Divorce Fears Archives - Page 3 of 9

Why is it so common for parents to become outright enemies after divorce?

Why is it so common for parents to become outright enemies after a divorce? I have represented people in divorce who were pure as the driven snow, innocent as lambs, and treated miserably by their spouses, by law enforcement, by…

What does it feel like to separate two kids out of spite during a divorce?

April 9, 2020

Divorce Utah

Child Custody, Children in Divorce, Custody, Divorce Fears, Divorce Mistakes, Divorce Preparedness

separating siblings, split custody

Today’s question: What does it feel like to separate two kids out of spite during a divorce? My answer: For decent parents who experience it because it occurs against their will, to describe them as “heartbroken” is an…

How can I turn arguments into negotiations and agreement?

April 9, 2020

Divorce Utah

Divorce Fears, Divorce Mistakes, Divorce Preparedness, Mediation, Negotiation, Settlement

Jim Camp, mediation, negotiation, settlement, Start with No

How can I turn arguments into negotiations and agreement? If you could only read and apply one book on the subject, I would recommend “Start with No,” by Jim Camp. Here is the link to buy the printed book on…

Is it advantageous to lie and sling mud at the other parent to win custody?

Today’s question is: Is it advantageous for the father to file with the court a 2 page document of fabricated lies about mother in a child custody battle as part of the ‘arsenals’ used to win a custody battle and…

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…

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…

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. The courts are slowly, but noticeably, becoming less biased in favor of mothers over fathers, but the bias is still undeniably there. Fathers…

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…

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…

Should I be nice to my spouse during a divorce?

That depends on what you mean by “nice”. Do you mean “with kindness”? Not necessarily kindness, but certainly decency. You are morally obligated to treat your spouse with decency, but you don’t have to go out of your way to…

Must I engage in all-day divorce mediation or some other time period?

Must I engage in all-day mediation in my divorce action, or for some other specific time period? No, there is no mandatory minimum period of time you must spend in mediation. You don’t have to stay in all-day mediation or…

How does a narcissist continue to fool a family court judge?

February 7, 2020

Divorce Utah

Dirty Tricks, Divorce Fears, Divorce Mistakes, Divorce Preparedness, Fathers' Divorce Issues, Men's Divorce Issues, Mental Illness, Mothers' Divorce Issues, Personality Disorders, Women's Divorce Issues

BPD, mental illness, narcissist, NPD

How does a narcissist continue to fool a family court judge? How does a narcissist continue to fool a family court judge? Because there’s almost never a way to prove when anyone engaging in misconduct that is not objectively verifiable.…

What happens if you get caught lying in family court?

I’ve been a divorce and family law attorney for 23 years and gone back and forth over the years on my opinion of how the courts feel about and how they treat lying. At this point in my career, I…

2019 UT App 205, Utah Court of Appeals, State v. Wall – ex-wife murdered

2019 UT App 205 – THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS STATE OF UTAH, Appellee, v. JOHNNY BRICKMAN WALL, Appellant. Opinion No. 20151017-CA Filed December 12, 2019 Third District Court, Salt Lake Department The Honorable James T. Blanch No. 131903972 Troy…

2019 UT App 207 – Peeples v. Peeples – modification of child custody

January 7, 2020

Divorce Utah

Abuse, Best Interest of the Child, Child Abuse, Child Custody, Child Custody Modification, Children in Divorce, Co-parenting, Contempt of Court, Coping With Divorce, Custody, Custody Evaluation, Divorce Fears, Divorce Law, Divorce Lawyers, Divorce Mistakes, Divorce Preparedness, Divorce Procedure, Expert Witnesses, Family Law, Fathers' Divorce Issues, Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, GAL (Guardian ad Litem), Joint Legal Custody, Mediation, Men's Divorce Issues, Modification of Child Custody, Mothers' Divorce Issues, Negotiation, Parenting Plan, Physical Custody, Procedure and Evidence, Protective Orders, Restraining Orders, Sole Custody, Utah Code, Utah Court of Appeals Decisions, Utah Law, Women's Divorce Issues

2019, 2019 UT App 207, best interest, bifurcate, bifurcated decree, children failed to demonstrate substantial change in the circumstances, clear error, custody evaluator, December 19, denied visitation, distinction between stipulated and adjudicated decrees, domestic relations commissioner, emotional, emotional abuse, failed to meet burden to prove change in circumstances, five out of every fourteen, guardian ad litem, in “high conflict” cases burden of demonstrating a change in circumstances is higher than normal, incorrect legal standard decree was stipulated rather than adjudicated, intellectual, joint legal custody, modify divorce decree, moral development, motion to dismiss, no change in circumstances, no separate standard that courts are to apply in high-conflict cases when considering whether a substantial change of circumstances is present in the context of a petition to modify, Opinion No. 20180713-CA, overnights, PEEPLES v. PEEPLES, ping-pong custody awards, presence or absence of a substantial change in circumstances, primary physical custody, protective order, reasonable degree of stability, res judicata, school year, settlement conference, sole custody, sole physical custody, stable employment, stable home environment, summertime, Utah Code Ann. § 30-3-10.4(2)(b), Utah Court of Appeals, violations of decree could be resolved in contempt proceedings, violence

2019 UT App 207 – THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS ADAM LEGRANDE PEEPLES, Appellee, v. ANNALEISE T. PEEPLES, Appellant. Opinion No. 20180713-CA Filed December 19, 2019 Third District Court, Salt Lake Department The Honorable Andrew H. Stone No. 044901980 Brian…

Best way to handle a child custody dispute with a mentally ill ex?

January 4, 2020

Divorce Utah

Dirty Tricks, Divorce Fears, Divorce Mistakes, Divorce Preparedness, Mental Illness

care, child custody, court, emotional, harm, interest, mental illness, personality disorders, physical, relevant

After procuring an attorney for the matter, what is the best way to prepare for an upcoming child custody dispute with a PBPD ex? I am amazed at the number of people who believe that courts are interested in whether…

If your parents are divorced, what are the chances you will be?

Much, much higher than if your parents had not divorced. See Psychology Today February 5, 2019: “Research shows that children of divorce are more likely to experience a divorce themselves. The statistics vary, but one study by researchers Paul Amato and Danelle…

What are you tired of explaining when it comes to lawyers?

December 17, 2019

Divorce Utah

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

clients, complaints, expense, explaining, fees, lawyers, protracted, time

Nothing. When I am tempted to feel irritated over the questions people ask about lawyers and legal matters, I remember that the questions–though recurring–aren’t being asked by the same person over and over again, but are coming from different people…

Avoiding Hookup Dating Apps and Finding the Best Relationship Sites

December 16, 2019

Divorce Utah

Divorce Fears, Divorce Mistakes, Divorce Preparedness, Divorce Prevention/Marriage Preservation

dating, dating apps, hooking up, hookups, post-divorce dating

For those contemplating post-divorce dating, today’s post is for you. It’s a guest post from Consumers Advocate. They put together a case study of online dating industry and prepared this guide to the online dating programs. They tried to stay…

Can I protect marital assets from my spouse by “temporarily gifting” them?

November 15, 2019

Divorce Utah

Dirty Tricks, Divorce Costs, Divorce Fears, Divorce Law, Divorce Mistakes, Divorce Preparedness, Marital Property

“temporarily gifting”, conceal, courts, divorce, fraudulent transfer, gift, give, hide, hog, illegal, law, laws, legal, legislatures, marital assets, marital property, ownership, property, protect, spouse, transfer, value

Can I protect marital assets from my spouse by “temporarily gifting” assets to somebody else until after the divorce is final? Can you? Like is it doable? Sure, you can do it. And many divorcing people do this very thing successfully (meaning they get…