Blog - Page 4 of 47 - Divorce Utah

Why can a child refuse to live with a parent as court ordered?

Why is it OK to allow a 14-year-old child to deny one parent access to him/her without any reason, but it is kidnapping if the child were to refuse to live with either parent and instead live with an adult…

State v. Popp – 2019 UT App 173 – divorce and sexual abuse of children

November 13, 2019

Divorce Utah

Child Abuse, Child Custody, Children in Divorce, Sexual Abuse, Utah Court of Appeals, Utah Court of Appeals Decisions, Utah Law

2019 UT App 173 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS STATE OF UTAH, Appellee, v. JUSTIN WILLIAM POPP, Appellant. Opinion No. 20180224-CA Filed October 31, 2019 First District Court, Brigham City Department The Honorable Brandon J. Maynard No. 171100138 Staci A.…

In re L.M. – 2019 UT App 174 – reasonable reunification services

November 12, 2019

Divorce Utah

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

DCFS, grounds for termination, parental rights, reasonable reunification services, sufficiency of the evidence, terminate, terminating

2019 UT App 174 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS STATE OF UTAH, IN THE INTEREST OF L.M., A PERSON UNDER EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE. A.M., Appellant v. STATE OF UTAH, Appellee Per Curiam Opinion No. 20190657-CA Filed October 31, 2019…

Have you ever experienced a judge questioning the opposing party?

November 11, 2019

Divorce Utah

Divorce Law, Divorce Procedure, Evidence, Expert Witnesses

judge, judges questioning witnesses

Have you ever experienced a judge told you “Please sit down, Mr X” without listening to your argument, and then proceeded to question your opponent at length? Yes. Sometimes it’s bush league and unfair. To most judges’ credit, however, this…

Why not have all attorneys get paid the same (like Medicare for all)?

November 8, 2019

Divorce Utah

Uncategorized

free lawyers, no-cost lawyers, pro bono lawyers, subsidized lawyers, welfare

If you agree that we need justice reform, would you embrace a system where all attorneys get paid the same (like Medicare for all) and the poor don’t get a public defender but have access to all lawyers? The problem…

What is the most respected profession today, lawyer, doctor, teacher, scientist?

November 7, 2019

Divorce Utah

Divorce Attorneys, Divorce Lawyers, Divorce Mistakes, Divorce Preparedness

doctor, lawyer, profession, professions, respect, respected, scientist, teacher

None of them. The days when simply being a teacher, scientist, doctor, or lawyer more or less identified you as a man or woman of high intelligence, good character, honor, and devotion to bettering society are long gone. So many…

If an eyewitness testimony is so fallible, why is it so heavily relied upon?

November 6, 2019

Divorce Utah

Evidence, Witnesses

eyewitness, eyewitness testimony, fallible, memory

Because we have overestimated the accuracy of human perception and memory, and even after discovering this fact, why would anyone want to believe that the accuracy of human perception and memory is worse than imagined? That makes each of us feel inferior,…

Is a factual position better to take in a divorce statement rather than an emotional or semi-emotional position?

November 5, 2019

Divorce Utah

Divorce Fears, Divorce Mistakes, Divorce Preparedness

divorce, emotion, emotional, fact, factual

Yes. But you already knew that. And I thank you for the question anyway–really, I do–because even though we all know this we all need to be reminded of it. Utah Family Law, LC | divorceutah.com | 801-466-9277 https://www.quora.com/Is-a-factual-position-better-to-take-in-a-divorce-statement-rather-than-a-semi-emotional-position/answer/Eric-Johnson-311

Why do lawyers refer to their clients as “my client” instead of by name?

November 4, 2019

Divorce Utah

Divorce Attorneys, Divorce Lawyers

attorney, attorneys, client, lawyer, lawyers

Because much of the time lawyers are too conceited to think of or see their clients as anything other than “my client,” which is why they prefer to refer to them as such. Utah Family Law, LC | divorceutah.com |…

Why are divorce papers so long?

November 3, 2019

Divorce Utah

Coping With Divorce, Divorce Costs, Divorce Preparedness, Divorce Procedure

divorce paperwork, documents, length, longeur

While it is true that some lawyers write up needlessly long divorce documents just to pad their bills, even the most efficient and honest lawyers often find themselves having to draft (write) documents that are longer than most people want…

Will doctors, lawyers, engineers and accountants be revered in 100 years?

November 2, 2019

Divorce Utah

Divorce Lawyers, Uncategorized

accountants, doctors, lawyers

Careers such as doctors, lawyers, engineers and accountants are revered. Do you think this will still be the case in 100 years? Or will other careers replace them? The village blacksmith was once one of the most revered careers. Eventually,…

Has anyone you know been framed for domestic violence?

November 1, 2019

Divorce Utah

Abuse, Amicable Divorce, Dirty Tricks, Divorce Costs, Divorce Fears, Divorce Mistakes, Divorce Preparedness, Domestic Violence, Men's Divorce Issues, Mental Illness, Protective Orders, Utah Law, Women's Divorce Issues

I’m a divorce and family lawyer, and so the crimes I see people framed for or manipulated into “committing” are domestic violence types. It’s frighteningly easy to do. Before I go any further, I note: virtually every time I write…

Is it constitutional for a student to pray in his public school cafeteria before lunch?

October 31, 2019

Divorce Utah

Uncategorized

constitutional law, establishment clause, prayer, private prayer, school

A student is praying alone in his public school cafeteria before lunch. According to the establishment clause, why is this activity acceptable? It’s not unacceptable under the establishment clause. Any school administrator who would claim it is either does not…

Is it more important to study statutes or case law?

October 30, 2019

Divorce Utah

Utah Court of Appeals Decisions, Utah Law, Utah Supreme Court Decisions

appellate court, appellate courts, appellate decisions, application, apply, construction, construe, court of appeals, statute, statutes, statutory, supreme court

You must study each, but that does not mean you must devote the same amount of time to each. You must first study the statute to know what the statute provides and to see how you construe the statute before…

Can you tell the judge to award no alimony if both parties agree and settle?

October 29, 2019

Divorce Utah

Amicable Divorce, Divorce Mistakes, Divorce Preparedness, Men's Divorce Issues, Negotiation, Settlement, Women's Divorce Issues

agreeing, agreement, settlement, settling

Well, you can’t dictate to your judge as to what your judge will do, but if you and your spouse agree that no alimony will be awarded and then tell the judge that that is how you and your spouse…

Should we put divorcing couples in an adversarial divorce court system?

People who are getting divorced fall into one of two categories: those who want to divorce while doing each other as little harm as possible; and those who don’t care what happens to their spouses in divorce and who are…

Legally, are parents allowed to force their children to go somewhere?

October 24, 2019

Divorce Utah

Parental Rights

parental rights, rights of parents

Only to a certain extent. Children are morally and legally obliged to obey their parents, unless the parents seek to compel their children to do or accept something that would infringe upon the children’s fundamental human and civil rights. Utah…

Does signing a prenuptial agreement mean you expect the marriage to fail?

October 23, 2019

Divorce Utah

Antenuptial Agreements, Prenuptial Agreements

Expect the marriage to fail? Maybe not. But anticipate the marriage may fail? Yes; otherwise they wouldn’t plan ahead for its failure. Now don’t get me wrong. No venture, marriage or otherwise, is guaranteed to succeed or fail. And for…

What are some interesting facts about child support?

October 22, 2019

Divorce Utah

Child Custody, Child Support, Child Support Enforcement, Child Support Modification, Children in Divorce

Child Support, children, custody, divorce, facts, obligee, obligor, payee, payor, support

Unless the court orders otherwise (and I have yet, after 22 years in practice, to see a court order otherwise), if you lose your job, you still have to pay child support based upon the income you no longer have.…

Why are public defenders often worse than private lawyers?

October 21, 2019

Divorce Utah

Domestic Violence

better, private attorneys, public defenders, worse

Public defenders are paid by the state to represent indigent people. Indigent people are generally among the most powerless and helpless in society. Most people accused of crimes are guilty (not all, but most). When you combine these facts with…