Utah Court Rules Archives

Law from a legal assistant’s point of view, week 44: Mountains

By Quinton Lister, legal assistant One prominent geographical feature of Utah (where I am a legal assistant for a divorce attorney) is the mountains that surround the cities and towns of the state. I grew up in Colorado where there…

What should the child support award be if my ex makes $1,200 per week?

Should I be receiving more than $300 a month in child support if my ex-husband makes $1,200 per week? Each jurisdiction has different child support laws and rules, but I can answer this question in the context of Utah law,…

What is the argument for hearing a child’s view in a custody decision?

What argument supports taking the views of a child into account when making custody determination? The argument is this: the judge cannot determine if such evidence is relevant if the judge never actually has such evidence to consider. In Utah (where I practice divorce…

Can I force my spouse to divorce me?

I know of no legal way to force your spouse to filed for divorce against you, but you may not be aware of the fact that your spouse cannot prevent you from divorcing him/her. Many people do not understand what…

Can a parent take kids out of state while divorce is pending?

Can a parent who has filed for divorce and moved out with her 2 children now take her children for a week to another state for Thanksgiving, or will it be considered kidnapping? Great question. I will answer your question based…

In a divorce, should children live with their favorite parent?

I can’t speak for all jurisdictions, but I can tell you that in the jurisdiction where I practice divorce and family law (Utah), currently the child’s preference for one parent over the other is not expressly among the factors specified…

Law from a legal assistant’s point of view, week 40

April 19, 2022

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Court Orders, Court Rules, Divorce Law, Family Law, Judges, Justice and Equity, Lawyers, Legal Assistant, Legal System, Utah, Utah Code, Utah Court Rules, Utah Law

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Law from a legal assistant’s point of view, week 40: Recording family law hearings By Quinton Lister, legal assistant My time as a legal assistant to a divorce and family law attorney in Utah has shown me a side of…

Twitchell v. Twitchell – 2022 UT App 49 – child custody and support

April 18, 2022

Divorce Utah

Appeal, Best Interest of the Child, Child Custody, Child Support, Child Support Calculation, Children in Divorce, Coping With Divorce, Court Orders, Court Rules, Custody, Dirty Tricks, Divorce, Divorce Court, Divorce Fears, Divorce Law, Divorce Mistakes, Divorce Preparedness, Divorce Procedure, Domestic Violence, Family Law, Fathers' Divorce Issues, Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, Judges, Legal System, Men's Divorce Issues, Mothers' Divorce Issues, Parent Time, Parental Fitness, Parenting Plan, Physical Custody, Preparing for Divorce, Procedure and Evidence, Sole Custody, Utah Code, Utah Court of Appeals Decisions, Utah Court Rules, Utah Law, Visitation, Women's Divorce Issues

appeal, calculation, child custody, Child Support, child support obligation, conclusions of law, deviate, district court, divorce decree, Domestic Violence, evidence, findings of fact, income, moral character, neglect, Parent Time, physical abuse, physical custody, statutory minimum schedule, trial court, Utah Code § 30-3-10, Utah Code § 30-3-34, Utah Code § 30-3-35, Utah Code § 30-3-35.5, Utah Code § 78B-12-203, Utah Court of Appeals

Twitchell v. Twitchell – 2022 UT App 49 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS JAZMIN S. TWITCHELL, Appellee, V. JOSEPH N. TWITCHELL, Appellant. Opinion No. 20200546-CA Filed April 14, 2022 First District Court, Logan Department The Honorable Brian G. Cannell No.…

Widdison v. Widdison – 2022 UT App 46 – custody modification

April 13, 2022

Divorce Utah

Appeal, Best Interest of the Child, Child Custody, Child Custody Modification, Children in Divorce, Coping With Divorce, Court Orders, Court Rules, Custody, Dirty Tricks, Divorce, Divorce Fears, Divorce Law, Divorce Mistakes, Divorce Preparedness, Domestic Relations Commissioners, Evidence, Family Law, Fathers' Divorce Issues, Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, Joint Legal Custody, Joint Physical Custody, Judges, Justice and Equity, Men's Divorce Issues, Modification of Child Custody, Modification of Child Support, Modification of Decree of Divorce, Modification of Parent-time, Mothers' Divorce Issues, Motion Practice, Noncustodial parents, Parental Rights, Petition to Modify Decree of Divorce, Physical Custody, Procedure and Evidence, Sole Custody, Special Circumstances, Unwed Parents, Utah Code, Utah Court of Appeals Decisions, Utah Court Rules, Utah Law, Women's Divorce Issues

best interest, best interests, discretion, Modification, Parent Time, physical custody, Relocation, stability, substantial and material change in circumstances, Utah Code § 30-3-10.1, Utah Code § 30-3-10.4, Utah Code § 30-3-34, Utah Code § 30-3-37, Utah Code §30-3-36

Widdison v. Widdison – 2022 UT App 46 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS NICOLE WIDDISON, Appellant, LEON BRYANT WIDDISON, Appellee. Opinion No. 20200484-CA Filed April 7, 2022 Third District Court, Salt Lake Department The Honorable Robert P. Faust No.…

Law from a legal assistant’s point of view, week 39: Judges, part III

By Quinton Lister, legal assistant For those following along at home, you are aware that I have posted about judges before. Through the course of my current employment as a legal assistant, much has been learned about judges and their…

In re Adoption of E.M.F. – 2022 UT App 43 time in which to appeal

In re Adoption of E.M.F… – 2022 UT App 43 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS IN THE MATTER OF THE ADOPTION OF E.M.F. AND M.S.F., PERSONS UNDER EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE. S.S. AND B.S., Appellants, v. J.F., Appellee. Opinion No.…

Do I need to show up for court if I was never served papers?

April 1, 2022

Divorce Utah

Court Orders, Court Rules, Judges, Lawyers, Legal System, Utah, Utah Code, Utah Court Rules, Utah Law

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Do I need to show up for court if I was never served papers? I live in South Carolina. I cannot speak for or about the jurisdiction of South Carolina because I practice law in Utah (so you need to…

Noel v. James – 2022 UT App 33 – civil stalking injunction

Noel v. James – 2022 UT App 33 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS MICHAEL EARL NOEL, Appellee, v. WILLIAM THOMAS JAMES, Appellant. Opinion No. 20200565-CA Filed March 10, 2022 Sixth District Court, Kanab Department The Honorable Marvin D. Bagley No.…

Does Utah ORS collect childcare by garnishing a paycheck?

March 11, 2022

Divorce Utah

Child Care Costs, Divorce Costs, Finances, ORS (Office of Recovery Services), Utah, Utah Code, Utah Court Rules, Utah Law

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Does the Utah Office of Recovery Services (ORS) collect childcare monthly reimbursement by garnishing a paycheck like it can to collect monthly child support? No. ORS does and cannot collect prospectively monthly child care expenses. Utah Family Law, LC |…

Erickson v. Erickson – 2022 UT App 27

THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS DEAN ERICKSON, Appellee, v. JANICE ERICKSON, Appellant. Opinion No. 20200193-CA Filed March 3, 2022 Third District Court, Salt Lake Department The Honorable Todd M. Shaughnessy No. 174901105 Albert N. Pranno, Attorney for Appellant Jordan M.…

Hillam v. Hillam – 2022 UT App 24 – final and appealable ruling, rule 54(b)

2022 UT App 24 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS JOHN DINSDALE HILLAM, Petitioner, v. TARA HILLAM, Respondent and Appellant, v. DUSTIN HANCOCK AS INVESTMENT TRUSTEE, Respondent and Appellee. Opinion No. 20200545-CA Filed February 25, 2022 Second District Court, Farmington Department…

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…

Must I hand a cop my license, or just show it?

February 25, 2022

Divorce Utah

Court Orders, Court Rules, Judges, Lawyers, Legal System, Utah, Utah Code, Utah Court Rules, Utah Law

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I get this question a lot, and frankly, I am curious to know the answer myself: If you have a dedicated sleeve in your wallet that holds your driver license (you know, the kind with a window so that you…

Do I need to show up for court if I was never served papers?

February 24, 2022

Divorce Utah

Court Orders, Court Rules, Judges, Jurisdiction, Lawyers, Legal System, Utah, Utah Code, Utah Court Rules, Utah Law

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Do I need to show up for court if I was never served papers? I live in South Carolina. I cannot speak for or about the jurisdiction of South Carolina because I practice law in Utah (so you need to…

Law from a legal assistant’s point of view, week 32: If I could redo the legal system

February 22, 2022

Divorce Utah

Judges, Justice and Equity, Lawyers, Legal Assistant, Legal System, Utah, Utah Code, Utah Court Rules, Utah Law

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By Quinton Lister, legal assistant My boss, Eric Johnson, a divorce attorney, thought it might be a good blog post to write about what I would do if I were to design a new legal system. I think this is…