Utah

Divorce Attorneys, Divorce Lawyers

bet, bets, betting, judge, order, rule, ruling

Do opposing attorneys ever make bets on how a judge will rule? Yes, but usually in the sense of, “I’ll bet you Judge Brown won’t allow that in,” or something like that. Not a “formal” bet, but as an expression…

Why doesn’t marriage come with a guarantee?

March 26, 2020

Divorce Utah

Alimony and Support, Divorce Fears, Divorce Law, Divorce Mistakes, Divorce Preparedness, Divorce Prevention/Marriage Preservation

guarantee, marriage, marriage guarantee

Why doesn’t marriage come with a guarantee? It does, in a manner of speaking, but they are guarantees that few are willing to honor or enforce. An example of a guarantee (of sorts*) in divorce is alimony. The idea behind…

Can I exercise overnights with children if I live in student housing?

March 25, 2020

Divorce Utah

Noncustodial parents, Parent Time, Visitation

noncustodial parent., student housing

Can a non-custodial parent exercise overnights with children while living in off-campus student housing? As long as the school permits it and the living environment is sufficient to meet the child’s needs, yes. So you need to determine whether the…

What are some reasons for offering pro bono legal services?

March 24, 2020

Divorce Utah

Attorney Fees, Divorce Attorneys, Divorce Costs, Divorce Lawyers, Divorce Mistakes, Divorce Preparedness

pro bono, pro bono legal services, pro se

What are some reasons for offering pro bono legal services? I really don’t like providing most kinds of pro bono legal services. Candidly, the overwhelming majority of pro bono clients rank among the worst clients: least courteous and gracious, least…

Can my ex use the panic over COVID-19 to withhold the kids from me?

March 23, 2020

Divorce Utah

Child Abuse, Child Custody, Child Custody Modification, Custodial Interference, Custody, Fathers' Divorce Issues, Men's Divorce Issues, Mothers' Divorce Issues, Women's Divorce Issues

child custody, COVID-19, Parent Time, visitation

“Can my ex use the panic over Coronavirus/COVID-19 to withhold the kids from me?” “Will I still be free to pick my son up at the end of the week from his spring break visitation? With all the panic over…

Do lawyers still actually consult law books, or just have them display?

March 20, 2020

Divorce Utah

Divorce Attorneys, Divorce Lawyers

law books, poseurs

Do lawyers still actually consult law books, or look things up on computers and have the books for display? Books are becoming more and more irrelevant as computers become more convenient and more thorough sources of research. Some attorneys (particularly…

Do the family courts in the U.S. tend to favor the mother over the father?

March 19, 2020

Divorce Utah

Child Custody, Children in Divorce, Custody, Divorce Fears, Divorce Mistakes, Divorce Preparedness, Fathers' Divorce Issues, Joint Legal Custody, Joint Physical Custody, Men's Divorce Issues, Mothers' Divorce Issues, Women's Divorce Issues

bias, child custody, favoritism

Do the family courts in the U.S. tend to favor the mother over the father? Generally, yes. Only a fool (or a con artist) would tell you otherwise. The courts are slowly, but noticeably, becoming less biased in favor of…

Can I get a restraining order against a person living in the same house?

March 18, 2020

Divorce Utah

Abuse, Dirty Tricks, Divorce Fears, Divorce Preparedness, Protective Orders, Restraining Orders, Stalking Injunction/Civil Stalking Injunction

civil stalking injunction, protective order, restraining order

Can one get a restraining order against a person living in the same house as me? Sure. There’s no requirement that the petitioner and respondent in a restraining order matter reside separately as a condition to obtaining a restraining order…

I’m a year sober. Can my alcoholism hurt my child custody chances?

March 17, 2020

Divorce Utah

Addiction, Child Custody, Custody, Custody Evaluation, Parental Fitness, Substance Abuse

alcoholic, alcoholism, child custody, custody, sober, sobriety

I’m an alcoholic who endured domestic violence in my marriage. My husband exploited my addiction when he wanted an excuse to replace me. Now he’s trying to use it as a means to get custody. Can this damage my case…

Can my ex use the panic over Coronavirus/COVID-19 to withhold the kids from me?

“Can my ex use the panic over Coronavirus/COVID-19 to withhold the kids from me?” “Will I still be free to pick my son up at the end of the week from his spring break visitation? With all the panic over…

Do too many people have unrealistic expectations of what a marriage should be? Is this part of the reason why the divorce rate keeps increasing?

March 13, 2020

Divorce Utah

Uncategorized

divorce rate, high divorce rate, unrealistic expectations

Do too many people have unrealistic expectations of what a marriage should be? Is this part of the reason why the divorce rate keeps increasing? Yes and yes. https://www.quora.com/Do-too-many-people-have-unrealistic-expectations-of-what-a-marriage-should-be-Is-this-part-of-the-reason-why-the-divorce-rate-keeps-increasing/answer/Eric-Johnson-311

If we agree on child support and custody, can the judge reject our agreement?

March 12, 2020

Divorce Utah

Child Custody, Child Support, Custody, Mediation, Settlement

child custody, equitable, fair, feasible, mediation, out of court, reject, settlement

If my husband and I agree on child support and custody in mediation, can the judge reject our agreement? Yes. A judge is not obligated to approve of and adopt as his/her child custody order the agreement the parents may…

How many states favor mothers in child custody proceedings?

How many states favor giving the child to its mother in a custody hearing? You’re asking a good question, but it’s not the question you think you’re asking. The question is not whether a particular “state” favors awarding custody of…

2020 UT App 35 – V.M. v. Division of Child and Family Services

March 10, 2020

Divorce Utah

Juvenile Court, Sexual Abuse, Utah Code, Utah Court of Appeals, Utah Court of Appeals Decisions, Utah Court Rules, Utah Law

child, DCFS, evidence, juvenile court, legal error, sexual abuse, substantiation

2020 UT App 35 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS V.M., Appellant, v. DIVISION OF CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES, Appellee. Opinion No. 20180906-CA Filed March 5, 2020 Fourth District Juvenile Court, Provo Department The Honorable Brent H. Bartholomew No. 1155142 Andrew…

2020 UT App 34 – Petrzelka v. Goodwin – alimony, income, retirement funds

2020 UT App 34 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS PEGGY PETRZELKA, Appellee, v. JAMES E. GOODWIN, Appellant. Opinion No. 20180923-CA Filed March 5, 2020 First District Court, Logan Department The Honorable Thomas Willmore No. 164100050 Ashley E. Bown, Attorney for…