Uncategorized Archives - Divorce Utah

What is the most likely experience for kids who age out of the foster care system?

April 17, 2019

age out, experience, foster care, foster care system?

Funny you should ask, as I just finished up a conference at which a retired judge and family advocate spoke on this very subject. The statistics are tragic. Those that had the greatest impact on me: children raised in foster…

Why Are Criminals Stigmatized After They Do Their Time?

April 11, 2019

Divorce Utah

Uncategorized, Utah Law

convict, crime, ex-con, paid debt to society, served sentence, stigma

When someone serves his/her sentence to do time, and completes it, why is it still not be enough to have paid their ‘debt to society’? Why must they bear the stigma of a criminal long after they paid their debt?…

How is a therapist going to fix my depression?

April 6, 2019

Divorce Utah

Uncategorized

depressed, depression, therapist, therapy

My depression has kept me in bed for years. I spend 80% of my day chasing sleep. People tell me to get help. But how is a therapist going to fix this? It’s treatment people are telling you to seek.…

What was your favorite case, and how did it go down?

March 20, 2019

Divorce Utah

Uncategorized

As an attorney, what was your favorite case, and how did it go down? Winning the argument over whether the children of a divorcing couple should bear their father’s last name, after the husband refused to believe he was the…

What is the most ridiculous thing you and your spouse fight about?

March 19, 2019

Divorce Utah

Uncategorized

Whether food is bad enough to throw out. Utah Family Law, LC | divorceutah.com | 801-466-9277 https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-most-ridiculous-thing-you-and-your-spouse-fight-about/answer/Eric-Johnson-311

Why do some lawyers settle for a plea bargain when they know their client is innocent?

December 25, 2018

Divorce Utah

Uncategorized

guilt, guilty, innocence, innocent, not guilty, plea bargain, plea deal

Many different reasons, but here’s a good example of one reason: because there are times when being innocent may not result in the jury believing you are, in fact, innocent. I had a client (some details of the story are…

If my spouse died without assigning me the survivor’s benefits, can I still get them?

November 13, 2018

Divorce Utah

Uncategorized

If a husband died naming his wife as the one to receive the survivor’s benefits, then how can a wife get a pension? First, do you know if you aren’t already the default recipient of survivor’s benefits merely because you…

Widdison v. Kirkham – 2018 UT App 205 – contempt, attorney’s fees

November 6, 2018

Divorce Utah

Attorney Fees, Divorce Law, Divorce Lawyers, Divorce Mistakes, Uncategorized

2018 UT App 205. contempt, attorney's fees, Widdison v. Kirkham

2018 UT App 205 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS JAMIE WIDDISON, Appellee, v. JANAE A. KIRKHAM, Appellant. Opinion No. 20160961-CA Filed November 1, 2018 Third District Court, Salt Lake Department The Honorable Paige Petersen No. 034903241 Larry A. Kirkham, Attorney…

What’s the Funniest Court Case You’ve Seen?

October 30, 2018

Divorce Utah

Evidence, Uncategorized

Here are my top 3: #1) My client was charged with drug possession after a police officer found them in a hard carton cigarette pack (one made out of cardboard) because when he picked it up and shook it, “sounded…

What are the oddest divorce cases you’ve seen?

August 21, 2018

Divorce Utah

Uncategorized

What are the oddest divorce cases you’ve seen? I haven’t encountered anything all that odd, but the most tragicomic case I encountered was one I encountered in my first year as a lawyer: I was involved in a settlement conference…

Using Smart Home Devices to Stalk and Harass

July 4, 2018

Divorce Utah

Abuse, Protective Orders, Stalking, Uncategorized

harassment, phone, protective orders, smart device, smart home, smart phone, stalking, telephone, utilities

Lawyers consider restraining orders to stop abusers from using smart home devices to harass – but you can protect yourself Some domestic abusers are using smart home devices to intimidate, harass, watch and listen to their victims. Lawyers are grappling…

What is the hardest part about a divorce?

May 31, 2018

Divorce Utah

Uncategorized

divorce, hard, hardest part of divorce, legal, psychological

What is the hardest part about a divorce? We’re all different, and divorce affects each of us in different ways, but generally speaking: Legal Standpoint If you’re the one wanting a divorce, the hardest part is usually: how miserable the…

Does Utah recognize common law marriage? What is common law marriage anyway?

May 25, 2018

Divorce Utah

Uncategorized

common law marriage

Does Utah recognize common law marriage? Utah law does provide for recognition of a marriage that was not solemnized (i.e., not made legal by a formal, legal marriage ceremony), but only if the couple meets all of the legal qualifications…

Is there a contract that says you can disown your child and waive all rights to child support?

May 23, 2018

Divorce Utah

Uncategorized

I can answer this question the way Utah law handles it. First, there is no “contract” for disowning a child and terminating the obligation to support the child, but there is a way to petition the court for an order…

Is a fiancee considered family by law?

May 17, 2018

Divorce Utah

Uncategorized

No, but . . . A fiancee is nothing more than a potentiality. The couple is “engaged” to be married, but not yet married, not yet husband and wife, and so they have no legally recognizable status that is any…

What are the chances?

April 27, 2018

Divorce Utah

Uncategorized

What are the chances of a husband who left his wife for 12 months, for two or more affairs to divorce and remarry again? Given the “number fish in the sea,” and given that it is not uncommon for many…

What rights does a 7-year-old have when being questioned in school?

April 26, 2018

Divorce Utah

Uncategorized

What rights does a 7-year-old have when being questioned in school by child protective services can they refuse to answer and ask for their parent or their lawyer to be present? DO NOT take my comments as gospel (this is…

Will a narcissist ever stop hating me for having custody of our child?

March 21, 2018

Divorce Utah

Child Custody, Uncategorized

narcissism

Will a narcissist ever stop hating me for having custody of our child? It’s possible, but not likely. It is easier to cure a person of heroin addiction than to curing these kinds of personality disorders. Utah Family Law, LC…

The justice system is neither particularly just nor much of a system

March 16, 2018

Divorce Utah

Uncategorized

The justice system is neither particularly just nor much of a system. Too often the justice you get now arises in spite of the system, not because of it. Until recently this is how I felt: https://www.divorceutah.com/2017/04/25/what-a-shame/. Now I can’t…

Gallows humor

February 3, 2018

Divorce Utah

Uncategorized

When I saw this link: I clicked on the link, which brought me to this page: Utah Family Law, LC | divorceutah.com | 801-466-9277