Equity Archives

When do courts value the marital estate?

When do courts value the marital estate? At time of separation, or at the time the court enters the Decree of Divorce? This is a question that often causes divorcing people’s heart to sink. I’ll tell you why, but first,…

Can a parent with full custody deny visitation due to unsanitary conditions?

Can a parent with full custody refuse to allow visitation due to unsanitary living conditions? Good question. I will answer this question in the context of some applicable law for the jurisdiction where I practice divorce and family law (Utah).…

Fox v. Fox 2022 UT App 88 – alimony

Fox v. Fox 2022 UT App 88 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS DIANN SHERI FOX, Appellant, v. BENJAMIN DAVIS FOX, Appellee. Opinion No. 20200949-CA Filed July 14, 2022 Fifth District Court, St. George Department The Honorable Matthew L. Bell No.…

How do you win financially in a divorce?

It depends upon what you mean by “win financially.” Man divorcing people define this term differently, and the differences are extreme. Some people define “winning financially” as: coming away from the divorce action either 1) with as much money and…

What are the significant changes to family law in the past two centuries?

What are the most important changes to the family law in the 19th century and 20th century up to today, and why? In my opinion (and in no particular order): No-fault divorce Abolition of the doctrine of coverture (femme couvert) …

How should the child support payment system in the U.S. be changed?

How should the child support payment system in the U.S. be changed to make it more fair? What is unfair about child support for the child support payor (also known as the child support obligor): tying child support to the…

Beckham v. Beckham, 2022 UT App 65

2022 UT App 65 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS VICKI BECKHAM, Appellee, v. RANDALL BECKHAM, Appellant. Opinion No. 20200935-CA Filed May 19, 2022 Third District Court, Salt Lake Department The Honorable Barry G. Lawrence No. 194901020 Ben W. Lieberman, Attorney…

Horne v. Horne – 2022 UT App 54 – 60(b) motion to set aside

2022 UT App 54 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS REBECCA A. HORNE, Appellee, v. TODD D. HORNE, Appellant. Opinion No. 20200845-CA Filed April 28, 2022 Third District Court, Salt Lake Department The Honorable Barry G. Lawrence No. 194905732 Mary C.…

Why isn’t 50/50 custody the default resolution in child custody cases?

I have studied this question throughout my career, and I’ve been a divorce and family lawyer for 25 years. If there is one family law question to which I know the answer, it is this one. Eventually, a rebuttable presumption…

Knowles v. Knowles – UT App 47

Knowles v. Knowles – UT App 47 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS DUANE CROFT KNOWLES, Appellant, v. CELIA FERN KNOWLES, Appellee. Opinion No. 20200032 Filed April 7, 2022 Second District Court, Farmington Department The Honorable David R. Hamilton No. 174700123 …

In re J.L… 2022 UT 12 – termination of parental rights

2022 UT 12 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF UTAH STATE OF UTAH, in the Interest of J.A.L. and J.O.L., Persons Under Eighteen Years of Age J.L. and J.A., Appellants, STATE OF UTAH, Appellee. No. 20200271 Heard September…

Wadsworth v. Wadsworth – 2022 UT App 5 – marital estate

January 17, 2022

Divorce Utah

Alimony and Support, Appeal, Assets/Debt/Property, Attorney Fees, Business Interests, Business Valuation, Coping With Divorce, Court Orders, Court Rules, Division of Marital Property, Divorce, Divorce and Taxes, Divorce Attorneys, Divorce Causes, Divorce Costs, Divorce Court, Divorce Fears, Divorce Law, Divorce Lawyers, Divorce Mistakes, Divorce Preparedness, Divorce Procedure, Equity, Evidence, Expert Witnesses, Extramarital affairs/Adultery, Family Law, Finances, Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, Husband's or Wife's Business, Infidelity, Judges, Justice and Equity, Lawyer Fees, Legal System, Marital Debts, Marital Estate, Marital Home, Marital Property, Men's Divorce Issues, Modification of Alimony, Modification of Decree of Divorce, Personal Property, Procedure and Evidence, Property Division, Real Estate/Real Property, Spousal Support, Spouse's Business, Taxation, Utah Code, Utah Court of Appeals Decisions, Utah Law, Valuation, Women's Divorce Issues

appellate case, appellate decision, court of appeals, divorce law, family law, Utah Court of Appeals

2022 UT App 5 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS CANDI WADSWORTH, Appellant, v. GUY L. WADSWORTH, Appellee. Opinion No. 20190106-CA No. 20200430-CA Filed January 13, 2022 Third District Court, Salt Lake Department The Honorable Su Chon No. 104904966 Michael D.…

Fischer v. Fischer – 2021 UT App 145 – marital vs. separate property

THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS GARY LEE FISCHER, Appellant, v. MELISSA KAY FISCHER, Appellee. Opinion No. 20200557-CA Filed December 30, 2021 Seventh District Court, Moab Department The Honorable Don Torgerson No. 184700047 Steve S. Christensen and Clinton R. Brimhall, Attorneys…

Law from a legal assistant’s point of view, week 17: Fairness

November 9, 2021

Divorce Utah

Divorce, Divorce Attorneys, Divorce Law, Divorce Lawyers, Equity, Family Law, Lawyers, Legal Assistant, Legal System

assistant, equity, fair, fairness, John Rawls, justice, law, legal, legal aid, legal assistant

By Quinton Lister, legal assistant Before I started working as a legal assistant I was a philosophy major at BYU. During that time I read a portion of John Rawls treatise on justice. Mr. Rawls sought to equate justice with fairness. I would try and…

MacFarland v. MacFarland – 2021 UT App 58

July 16, 2021

Divorce Utah

Amicable Divorce, Child Custody, Child Custody Modification, Child Support, Child Support Calculation, Child Support Enforcement, Child Support Modification, Children in Divorce, Co-parenting, Cohabitation, Contempt of Court, Coping With Divorce, Court Orders, Custody, Dirty Tricks, Divorce, Divorce Court, Divorce Fears, Divorce Law, Divorce Mistakes, Divorce Preparedness, Divorce Procedure, Equitable Interest, Equity, Evidence, Family Law, Fathers' Divorce Issues, Joint Physical Custody, Judges, Justice and Equity, Legal System, Marital Home, Men's Divorce Issues, Modification of Alimony, Modification of Child Custody, Modification of Child Support, Modification of Decree of Divorce, Modification of Parent-time, Mothers' Divorce Issues, Noncustodial parents, Parent Time, Petition to Modify Decree of Divorce, Physical Custody, Preparing for Divorce, Special Circumstances, Spousal Support, Termination of Alimony, Uncontested Divorce, Utah Court of Appeals Decisions, Utah Court Rules, Utah Law, Women's Divorce Issues

§ 30-3-10.1, § 30-3-5, § 78B-12-108, § 78B-12-201, alimony, child custody, decree of divorce, joint physical custody, Modification, modifying, physical custody, Utah code

021 UT App 58 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS BRUCE RAY MCFARLAND, Appellant and Cross-appellee, v. NICOLE S. MCFARLAND, Appellee and Cross-appellant. Opinion No. 20190541-CA Filed June 4, 2021 Second District Court, Farmington Department The Honorable David J. Williams No.…

Do you think it’s fair that Brad Pitt got joint custody of his kids?

Normally, I do not like to comment on the intersection of pop culture and family law because quite often, what happens in a celebrity divorce or child custody dispute does not arise or get handled the same way as would…

Nakkina v. Mahanthi – 2021 UT App 63 – joint equal custody, marital property, attorney fees

July 2, 2021

Divorce Utah

Appeal, Assets/Debt/Property, Attorney Fees, Best Interest of the Child, Child Custody, Children in Divorce, Co-parenting, Coping With Divorce, Court Orders, Court Rules, Custody, Divorce, Divorce Attorneys, Divorce Costs, Divorce Court, Divorce Fears, Divorce Law, Divorce Lawyers, Divorce Mistakes, Divorce Preparedness, Divorce Procedure, Equity, Evidence, Family Law, Fathers' Divorce Issues, Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, Joint Physical Custody, Judges, Justice and Equity, Lawyer Fees, Legal System, Marital Estate, Marital Property, Men's Divorce Issues, Mothers' Divorce Issues, Parental Fitness, Parental Rights, Parenting Plan, Personal Property, Physical Custody, Preparing for Divorce, Property Division, Utah Court of Appeals Decisions, Utah Law, Women's Divorce Issues

attorney's fees award, interspousal gifts, joint equal physical custody, joint parent-time, joint physical custody, marital property, Nakkina v. Mahanthi - 2021 UT App 63, Utah Court of Appeals

Nakkina v. Mahanthi – 2021 UT App 63 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS SIREESHA NAKKINA, Appellee, v. PRODEEP KUMAR MAHANTHI, Appellant. Opinion No. 20190750-CA Filed June 17, 2021 Third District Court, Salt Lake Department The Honorable Barry G. Lawrence No.…

Do courts make awards in divorce to “punish” adultery?

Do courts make awards in divorce to “punish” adultery? Great question. Adultery is considered a fault-based ground for divorce and a factor that can be considered when the trial court decides matters of alimony, property division, and child custody. I…

Ward v. McGarry – 2021 UT App 51

Ward v. McGarry – 2021 UT App 51 NOTICE: THIS OPINION HAS NOT BEEN RELEASED FOR PUBLICATION IN THE PERMANENT LAW REPORTS. UNTIL RELEASED, IT IS SUBJECT TO REVISION OR WITHDRAWAL. Court of Appeals of Utah. Sara WARD, Appellant, v. Meredith MCGARRY, Appellee. …

When flawed thinking is tragic thinking (thank goodness)

I frequently encounter comments made in child custody disputes to the effect that “courts favor the nurturing and detailed attentiveness of mothers over fathers.” I am as grateful for such comments as I am disheartened by them. Grateful because they reveal a common and recurring flaw in so many people’s thinking—and identifying the…