Children in Divorce Archives

Pgals (Private Guardians Ad Litem) Are a Bad Idea.

September 27, 2023

Best Interest of the Child, Children in Divorce, Court Rules, GAL (Guardian ad Litem), Testimony, Utah Code, Utah Court Rules, Utah Law, Witness, Witness Testimony

children testimony, children witnesses, PGAL, private guardians, trusted adult

Why? You’ll hear the argument that a PGAL should be appointed for a child because we don’t want to traumatize children by having them testify on the record. Where is the evidence that a child testifying for the record so traumatizing…

My Ex-wife Is Married. Should Her and Her New Husband’s Total Household Income Be Used When Determining Child Support?

September 26, 2023

Divorce Utah

Child Support, Child Support Calculation, Child Support Enforcement, Child Support Modification, Children in Divorce, Stepchildren, Stepparents, Utah Law

Child Support, child support calculation, child support modification

I really don’t understand why this question gets asked, and it is asked frequently. Actually, that’s not true. I do know why. The people who usually ask this question are child support obligors (payors) who are suffering under the burden…

Can the Mom End up Paying Child Support to the Father if He Was Abusive?

There are so many things wrong with this question. But thank you for asking it because it can be the start of a beneficial conversation and lead to a better understanding of divorce and family law, child custody, and support.…

I Am 14 and I Want to Live With My Dad. My Parents Have Shared Custody, but My Mom Wants to Keep Me Her Alone (And She’s Not a Good Person). How Do I Stay With My Father Full Time?

I will answer this question in the context of Utah law because I am licensed as an attorney and practice divorce and family law in the state of Utah. For the typical child in your situation, i.e., one who wants to…

What does it mean when he tries to avoid a legal fight in court for child custody?

It could mean many things when a parent avoids a legal fight in court for child custody. To identify a few things, it could mean: that the parent does not want custody of the child or doesn’t care to litigate…

As a Joint Legal and Physical Custodial Parent, Can I Legally Prevent the Other Parent From Going on a Vacation (Either Out of State or Out of the Country) With Our Child or Children?

Unless a court were to order that a parent was barred from traveling out of state or out of the country with the children on vacation, a joint legal and custodial parent has an unfettered right to travel with the…

If One Parent Gets Primary Custody, Does This Mean That He/She Can Make All Decisions Regarding the Kids Without Any Input From the Other Parent?

There are two kinds of child custody, not just one. Those two different kinds are legal custody and physical custody. Legal custody is the power of a parent to make decisions for a minor child regarding the child’s health and…

2023 UT App 60 – Martinez v. Sanchez-Garcia – Material and Substantial Change

2023 UT App 60 – Martinez v. Sanchez-Garcia THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS DAISY MARTINEZ Appellant, v. FERNANDO SANCHEZ-GARCIA, Appellee. Opinion No. 20210829-CA Filed June 2, 2023 First District Court, Logan Department The Honorable Brian G. Cannell No. 154100308 Ashley…

Is My Ex-spouse Responsible for Paying Our Child’s College Education?

July 12, 2023

Divorce Utah

Child Custody, Children in Divorce, Custody

child custody, cutsoyd laws

In Utah, the law does not require divorced parents to pay for an adult child’s education. Divorcing parents can agree that one or both parents will fund some or all of a child’s college education, but they cannot—at least as…

Can Adoptive Parents Lose Their Kids When They Divorce?

July 10, 2023

Divorce Utah

Adoption, Child Custody, Children in Divorce, Co-parenting, Uncategorized

children of divroce, custody, divorce

Adoptive parents cannot lose custody of the children they adopted merely because they divorce. The children of adoptive parents are treated no differently in divorce than children who are issue of the marriage (“issue of the marriage” means the children…

If I Have a Temporary Court Hearing for Joint Custody and I Have Planned a Vacation Before the Order Is in Place. Can I Still Take My Child Out of State as the Custodial Parent?

July 7, 2023

Divorce Utah

Best Interest of the Child, Child Custody, Children in Divorce, Co-parenting

child custody, divorce

This is a complicated question. If there is no statute or court order in place that bars you from taking your child out of state with you for a vacation, and no law that provides that you must obtain the…

Does a Child Have Rights in Her Home After a Divorce?

July 4, 2023

Divorce Utah

Best Interest of the Child, Child Custody, Children in Divorce, Co-parenting

co-parenting, custody, Parent Time

There are many ways one might interpret what your question is. If you are asking whether a child of divorced parents has, as a result of the divorce, more or fewer rights in a parent’s house after divorce than before…

I’m 14 and My Parents Are Separated and Are Getting a Divorce Soon, but Why Does the Court Decide How Many Times I See My Father and Not Me?

June 14, 2023

Divorce Utah

Best Interest of the Child, Child Custody, Children in Divorce, Co-parenting, Court Orders, Court Rules, Utah Law

children's best interest, children’s desires, Utah divorce, voice of the children

Allow me to start my answer to your question by acknowledging how unfair it is to children of divorce when courts refuse to hear from the children and refuse to allow them to weigh in on the child custody and…

What Can I Legally Do if My Child’s Mother Refuses to Use Car Seat When Traveling With Our Little Child?

What can I legally do if my child’s mother picks up our child in an Uber without a car seat? She is 5 years old, about 50 lbs. She is also the custodial parent with full custody rights, so she…

What Is the Aim of Manipulating Children in Divorce Cases?

May 1, 2023

Divorce Utah

Child Custody, Child Support, Children in Divorce, Co-parenting, Custody, Uncategorized

attention seeking, co-dependency, gaining or saving money, pride, spite for the child, spite for the other parent

There can be many aims. Such as (in no particular order of popularity): gaining or saving money If the children “side” with a parent, that could influence the child custody award, and the more time a child spends with a…

How Will You Go About Settling Disagreements With Your Spouse That Affect the Child?

April 19, 2023

Divorce Utah

Best Interest of the Child, Children in Divorce, Co-parenting, Custody, Divorce

children, dissagreement, divorce, settle disagreements

Answers to this question could take up an entire book (actually, it could take up many entire books, and it does—literally millions of pages have been written on this subject). Your options and those of the other parent essentially boil…

U.S. Marriage and Divorce Statistics

March 10, 2023

Divorce Utah

Abuse, Adultery, Assets/Debt/Property, Attorney Fees, Best Interest of the Child, Child Custody, Child Support, Children in Divorce, Custody, Divorce, Divorce Causes, Divorce Costs, Divorce Court, Divorce Fears, Divorce Mistakes, Divorce Preparedness, Family Law, Fathers' Divorce Issues, Fault, Finances, Grounds for Divorce, Infidelity, Legal Custody, Legal System, Men's Divorce Issues, Mental Illness, Mothers' Divorce Issues, Parent Time, Parental Rights, Physical Custody, Separation, Settlement, Substance Abuse, Visitation, Women's Divorce Issues

Contributing factors to divorce, Divorce and political affiliation, Divorce effects on children, divorce rate in the United States, Divorce rates by addiction & mental health, Divorce rates by age, Divorce rates by education level, Divorce rates by ethnicity, Divorce rates by financial stability, Divorce rates by gender, Divorce rates by generations, Divorce rates by occupation, Divorce rates by religion, Divorce rates by social media, Divorce rates for interracial couples, Divorce statistics by state, How close friends or family impact divorce rates, How coworkers can increase divorce rates, How divorce affects couples with kids, How parents’ relationships affect divorce rates, Impact of divorce on child custody and child support., Military divorce rates, Same-sex divorce rates, The financial impact of divorce, Top divorce statistics you should know, What are the most common reasons for divorce?, Where you met

My name is Stephanie from flingorlove.com and honestly, I usually wouldn’t bother emailing about this, but I researched and gathered as much data and stats as I could about various divorce statistics and put it all together in a massive blog post…

From Pro Publica: Barricaded Siblings Turn to TikTok While Defying Court Order to Return to Father They Say Abused Them

There is far more to this story than the headline reveals. From Pro Publica: Barricaded Siblings Turn to TikTok While Defying Court Order to Return to Father They Say Abused Them https://www.propublica.org/article/parental-alienation-utah-livestream-siblings#:~:text=Two%20siblings%20in%20Utah%20have,had%20sexually%20abused%20the%20children Is there any question whether the court would…

The New Utah Code §§ 30-3-35 and 30-3-35.1 Holiday Parent-Time Schedules

From KSL.com: New Utah law brings confusion, contention for some divorced parents this holiday season https://www.ksl.com/article/50538686/new-utah-law-brings-confusion-contention-for-some-divorced-parents-this-holiday-season Utah Family Law, LC | divorceutah.com | 801-466-9277

If Parents Are Divorced or Separated, Can the Parent With Full Custody of the Child Prevent the Other Parent From Seeing the Child, Even if That Parent Is Paying Child Support?

February 24, 2023

Divorce Utah

Child Care Costs, Child Custody, Child Neglect, Child Support, Child Support Enforcement, Children in Divorce, Parent Time, Parental Rights, Physical Custody, Sole Custody

Child Support, parental rights, sole custody

Unless: there is a statute or court order that permits it; or this kind of statute or court order could be the kind that permits the temporary denial of contact with the child on the grounds that it is necessary…