Sean D. Reyes, Carol L.C. Verdoia, and John M. Peterson, Attorneys for Appellee
JUDGE MICHELE M. CHRISTIANSEN FORSTER authored this Opinion, in which JUDGES GREGORY K. ORME and RYAN D. TENNEY concurred.
CHRISTIANSEN FORSTER, Judge:
¶1 Appellant J.K. (Mother) appeals the juvenile court’s order substantiating several database findings of abuse entered by the Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS). We affirm.
BACKGROUND
¶2 In August 2020, the State filed with the juvenile court a Verified Petition for Protective Supervision requesting the court to find Mother’s son, K.T., “abused, neglected and/or dependent and to grant protective supervision of [K.T.] to DCFS.” The petition alleged that DCFS had on three separate occasions previously supported findings of abuse of K.T. against Mother.[1] In addition to the request for protective supervision of K.T., the petition requested that the juvenile court enter an order “[s]ubstantiating[2] the DCFS supported finding(s) pursuant to Utah Code Ann. § 78A-6-323,” now recodified at Utah Code section 80-3-404.[3]
¶3 In March 2021, following discussions with Mother, the State filed with the juvenile court an Amended Verified Petition for Protective Supervision. The amended petition again asked the court to find K.T. “neglected and/or dependent and to grant protective supervision of [K.T.] to DCFS,” but it eliminated the prior request that the court find K.T. to be “abused.” The amended petition repeated the original petition’s request that the court enter a finding “[s]ubstantiating the DCFS supported finding(s) pursuant to Utah Code” section 80-3-404.
¶4 The parties thereafter appeared before the juvenile court to adjudicate the amended petition. At the outset of the hearing, the State indicated it had reached an agreement with Mother to submit the amended petition “for [a] finding of neglect” and requested, without objection, that “the issue of substantiating the DCFS supported findings” be “set over.” Thereafter, Mother admitted many of the allegations of the amended petition. But pursuant to rule 34(e) of the Utah Rules of Juvenile Procedure, she declined to either admit or deny the allegations that DCFS had previously supported findings of abuse by Mother against K.T.[4] The parties then presented argument. The State argued for a finding of neglect, while Mother argued for a finding of dependency. After the hearing, the court entered a finding of neglect[5] and granted “[p]rotective supervision of [K.T.] . . . to DCFS.”[6] The court “reserve[d] the issue of substantiating the DCFS supported findings for the next hearing.”
¶5 In June 2021, the case came before the juvenile court for a disposition hearing, during which the State requested that the court address the substantiation issue. The court entertained argument and took the matter under advisement. It thereafter entered a written order substantiating the three DCFS supported findings of abuse by Mother contained in both the original and amended petitions. Specifically, it substantiated the supported findings that K.T. had suffered emotional abuse, physical abuse, and chronic emotional abuse.
ISSUES AND STANDARDS OF REVIEW
¶6 Mother now appeals the juvenile court’s order substantiating the DCFS supported findings of abuse and raises three issues for our review. The first two issues present questions as to the statutory authority of the juvenile court. Mother first argues the juvenile court exceeded its statutory authority to substantiate the DCFS findings of abuse because the amended petition alleged only neglect or dependency and the court had adjudicated only a finding of neglect. “Questions of jurisdiction and statutory interpretation are questions of law that we review for correctness, giving no particular deference to lower court decisions.” In re B.B.G., 2007 UT App 149, ¶ 4, 160 P.3d 9.
¶7 In a similar vein, Mother next argues the State and the juvenile court were bound by the stipulation of the parties to submit the amended petition only for “a finding of neglect.” When “the facts [are] stipulated, we review the conclusions drawn by the juvenile court for correctness.” In re B.T., 2009 UT App 182, ¶ 5, 214 P.3d 881 (quotation simplified).
¶8 Lastly, Mother alternatively argues her trial counsel was ineffective for not advising her that the juvenile court could deviate from its legal adjudication of neglect and later substantiate for abuse. “An ineffective assistance of counsel claim raised for the first time on appeal presents a question of law.” State v. Clark, 2004 UT 25, ¶ 6, 89 P.3d 162.
ANALYSIS
I.
¶9 We turn first to Mother’s argument that the juvenile court exceeded its statutory authority in substantiating the DCFS findings for abuse because the amended petition alleged only neglect or dependency and the court had adjudicated K.T. as neglected. We are unpersuaded by this argument because it conflates the State’s request that the court adjudicate K.T. as neglected with its independent request that the court substantiate the DCFS supported findings of abuse. The State’s request to adjudicate K.T. as neglected so as to bring the child within the jurisdiction of the court and under the protective supervision of DCFS was separate from its request that the court substantiate DCFS’s finding that K.T. had suffered a severe type of child abuse. As explained below, the juvenile court had independent statutory authority to adjudicate both issues.
¶10 In Utah, proceedings concerning abuse, neglect, and dependency are governed by Chapter 3 of the Utah Juvenile Code (the UJC). Pursuant to Chapter 3, “any interested person may file an abuse, neglect, or dependency petition” in the juvenile court. Utah Code Ann. § 80-3-201(1) (LexisNexis Supp. 2022). Among other things, the petition must include “a concise statement of facts, separately stated, to support the conclusion that the child upon whose behalf the abuse, neglect, or dependency petition is brought is abused, neglected, or dependent.” Id. § 80-3-201(4)(a). After the petition is filed, the court may, upon making specific findings, “order that the child be removed from the child’s home or otherwise taken into protective custody.” Id. § 80-3-204(2). If the court so orders, a shelter hearing must then be held to determine whether continued removal and placement of the child in DCFS’s temporary custody are necessary. See id. § 80-3-301.
¶11 After the shelter hearing, the juvenile court conducts an adjudication hearing. See id. § 80-3-401. An adjudication is a determination of the merits of the State’s petition of abuse, neglect, or dependency. “If, at the adjudication hearing, the juvenile court finds, by clear and convincing evidence, that the allegations contained in the abuse, neglect, or dependency petition are true, the juvenile court shall conduct a dispositional hearing.” Id. § 80-3-402(1); see also In re S.A.K., 2003 UT App 87, ¶ 14, 67 P.3d 1037 (“In child welfare proceedings, if the petition’s allegations of neglect, abuse, or dependency are found to be true in the adjudication hearing, those findings provide the basis for determining the consequences in the disposition hearing.”). “The dispositional hearing may be held on the same date as the adjudication hearing . . . .” Utah Code Ann. § 80-3-402(2). Dispositions available after adjudication include, among other things, vesting custody of an abused, neglected, or dependent minor in DCFS or any other appropriate person. Id. § 80-3405(2)(a)(i). Thus, an adjudication of abuse, neglect, or dependency brings the child and family within the juvenile court’s jurisdiction.
¶12 A separate chapter of the UJC addresses child welfare services. Chapter 2 creates DCFS and establishes its statutory authority and responsibilities. Among these is its responsibility to investigate reports that a child is abused, neglected, or dependent and to enter findings at the conclusion of its investigations. See id. § 80-2-701. A “supported” finding by DCFS is based on evidence available at the completion of an investigation indicating that “there is a reasonable basis to conclude that abuse, neglect, or dependency occurred.” Id. § 80-1-102(89). Chapter 2 requires that DCFS notify alleged perpetrators of supported findings and establishes a procedure for challenging such findings. Id. §§ 80-2707, -708. In cases involving a supported finding of a severe type of child abuse, the statute also gives DCFS authority to file a petition in the juvenile court seeking substantiation of a supported finding. Id. § 80-2-708(1)(c).
¶13 Part 10 of Chapter 2 governs DCFS’s record-keeping responsibilities. DCFS uses a database known as the Management Information System to track child welfare and protective services cases. See id. § 80-2-1001(3), (4). DCFS uses a subset of that system known as the Licensing Information System (the LIS) to track cases for licensing purposes. See id. § 80-2-1002(1)(a)(i). In cases involving a severe type of child abuse or neglect, DCFS enters supported findings into the LIS and the alleged perpetrator thereafter “may be disqualified from adopting a child, receiving state funds as a child care provider, or being licensed by DCFS, a human services program, a child care provider or program, or a covered health care facility.” State v. A.C., 2022 UT App 121, ¶ 3, 521 P.3d 186 (quotation simplified).
¶14 All these statutes were in play in these proceedings. On three separate occasions prior to the State’s filing of the petition, DCFS had investigated Mother for abuse of K.T. Following each of its three investigations, DCFS had supported a finding of abuse of K.T. against Mother. One of those supported findings was of “chronic emotional abuse” of K.T., which falls within the statutory definition of a “severe type of child abuse” under Utah Code section 80-1-102(78)(a)(i)(A) that then must be entered into the LIS.
¶15 The amended petition removed the request that the juvenile court adjudicate K.T. as abused. Instead, it requested that the court adjudicate K.T. as neglected. But the amended petition also recited DCFS’s history with K.T., stating that DCFS had previously supported findings of abuse against Mother, and requested that the court substantiate these supported findings of abuse. Adjudicating both requests for relief fell squarely within the juvenile court’s express statutory authority. Indeed, Mother identifies no statutory provision limiting the court’s authority to substantiate DCFS findings of abuse based on the outcome of the State’s independent request to adjudicate the status of an allegedly abused, neglected, or dependent child.
¶16 Mother’s argument that the juvenile court’s substantiation decision must be consistent with its adjudication decision in a related petition for abuse, neglect, or dependency is also inconsistent with the burdens of proof dictated by the UJC. While the juvenile court may adjudicate a minor as abused, neglected, or dependent based only on clear and convincing evidence, it can substantiate a DCFS finding based on a mere preponderance of the evidence. Compare Utah Code Ann. § 80-1-102(87), withid. § 80-3-402(1). These different standards give rise to the distinct possibility that a juvenile court could decline to adjudicate a minor as abused, while still substantiating a DCFS finding of abuse based on the lower burden of proof.
¶17 Despite the absence of a statutory provision linking the outcome of the amended petition to the outcome of a request for substantiation, Mother argues the juvenile court’s ruling on the neglect petition ended the court proceedings, “leaving no question open for further judicial action.” (Quoting In re M.W., 2000 UT 79, ¶ 25, 12 P.3d 80.) But this argument is directly contrary to the statutory language. Utah Code section 80-3-404 addresses the responsibility of the juvenile court to adjudicate DCFS supported findings of severe child abuse or neglect and their inclusion in or removal from the LIS. Upon the filing of “an abuse, neglect or dependency petition . . . that informs the juvenile court that [DCFS] has made a supported finding that an individual committed a severe type of child abuse or neglect, the juvenile court shall . . . make a finding of substantiated, unsubstantiated, or without merit” and include the finding in a written order. Utah Code Ann. § 80-3-404(1) (emphasis added). This provision also allows joinder of proceedings for adjudication of supported findings of severe abuse or neglect with those that do not constitute severe abuse. Id. § 80-3-404(3). And it does not limit the juvenile court’s ability to substantiate findings of severe abuse to those cases in which the court has granted a petition to adjudicate a child as abused. In short, the juvenile court was required to rule on the State’s substantiation request.[7]
II.
¶18 Next, Mother argues the State and juvenile court were bound by the facts and legal conclusions contained in the amended petition to which the parties had stipulated. Mother reasons that because the parties had stipulated to a finding of neglect, the juvenile court could not substantiate DCFS’s supported findings of abuse.
¶19 Mother’s argument is inconsistent with both the language of the amended petition and the course of the proceedings before the juvenile court. At the hearing on the amended petition, the State informed the court that the State and Mother had agreed to submit the matter to the court for a “finding of neglect” and that they “would ask also the Court to reserve the issue of substantiating the DCFS supporting findings at this point in time and set that over for disposition.” In connection therewith, Mother agreed to admit the allegations of the amended petition except those in paragraphs 5 and 6. Paragraph 5 alleged DCFS’s history with the family, including DCFS’s supported findings of abuse. Paragraph 6 alleged additional facts supporting the conclusion that K.T. was neglected or dependent.
¶20 Although Mother declined to admit the allegations of paragraphs 5 and 6, she did not deny them. Instead, she proceeded pursuant to rule 34(e) of the Utah Rules of Juvenile Procedure by neither admitting nor denying them. But as the juvenile court expressly informed Mother at the hearing, Mother’s decision not to deny those allegations had legal significance since “[a]llegations not specifically denied by a respondent shall be deemed true.” See Utah R. Juv. P. 34(e). The court was therefore free to base its decision on all the allegations of the amended petition, including those in paragraph 6 regarding DCFS’s supported findings of abuse. Because the parties’ stipulation was not inconsistent with the court’s ruling, it did not err.
III.
¶21 Lastly, we turn to Mother’s argument that her trial counsel was ineffective for not advising her that the juvenile court could deviate from its adjudication of neglect and substantiate DCFS’s findings of abuse for entry into the LIS. To prevail on an ineffective assistance of counsel claim, Mother must show that counsel’s performance was deficient and that this deficient performance prejudiced her defense. See In re C.M.R., 2020 UT App 114,¶ 19, 473 P.3d 184. A reviewing court must “indulge in a strong presumption that counsel’s conduct fell within the wide range of reasonable professional assistance, and that under the circumstances, the challenged action might be considered sound trial strategy.” State v. J.A.L.,2011 UT 27, ¶ 25, 262 P.3d 1 (quotation simplified).
¶22 After indulging these presumptions, we are unable to conclude that counsel’s performance was deficient because there are many sound reasons why Mother’s decision to settle the petition with a finding of neglect, while allowing the juvenile court to resolve the substantiation issue, was sound strategy. The petition sought a finding that K.T. had been abused, and it was possible, if not likely, that proceeding to trial on the original petition could have resulted in both an adjudication of abuse and a substantiation of the abuse claims against Mother. The fact that Mother now regrets her decision to settle does not lead to the conclusion that counsel performed deficiently. Mother appeared before the juvenile court, and the court explained her rights and questioned her about the voluntariness of her decision. Nothing in the record suggests that Mother’s decision to settle was the result of ineffective assistance of counsel.
CONCLUSION
¶23 The juvenile court acted well within its statutory authority in substantiating DCFS’s findings of child abuse, and the court was entitled to consider all the allegations of the amended petition when determining whether to substantiate that finding. Mother has not demonstrated how her decision to settle was the result of ineffective assistance of counsel. Accordingly, we affirm.
[1] As relevant here, “abuse” is defined as “nonaccidental harm of a child” or “threatened harm of a child.” Utah Code Ann. § 80-1102(1)(a)(i) (LexisNexis Supp. 2022). “‘Supported’ means a finding by [DCFS] based on the evidence available at the completion of an investigation, and separate consideration of each allegation made or identified during the investigation, that there is a reasonable basis to conclude that abuse, neglect, or dependency occurred.” Id. § 80-1-102(89).
[2] “‘Substantiated’ or ‘substantiation’ means a judicial finding based on a preponderance of the evidence, and separate consideration of each allegation made or identified in the case, that abuse, neglect, or dependency occurred.” Id. § 80-1-102(87).
[3] The statutory provisions of Title 78A of the Utah Code that were in effect at the time of the juvenile court proceedings have since been renumbered and recodified as part of the Utah Juvenile Code, which is now found in Title 80 of the Utah Code. Because the provisions relevant to our analysis have not been substantively amended, we cite the recodified version for convenience.
[4] Under rule 34(e) of the Utah Rules of Juvenile Procedure, “[a] respondent may answer by admitting or denying the specific allegations of the petition, or by declining to admit or deny the allegations. Allegations not specifically denied by a respondent shall be deemed true.” Utah R. Juv. P. 34(e).
Here, the juvenile court took great care to ensure that Mother understood the consequences of not denying these allegations. The court informed Mother that it was “going to find [the allegations] to be true, even though [she was] not admitting nor denying [them].” When Mother indicated she did not understand, the court took a break to allow Mother to confer with her counsel. Following the break, the court confirmed that Mother had ample opportunity to discuss the issue with counsel and understood what was happening with respect to the allegations at issue.
[5] Although the juvenile court entered a finding of neglect pursuant to the stipulation of the parties, it indicated the evidence was also sufficient to support a finding of abuse.
[6] Even though the court placed K.T. under the protective supervision of DCFS, K.T. remained in his father’s custody.
[7] Mother also argues the juvenile court erred by not ruling on the State’s substantiation request at the time it adjudicated the petition for neglect. But Mother did not preserve this argument below. When the State raised the substantiation request at the adjudication hearing and asked that it be continued to a later hearing, Mother did not object.
I cannot speak for the law in all jurisdictions governing divorce and separation, but I can tell you what the law is for the jurisdiction where I practice (Utah):
One does not need the consent or agreement of one’s spouse to get a temporary separation order. See Utah Code § 30-3-4.5. (Motion for temporary separation order):
(1) A petitioner may file an action for a temporary separation order without filing a petition for divorce by filing a petition for temporary separation and motion for temporary orders if:
(a) the petitioner is lawfully married to the respondent; and
(b) both parties are residents of the state for at least 90 days prior to the date of filing.
(2) The temporary orders are valid for one year from the date of the hearing, or until one of the following occurs:
(a) a petition for divorce is filed and consolidated with the petition for temporary separation; or
(b) the case is dismissed.
(3) If a petition for divorce is filed and consolidated with the petition for temporary separation, orders entered in the temporary separation shall continue in the consolidated case.
(4) Both parties shall attend the divorce orientation course described in Section 30-3-11.4 within 60 days of the filing of the petition, for petitioner, and within 45 days of being served, for respondent.
(5) Service shall be made upon respondent, together with a 20-day summons, in accordance with the rules of civil procedure.
(6) The fee for filing the petition for temporary separation orders is $35. If either party files a petition for divorce within one year from the date of filing the petition for temporary separation, the separation filing fee shall be credited towards the filing fee for the divorce.
But if your spouse does not want to separate and you do, does your marriage appear to be one that has a chance of being salvaged?
Separations rarely help a couple reconcile and stay married. So ask yourself if you want a separation because you really think it’s a good idea or whether you “want” a separation because you’re afraid to pull the trigger on divorce.
I would never discourage anyone from trying a separation if that is a step one feels one needs to take to ensure that every reasonable step to save the marriage was taken, but usually by the time one honestly and seriously considers separation that means the marriage is doomed.
Utah Family Law, LC | divorceutah.com | 801-466-9277
The divorce trial wasn’t all that newsworthy or memorable (celebrities divorcing is expected), it’s his defamation trial against his ex-wife that is newsworthy. Why?
Although his defamation case is not as relevant to the country as news that affects us all more directly (like economic news), it is highly relevant in the field of divorce and family law because it has brought nationwide attention to a problem we lawyers have known about forever but that others haven’t: the shabby treatment of men in domestic relations law.
As recently as one generation ago, the thought of a man being a domestic violence victim was almost unthinkable. That’s not hyperbole. It was literally almost unthinkable. I’m not suggesting that women didn’t have their own legal prejudices to overcome (they clearly did then and to a lesser extent today, they still do), but it was an open secret that, with rare exception, the law ignored male domestic violence victims.
On second thought, “ignore” is not the most accurate term because that would imply that the law didn’t pay any attention to male domestic violence victims, and that’s not true. It did pay some attention to them, but in the form of arresting, charging, and prosecuting them if they had the guts to speak up.
What makes Johnny Depp’s defamation action against Amber Heard newsworthy today is because it focused the media’s attention (and thus focused the country’s attention) on a serious problem that needs and deserves to be solved now, not solved eventually. Johnny Depp’s defamation action against Amber Heard reveals:
– how brazenly a woman can repeatedly commit and get away with physically and emotionally abusing her spouse or boyfriend;
– how brazenly a woman can repeatedly commit and get away with physically and emotionally abusing her spouse or boyfriend, while claiming—and by claiming—to be the victim herself; and
– the depth and breadth of institutionalized sexual discrimination that pervades domestic violence laws and their enforcement.
– that it was (and largely still is) that combination of:
1) believing that men generally/realistically can’t be victims of domestic violence at the hands of women; and
2) blaming and prosecuting the man when a man complains of domestic violence that leads so many male domestic violence victims to keep silent (under such circumstances, who can blame them?)
In fact, while men commit more acts of domestic violence that are more severe than those of women, women commit ever so slightly more “intimate partner” (i.e., domestic) physical violence than do men (30.6% women victims, 31% men victims, according to the CDC).
Johnny Depp’s defamation suit against his ex-wife is helping to dispel the myths:
that women don’t commit domestic violence against men;
that there are male domestic violence victims (some people really do find that idea surprising); and
that presuming a woman who claims to be a domestic violence victim must be a victim (i.e., “believe all women”) is ridiculous. “Start by believing” is equally ridiculous. Start by investigating. Presume nothing.
Utah Family Law, LC | divorceutah.com | 801-466-9277
Short of holding the proverbial gun to his head (i.e., forcing him to do so against his will), you can’t.
While you might contrive to motivate your husband to file for divorce against you by committing marital fault yourself, that might cause the court to disfavor you when making the rulings and judgments in the divorce, so you don’t want to go that route.
If you want your husband to be the one to file for divorce so that you can claim aggrieved/martyr status, you may have to wait a long time, if he ever does in fact file for divorce.
The good news is that if you want a divorce in the United States you do not have to wait for your husband to file for divorce to obtain a divorce. You can file for divorce yourself, and you can do so without having to blame him for anything (this is what a “no-fault divorce is; obtaining a divorce without having to allege you or your husband is at fault).
If you are afraid that you won’t be awarded alimony or child custody or some other thing or benefit in the divorce action if you file for divorce, that’s likely not the case (I can’t speak for divorce law in all jurisdictions, but I am not aware of any U.S. jurisdiction that “punishes” a spouse merely for being the one to file for divorce).
Besides, if your husband is abusing you—AND YOU CAN PROVE THAT (as opposed to merely asserting it in a “your word against mine” situation)—then you’re not only well within your rights to be the one to file for divorce, you are clearly justified in filing for divorce. No decent court is going to fault you for filing for divorce to escape abuse.
Go meet with an attorney. Find out more about how the law governing divorce works in your jurisdiction. Determine what your options are, balance the risks against the benefits. Learn what you can and should do to prepare for divorce as fairly and successfully as possible.
Utah Family Law, LC | divorceutah.com | 801-466-9277
How can I help my 12-year-old step daughter get away from an emotionally abusive mother?
Tell the child’s father (your husband) about the trouble and have him handle it. It’s not legally your fight. You should certainly share your observations and your suggestions, if sought, and you should offer to help in any reasonable way your husband my want or need you to help. But if Dad’s not on board, then no matter how much you want to help, it’s not your place to go it alone.
Be supportive of your step-daughter and of your husband, but don’t be the one who initiates anything with the mother or the courts. Again, it’s not legally your fight. If you raise the concern you might do your step-daughter’s cause (and both her credibility as a victim and your credibility as a witness) a disservice by looking like a busybody, a “jealous wife” trying to smear the child’s mother to gain the child’s and your husband’s favor and loyalty.
Is it wrong for a parent to go to their adult child for emotional support concerning the parent’s marriage?
I am a divorce and family lawyer and a parent, but I am not a mental health professional. That doesn’t mean I can’t have an opinion on this subject or that my opinion won’t prove valuable, but it needs to be given the weight of a legal professional, not a mental health professional.
When my mother died at age 63, I’m sure it was a comfort to her and to my father that her youngest child was an adult (albeit just barely; he was 18) and that he had his father and 8 older siblings to support him and to support one another. I know my father was grateful to have his children rally around him and support him in his loss and grief. Being an appropriate emotional support for a widowed parent in need is as much a child’s obligation as it is an honor. I don’t see why it should be any different for a divorced parent.
We all know or will know people who are codependent. They need love and emotional support as much as anyone else. The problem with codependents are that they feel an excessive, pathological desire or need for others’ emotional and psychological support. Divorce is often the result of or the creation of a parent or parents who are codependent in relation to their children.
So to answer your question: no, it is clearly not wrong for a parent to go to their adult children for emotional support over a troubled marriage, as long as that parent is seeking appropriate emotional support from his/her child(ren).
Utah Family Law, LC | divorceutah.com | 801-466-9277
How can I help my 12-year-old step-daughter get away from an emotionally abusive mother?
Tell the child’s father (your husband) about the trouble and have him handle it. It’s not legally your fight. You should certainly share your observations and your suggestions, if sought, and you should offer to help in any reasonable way your husband my want or need you to help. But if Dad’s not on board, then no matter how much you want to help, it’s not your place to go it alone.
This is a good question because it deals with an issue that the law either has not addressed or cannot effectively address.
First, is there any legally permissible and practicable way to force a child to talk with a parent? I don’t see how a parent whose child refuses to speak to him/her could compel that child through the legal process to speak with or otherwise communicate with that parent. Now, of course, if a parent and his/her lawyer wanted to get really creative about this problem, I can imagine that the parent and lawyer might dream up some kind of civil lawsuit against the child for the negligent or intentional infliction of emotional distress or some other such nonsense, but in the end, I don’t see how one could use the legal system to compel a child to speak with or communicate with a parent if that child refuses to do so.
This does not mean, however, that a parent is powerless in dealing with a recalcitrant child. While a parent cannot neglect or physically or emotionally abuse a child in an effort to compel the child to speak with or otherwise communicate with that parent, there’s certainly nothing wrong with taking legal and reasonable disciplinary action against the child. Grounding, privilege restrictions and removal, even corporal punishment (yes, it’s legal in many jurisdictions) are options available to a parent, and they may work. For a parent to stride every other option, these are measures a parent can try and they may be worth trying under appropriate circumstances.
Utah Family Law, LC | divorceutah.com | 801-466-9277
My spouse abused me emotionally, so I get more money in divorce now, right?
Strongly believing or feeling that “I deserve” an unequal division of the marital estate does not mean that you do legally deserve any such thing or that the court will agree with you. That is not how divorce law works. There are exceptions to this rule, but they are very rare.
You need to understand first that courts generally do not divide and distribute the marital estate (“marital estate” is the term for the property and assets acquired during the marriage) to reward or to punish a spouse.
The presumption is that the marital estate will be divided equally, unless there is some extenuating, exceptional circumstance that would warrant an unequal division and distribution (such as showing that one spouse inexcusably diminished the value of the estate and/or dissipated marital assets during the marriage to the detriment of the other spouse).
Rarely, if ever, is an unequal division of the marital estate made merely because the other spouse was physically or emotionally abusive or engaged in “unethical behavior.” If the court does make an unequal division of the marital estate based upon physically or emotionally abuse and/or unethical behavior, such misconduct would usually need to be 1) first, shown to be severe or chronic and 2) second shown to warrant/justify an unequal distribution of the marital estate property.
Meet and talk with a knowledgeable attorney to find out what the specific law is on this subject in your jurisdiction to find out what the law is where your divorce action is or will be filed.
Utah Family Law, LC | divorceutah.com | 801-466-9277
STATE OF UTAH, IN THE INTEREST OF E.R., A PERSON UNDER EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE.
J.R., Appellant,
v.
STATE OF UTAH,Appellee.
Opinion
No. 20190184-CA
Filed December 19, 2019
Fourth District Juvenile Court, Provo Department
The Honorable F. Richards Smith
No. 1012098
Margaret P. Lindsay, Attorney for Appellant
Sean D. Reyes, Carol L.C. Verdoia, and John M. Peterson, Attorneys for Appellee
Martha Pierce, Guardian ad Litem
JUDGE MICHELE M. CHRISTIANSEN FORSTER authored this Opinion, in which JUDGES GREGORY K. ORME and KATE APPLEBY concurred.
CHRISTIANSEN FORSTER, Judge:
¶1 J.R. (Mother) appeals the juvenile court’s termination of her parental rights to E.R. We affirm.
BACKGROUND
¶2 The Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS) has been involved with Mother and her family on and off since 2008. Between 2008 and Mother’s termination trial in 2018, DCFS made multiple supported findings of environmental neglect against both Mother and her husband (Father) with respect to their three children, as well as findings of emotional maltreatment, emotional abuse, domestic-violence abuse, and physical abuse against Father.
¶3 E.R. is the youngest of Mother’s three children and was eleven years old at the time of Mother’s termination trial. E.R. “has been diagnosed with behavioral and emotional dysregulation, secondary post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), mood disorder and Asperger’s.” E.R. has severe behavioral problems, including aggression and suicidal ideation.
¶4 Mother and Father divorced in 2013. “The current case was initiated in January 2016 when DCFS supported a finding of dependency against the parents as to” E.R. after he was hospitalized twice in the course of a month. The Utah State Hospital accepted E.R. for admission but eventually withdrew its placement offer after Father refused to consent to his hospitalization. Subsequently, DCFS sought and obtained a warrant to take E.R. into protective custody. The juvenile court awarded legal custody and guardianship of E.R. to DCFS and set concurrent goals for E.R. of reunification with Mother or permanent custody and guardianship with a relative.[1] DCFS first placed E.R. at the Utah State Hospital and later placed him with a foster family. On November 30, 2016, the court terminated reunification services after finding that neither parent was in substantial compliance with the reunification plan. The court then “set a primary goal of adoption with a concurrent goal of permanent custody and guardianship.” On September 28, 2017, the State filed a petition to terminate Mother’s and Father’s parental rights, which was later bifurcated. The court terminated Father’s parental rights following a trial in March 2018.
¶5 Mother’s termination trial was held in August and November 2018, following which the court terminated Mother’s parental rights. The court found that Mother had made “some progress” in therapy but that she “continues to minimize her own issues and the role she played in the difficulties in her home.” The court attributed her progress “partly to her years of treatment, and partly to the fact that she has not been parenting [E.R.] for the last three years.” It further found that although E.R. and Mother are bonded and have had appropriate contact in their bi-weekly visits, Mother “does not possess the skills needed to effectively parent [E.R.] over time.” The court found grounds for termination based on its determination that Mother is “an unfit or incompetent parent,” that there had “been a failure of parental adjustment,” and that Mother had not remedied the circumstances causing E.R. to be in an out-of-home placement and was unlikely to be capable of exercising proper parental care in the future. See Utah Code Ann. § 78A-6-507(1)(c)–(e) (LexisNexis 2018).
¶6 The court found that E.R. had made “significant progress” through the “intense treatment he received at the State Hospital,” “ongoing treatment,” and the skills and efforts of his foster family. It found that E.R. was “bonded with his mother, and desires to have ongoing contact with her,” and that the “foster parents are supportive of appropriate ongoing contact between [E.R.] and his now-adult siblings, and between [E.R.] and his mother, and have encouraged such contact.” The court believed that “[i]f the foster parents were to adopt [E.R.,] they would continue to support that contact as long as it is healthy for [E.R.] and in his best interest.”
¶7 The court found that it was in E.R.’s best interest to be adopted by the foster parents. It observed that E.R. “has a particular aversion to anything court related” and that court proceedings cause him significant distress. For this reason, the court determined that E.R. “has a significant need for stability in his placement” and that awarding permanent custody and guardianship to the foster parents, rather than terminating Mother’s rights and permitting him to be adopted, “would be detrimental to [him], and deny him the sense of permanency and stability that he so desperately needs.” The court therefore determined that terminating Mother’s parental rights was strictly necessary to further E.R.’s best interest. Mother now appeals the court’s termination decision.
ISSUE AND STANDARD OF REVIEW
¶8 “The ultimate decision about whether to terminate a parent’s rights presents a mixed question of law and fact.” In re B.T.B., 2018 UT App 157, ¶ 8, 436 P.3d 206 (quotation simplified), cert. granted, 440 P.3d 692 (Utah 2019). We review the court’s factual findings for clear error and its legal conclusions for correctness, “affording the court some discretion in applying the law to the facts.” Id. (quotation simplified). Ultimately, due to “the factually intense nature” of a termination decision, “the juvenile court’s decision should be afforded a high degree of deference,” and we should overturn it only if the result is “against the clear weight of the evidence” or leaves us “with a firm and definite conviction that a mistake has been made.”[2] In re B.R., 2007 UT 82, ¶ 12, 171 P.3d 435 (quotation simplified).
ANALYSIS
¶9 Mother argues that the juvenile court exceeded its discretion in terminating her parental rights. In assessing whether termination of parental rights is appropriate, a court must engage in a “two-part test.” In re B.T.B., 2018 UT App 157, ¶ 13, 436 P.3d 206, cert. granted, 440 P.3d 692 (Utah 2019). “First, a trial court must find that one or more of the statutory grounds for termination are present,” and second, “a trial court must find that termination of the parent’s rights is in the best interests of the child.” Id. (quotation simplified). Mother does not contest the juvenile court’s determination that grounds existed to support termination, but she maintains that termination was not in E.R.’s best interest.
¶10 “[A] parent’s right to raise her child is a fundamental right, and although courts must view the ‘best interest’ element from the perspective of the child, in so doing courts should not forget the constitutional dimension of the parental rights on the other side of the ledger.” Id. ¶ 55. “[A]s part of the ‘best interest’ analysis required by the second element of the two-part test, along with all of the other facts and circumstances relevant to the case, trial courts should analyze whether termination of a child’s parent’s rights is ‘strictly necessary.’” Id. ¶ 50; see also Utah Code Ann. § 78A-6-507 (LexisNexis 2018) (“Subject to the protections and requirements of Section 78A-6-503, and if the court finds strictly necessary, the court may terminate all parental rights with respect to a parent if the court finds any one of the following [statutory factors] . . . .” (emphasis added)). An assessment of whether termination is strictly necessary “requires courts to explore whether other feasible options exist that could address the specific problems or issues facing the family, short of imposing the ultimate remedy of terminating the parent’s rights.” In re B.T.B., 2018 UT App 157, ¶ 55. “[I]f there is a practical way to keep parents involved in the children’s lives that is not contrary to the children’s best interests, a court should seriously consider such an option.” Id. “After this consideration, if a juvenile court determines that no such alternatives are available or articulates supported reasons for rejecting alternatives that do exist, such findings are entitled to deference on appeal.” In re C.T., 2018 UT App 233, ¶ 16, 438 P.3d 100.
¶11 Mother asserts that the court did not adequately explore the feasibility of granting permanent custody and guardianship to the foster parents while permitting her to continue having visitation rights. First, she points to the court’s observation that “the only issue before the Court in this matter is whether parental rights should be terminated” and that “[q]uestions of . . . potential permanent custody and guardianship . . . are not even before the Court at this time.” Mother contends that this statement demonstrates that the juvenile court misunderstood its duty to examine the feasibility of alternatives to termination. However, in context, it is clear that the court was merely explaining its inability to make a final ruling on other options at the time of the termination trial. The court further clarified, “[C]ertainly if parental rights are not terminated, it does not mean an automatic change in status. In fact, all it means is status quo until further decision by the Court. . . . I just didn’t want anyone to have false expectations regarding the outcome of this trial either way.” And the court’s written findings ultimately did address the feasibility of alternatives in the context of its best interest analysis.
¶12 The court found that E.R. is an autistic child with significant behavioral issues. He “has been diagnosed with behavioral and emotional dysregulation, secondary post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), mood disorder and Asperger’s.” His behavioral issues require his foster parents to “respond to [his] emotional dysregulation . . . , sometimes multiple times a day, and help him work through it, get back to rational thinking, and avoid escalation.” The court found that E.R. was “weary” of “DCFS and court involvement” and that “[p]articipation in court proceedings of any kind causes him distress, to the point that he doesn’t even want to be aware of when court hearings will occur.” The court found that E.R. “needs the stability and peace that would come with closure of the DCFS case and a permanent end to court involvement.” In light of E.R.’s specific needs and his aversion to court involvement, the court concluded, “[E.R.] has a significant need for stability in his placement. He needs to know where he’s going to stay, and who will be his permanent caretaker.” The court further concluded that “[a]warding permanent custody and guardianship of [E.R.] to his foster parents . . . would leave open the specter of repeated court involvement in the form of orders to show cause, motions, hearings, and so forth, related to visitation compliance issues, visitation modification requests, etc.” and that this would be “detrimental to [E.R.], and deny him the sense of permanency and stability that he so desperately needs.”
¶13 Mother challenges these findings, asserting that E.R. would not need to be told about future court proceedings and that it was by no means certain that further court proceedings would actually occur once an order of guardianship and visitation was entered. But Mother’s challenges do not demonstrate that the juvenile court’s findings were against the clear weight of the evidence. Having examined the specific circumstances of this case and the individual needs of E.R., the court concluded that even the “specter” of future court involvement was detrimental to E.R. And even if a concerted effort were made to shield E.R. from knowledge about court dates, there is no guarantee that such efforts would be successful, especially if a contentious order to show cause or petition to modify were filed in the future. See In re J.P., 921 P.2d 1012, 1019 (Utah Ct. App. 1996) (discussing the nature of permanent guardianship and its lack of finality).
¶14 Although we have previously made it clear that the need for permanency “does not, by itself, establish that termination is in a particular child’s best interest,” In re D.R.A., 2011 UT App 397, ¶ 14, 266 P.3d 844, the court’s emphasis of E.R.’s need for permanency in this case was reasonable. The court did not rely on the general desirability of permanency but on E.R.’s personal need for permanency in light of his significant psychological issues and his particular aversion to anything court-related. These articulated reasons for rejecting the feasibility of permanent guardianship were supported by the evidence and are entitled to deference. See In re C.T., 2018 UT App 233, ¶ 16. Thus, we decline to disturb the juvenile court’s finding that termination of Mother’s parental rights was in E.R.’s best interest.
CONCLUSION
¶15 The juvenile court adequately examined the feasibility of alternatives to terminating Mother’s parental rights in assessing E.R.’s best interest, and its finding that termination was strictly necessary was not against the clear weight of the evidence. Accordingly, we affirm the juvenile court’s termination of Mother’s parental rights.
Utah Family Law, LC | divorceutah.com | 801-466-9277
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[1] E.R.’s two older siblings continued to reside with Mother until they were removed in October 2016 as a result of several incidents of abuse and neglect by Mother.
[2] 2. Mother challenges this standard of review, asserting that appellate courts should take a more active role in examining the correctness of a juvenile court’s decision regarding termination of parental rights in light of the important constitutional rights involved. She asserts that the “standard of review that has developed over time in termination of parental rights cases is so
deferential to the decision of the juvenile courts that . . . no longer do these decisions concern mixed questions” and that the standard of review “takes any responsibility and power in these mixed questions of law and fact away from the appellate court and affords total power and discretion to the individual juvenile courts around the State.” Mother urges us to reexamine the correct “spectrum of deference” for parental termination cases in light of the factors outlined by our supreme court in State v. Levin, 2006 UT 50, 144 P.3d 1096. Id. ¶¶ 25, 28.
However, we are not in a position to overturn the supreme court’s articulated standard of review, see State v. Tenorio, 2007 UT App 92, ¶ 9, 156 P.3d 854 (“Vertical stare decisis compels a court to follow strictly the decisions rendered by a higher court.” (quotation simplified)), which instructs us to afford the juvenile court’s termination decision “a high degree of deference,” In re B.R., 2007 UT 82, ¶ 12, 171 P.3d 435. Moreover, we have previously rejected the assertion that due process requires a more stringent standard of review in termination cases, In re S.Y.T., 2011 UT App 407, ¶¶ 31–37, 267 P.3d 930, reaffirming the principle that the juvenile court’s superior opportunity to make witness-credibility determinations entitles it to a high degree of deference and that we should overturn termination decisions only “if the clear weight of that evidence is against the juvenile court’s determination,” id. ¶¶ 36–37.
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 Boggess, Attorney for Appellant
Adam L. Peeples, Appellee Pro Se
JUDGE RYAN M. HARRIS authored this Opinion, in which JUDGES GREGORY K. ORME and KATE APPLEBY concurred.
HARRIS, Judge:
¶1 Annaleise T. Peeples (Mother) asked the district court to modify her divorce decree to give her sole custody of her two teenage daughters, but the district court refused, determining that Mother had failed to demonstrate any substantial change in the circumstances underlying the original decree. Mother now appeals the district court’s order dismissing her petition to modify, and we affirm.
BACKGROUND
¶2 In 2004, after about three-and-a-half years of marriage, Adam Legrande Peeples (Father) filed for divorce from Mother, citing irreconcilable differences. Around the same time, Father also sought and obtained a protective order against Mother, asserting that Mother had been physically abusive to him; that protective order awarded temporary custody of the parties’ two young daughters to Father. The parties were each represented by counsel in both the divorce and the protective order proceedings, and because of the allegations of physical abuse, the court also appointed a guardian ad litem to represent the best interests of the two children. Early in the divorce case, all parties and counsel appeared before a domestic relations commissioner to discuss the parties’ motions for temporary orders. Following that hearing, the commissioner entered a temporary order, later countersigned by the assigned trial judge, awarding temporary custody of the children to Father, as the protective order did, with Mother receiving parent-time.
¶3 As the divorce proceedings progressed, the district court appointed a custody evaluator to make a recommendation to the court. While the custody evaluation was ongoing, the court entered a stipulated bifurcated decree of divorce in 2005, severing the parties’ marital union but reserving all other issues, including custody and parent-time, for further proceedings. In 2007, Mother filed her first motion for a change in custody, alleging that the temporary order giving custody to Father was unworkable because Mother lived in northern Utah County and Father lived in Salt Lake County, and because Father had “moved three times in three years and has not demonstrated stability.” Father objected, and after briefing and oral argument, the commissioner denied Mother’s motion.
¶4 In October 2007, soon after the commissioner denied Mother’s motion for a change in temporary custody, the parties and counsel participated in a settlement conference with the custody evaluator, at which the evaluator orally shared with the parties his recommendation: that primary physical custody remain with Father. At a hearing in December 2007, the guardian ad litem informed the court that he agreed with the custody evaluator’s recommendation. At that same hearing, the district court set a date for a bench trial to resolve all remaining issues.
¶5 Following the commissioner’s ruling on Mother’s motion and the court’s decision to set a trial date, as well as the revelation of the recommendations made by the custody evaluator and the guardian ad litem, the parties and their counsel entered into negotiations, and were able to resolve the remaining issues by stipulation. On April 28, 2008, after more than four years of divorce litigation, the court entered a stipulated amended decree of divorce, awarding the parties “joint legal custody” of the children, but awarding Father “primary physical custody.” Mother was to have “liberal parenting time” amounting to five out of every fourteen overnights during the school year, with the schedule to be “reversed” during the summertime.
¶6 Perhaps not surprisingly, given the nature and tone of the four years of pre-decree litigation, entry of the final divorce decree did not end the divisiveness and discord between these parties. About a year-and-a-half after the amended decree was entered, Mother filed a petition to modify, seeking amendments to the parent-time provisions of the decree. Mother alleged that circumstances had changed substantially since the entry of the decree because Father had enrolled the children in year-round school, rendering certain of the decree’s provisions unworkable, and because Father had violated the decree in numerous particulars. Father responded by filing a cross-petition to modify, seeking sole legal and physical custody. After further proceedings, the district court declined to modify the original divorce decree, and denied the parties’ dueling petitions.
¶7 A few years later, in 2013, Mother filed the instant petition to modify, this time seeking sole physical custody of the children. Mother asserted that circumstances had changed in three specific ways. First, she contended that Father had been “unable to provide a stable home environment” and find “stable employment.” Second, she contended that Father had “denied [her] physical visitation” to which she was entitled pursuant to the decree. Third, she contended that Father had “become violent with other people” and that “the children [had] been emotionally abused.”
¶8 Soon after the filing of Mother’s 2013 petition to modify, the parties agreed to have another custody evaluation done. After some procedural wrangling about the identity of the evaluator, the court finally appointed one, and the new evaluator interviewed the parties and the children in the fall of 2015. In January 2016, the evaluator shared her recommendation with the parties’ attorneys: that Mother be awarded sole physical custody, with Father to receive “standard minimum parent time.” Soon thereafter, the court appointed a different guardian ad litem (GAL) to represent the best interests of the children during the proceedings on the petition to modify.
¶9 From there, it took over a year to get to trial on the petition to modify; trial eventually took place over two days in December 2017. Just a few days before trial was to begin, the GAL issued a report containing his recommendations. Unlike the custody evaluator, the GAL recommended that the custody arrangement remain unchanged, with Father retaining primary physical custody. He explained that, while he understood the evaluator’s “rationale for recommending a change in custody at the time [the] evaluation was performed, over two years [had] passed” since the evaluator conducted her interviews, and he expressed his view that the information on which the evaluator based her conclusions was outdated.
¶10 At trial, Mother (as the petitioner on the petition to modify) presented her case first, and called three witnesses over the first day-and-a-half of trial: herself, Father, and the custody evaluator. At the conclusion of Mother’s case-in-chief, Father made an oral motion to dismiss the petition to modify, arguing that Mother failed to “meet her burden to prove that a significant change in circumstances has taken place.” After hearing argument from both sides, as well as from the GAL, the court granted Father’s motion. The court explained that Father’s relative instability had been constant since before the decree was entered, and therefore was not a change in circumstances; that any violations by Father of the terms of the decree could be resolved in contempt proceedings, and—especially in a case in which “[t]he parties have been in constant conflict since their separation and likely before”—that those violations did not rise to the level of unworkability that would constitute a change in circumstances; and found that there had not been any violence or emotional abuse. The court noted that the parties had been fighting over custody for some thirteen years, and that the fighting had been fairly constant. The court stated that, in such a “high-conflict” case, “if anything, the need to show a change in circumstances [is] even stronger,” and “the need for a permanent decree . . . that people can rely on . . . is that much greater.” A few weeks later, the court entered a written order, drafted by Father’s counsel, dismissing Mother’s petition to modify; that order contained a provision stating that, “[i]n a high conflict divorce such as this one, the need for finality is even greater and therefore the burden to show a material and significant change in circumstances should be higher than normal.”
ISSUE AND STANDARDS OF REVIEW
¶11 Mother now appeals from the district court’s order dismissing her petition to modify. When reviewing such a decision, we review the district court’s underlying findings of fact, if any, for clear error, see Vaughan v. Romander, 2015 UT App 244, ¶ 7, 360 P.3d 761, and we review for abuse of discretion its ultimate determination regarding the presence or absence of a substantial change in circumstances, see Doyle v. Doyle, 2009 UT App 306, ¶ 7, 221 P.3d 888, aff’d, 2011 UT 42, 258 P.3d 553. The district court’s choice of legal standard, however, presents an issue of law that we review for correctness. See id. ¶ 6.
ANALYSIS
¶12 Mother challenges the district court’s dismissal of her petition to modify on two general grounds. First, she contends that the district court employed an incorrect (and overly strict) legal standard in determining whether circumstances had changed sufficiently to justify reopening the governing custody order. Specifically, she asserts that the court did not properly take into account the fact that the decree at issue was stipulated rather than adjudicated, and she takes issue with the statement in the court’s written order that, in “high conflict” cases, the burden of demonstrating a change in circumstances is “higher than normal.” Second, Mother contends that the district court abused its discretion in determining, on the facts of this case, that no substantial and material change in circumstances existed. We address each of these contentions in turn.
A
¶13 Under Utah law, petitions to modify custody orders are governed by a two-part test:
A court order modifying . . . an existing joint legal custody or joint physical custody order shall contain written findings that: (i) a material and substantial change of circumstance has occurred; and (ii) a modification . . . would be an improvement for and in the best interest of the child.
Utah Code Ann. § 30-3-10.4(2)(b) (LexisNexis Supp. 2019). Because “[t]he required finding of a material and substantial change of circumstances is statutory, . . . [n]either this court nor the supreme court has purported to—or could—alter that requirement.” Zavala v. Zavala, 2016 UT App 6, ¶ 16, 366 P.3d 422; see also Doyle v. Doyle, 2011 UT 42, ¶ 38, 258 P.3d 553 (“Even an overwhelming case for the best interest of the child could not compensate for a lack of proof of a change in circumstances.”). Thus, “only if a substantial change of circumstances is found should the [district] court consider whether a change of custody is appropriate given the child’s best interests.” Wright v. Wright, 941 P.2d 646, 651 (Utah Ct. App. 1997) (quotation simplified).
¶14 This statutory requirement that a substantial change in circumstances be present before a court may modify a custody order serves two important ends. “First, the emotional, intellectual, and moral development of a child depends upon a reasonable degree of stability.” Elmer v. Elmer, 776 P.2d 599, 602 (Utah 1989). We have previously noted the “deleterious effects of ‘ping-pong’ custody awards” that subject children to ever-changing custody arrangements. See Taylor v. Elison, 2011 UT App 272, ¶ 13, 263 P.3d 448 (quotation simplified). Second, the requirement “is based in the principles of res judicata,” as “courts typically favor the one-time adjudication of a matter to prevent the undue burdening of the courts and the harassing of parties by repetitive actions.” Id. (quotation simplified); see also Zavala, 2016 UT App 6, ¶ 16 (stating that the statutory change-incircumstances requirement is “a legislative expression of the principle of res judicata”).
¶15 The change-in-circumstances requirement is itself comprised of two parts. In order to satisfy it, “the party seeking modification must demonstrate (1) that since the time of the previous decree, there have been changes in the circumstances upon which the previous award was based; and (2) that those changes are sufficiently substantial and material to justify reopening the question of custody.” Hogge v. Hogge, 649 P.2d 51, 54 (Utah 1982). In this context, however, our case law has drawn something of a distinction between adjudicated custody decrees and stipulated custody decrees, recognizing that “an unadjudicated custody decree” is not necessarily “based on an objective, impartial determination of the best interests of the child,” and therefore the res judicata policies “underlying the changed-circumstances rule [are] at a particularly low ebb.” See Taylor, 2011 UT App 272, ¶ 14 (quotation simplified). In Zavala, we clarified that the change-in-circumstances requirement still applies even in cases involving stipulated (as opposed to adjudicated) custody orders, although we acknowledged that, in some cases, “a lesser showing” of changed circumstances may “support modifying a stipulated award than would be required to modify an adjudicated award.” See 2016 UT App 6, ¶ 17.
¶16 In this case, the court did not specifically discuss the distinction our case law has drawn between stipulated and adjudicated decrees, or the extent to which this decree should be considered stipulated or adjudicated. The court simply applied the change-in-circumstances requirement and found it not met on the facts of this case. In one recent case, we found no error under similar circumstances. See Erickson v. Erickson, 2018 UT App 184, ¶ 21, 437 P.3d 370 (declining to reverse a district court’s determination that no substantial and material change in circumstances had been shown, despite the fact that the district court did not specifically consider “the fact that the underlying custody award was based on a stipulated agreement”).
¶17 But more to the point, we think it unhelpful to view the adjudicated/stipulated dichotomy as entirely binary; instead, in assessing how much “lesser” a showing might be required to satisfy the change-in-circumstances requirement, see Zavala, 2016 UT App 6, ¶ 17, courts should examine the origin of the order in question and analyze the extent to which the order—even if stipulated—reflects the result of robustly contested litigation aimed at ascertaining the best interest of the child.
¶18 We discern no error here, even though the district court did not expressly discuss the origin of the custody decree at issue, because the decree—although entered as a result of a negotiated settlement—was more akin to an adjudicated decree than a non-adjudicated decree. Here, the decree was finalized in April 2008, after more than four years of litigation between the parties, during which both parties were represented by counsel the entire time. The parties had fully litigated not only motions for protective orders, which involved custody determinations made by a court, but also motions for temporary orders before the court commissioner and the district court wherein temporary custody determinations were made. Moreover, the court had appointed a guardian ad litem to represent the children, and in addition a full evaluation had been performed by a neutral court-appointed custody evaluator. The parties did not reach their negotiated settlement in this case until after they had received input from not only the custody evaluator and the guardian ad litem, but also from the commissioner and the court during the temporary orders process. By the time the settlement was reached, four years of litigation had passed and a trial date had been set. In the end, the decree encapsulated, for the most part, the recommendations made by the guardian ad litem and the custody evaluator, and memorialized an arrangement very similar to the one previously ordered by the court on a temporary basis.
¶19 We certainly recognize the potential for injustice with certain types of stipulated custody orders; indeed, this is part of the reason why courts, when considering petitions to modify, retain the flexibility to be less deferential to stipulated custody orders. See Taylor, 2011 UT App 272, ¶ 14 (stating that unadjudicated custody decrees “may in fact be at odds with the best interests of the child” (quotation simplified)). Depending on the situation, our confidence that a stipulated custody decree—at least one that is submitted to the court before receipt of input from judicial officers during the temporary orders process or from custody evaluators or guardians ad litem—will actually be in keeping with the best interest of the child may be comparatively low, especially where neither side is represented by counsel (or, potentially more concerning, when only one side is represented by counsel). Inequalities in negotiating power or financial resources can sometimes result in one parent agreeing to conditions by stipulation that may not be in the long-term best interest of the child.
¶20 But such concerns are not present in a case like this one, where the parties reached a negotiated agreement after fully and robustly participating in the litigation process, with lawyers, for more than four years. The terms of the negotiated custody decree in this case—entered on the eve of a scheduled trial—did not substantially deviate from the terms of the temporary custody order imposed by the court, and were heavily influenced by the recommendations of both the custody evaluator and the guardian ad litem. In this case, therefore, we have relatively high confidence that the custody order was in line with the best interests of the children. Accordingly, we discern no error in the district court’s decision to apply the change-in-circumstances requirement without watering it down to account for the fact that the custody order in question was, technically speaking, stipulated.
¶21 We are more concerned, however, with the district court’s statement in its written order that, in “high conflict” cases, “the burden to show a material and significant change in circumstances should be higher than normal.” The district court offered no citation to any authority supporting this principle in our case law, and we are aware of none. We take this opportunity to clarify that there is 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. Nevertheless, we are not persuaded that the district court’s statement made a material difference to its analysis in this case. In context, especially after reviewing the court’s oral ruling, we view the court’s statement as simply acknowledging that, in high-conflict divorce cases, parties are perhaps more willing to seek modification more often, and that the danger of “ping-pong” custody awards in those cases is therefore proportionately higher.
¶22 In the end, we are convinced, after a review of the full record, that the district court applied the proper two-step analysis to determine whether a substantial and material change in circumstances occurred here. First, the court analyzed whether, “since the time of the previous decree, there have been changes in the circumstances upon which the previous award was based.” See Hogge, 649 P.2d at 54. Second, the court analyzed whether “those changes are sufficiently substantial and material to justify reopening the question of custody.” See id. Because we conclude that the court applied the proper test, we now proceed to analyze whether the court abused its discretion in its application of that test.
B
¶23 In her petition to modify, Mother pointed to three things that she believed led to a substantial and material change in circumstances. First, she contended that Father had been “unable to provide a stable home environment” and find “stable employment.” Second, she contended that Father had “denied [her] physical visitation” to which she was entitled pursuant to the decree. Third, she contended that Father had “become violent with other people” and that “the children have been emotionally abused.” After hearing evidence for a day-and-a-half, the district court concluded that these things did not constitute a substantial and material change in circumstances, finding either that they were occurring, at most, infrequently, or that they had been occurring throughout the litigation and therefore could not constitute a change in circumstances. We conclude that the court did not abuse its discretion in making that determination.
1
¶24 Mother’s first contention was that Father had “been unable to provide a stable home environment” for the children because he had “been evicted from several residences” resulting in the children having to change schools a number of times. In addition, Mother contended that Father had not “had stable employment for the last eight years.” The district court acknowledged that Mother had presented evidence that Father’s “income was questionable and [his] lifestyle was a little bit itinerant.” But the court noted in its oral ruling that this had been the case both “before and after the decree,” and that nothing had changed in this regard. In its written ruling, the court made a finding that it had “not received evidence that there has been a significant and material change in [Father’s] ability to provide the children with a stable home.”
¶25 It is unclear from Mother’s brief whether she even intends to challenge the district court’s factual findings, stating that her “appeal is primarily legal.” But in any event Mother has not carried her burden—if indeed she intended to shoulder that burden—of demonstrating that the court’s factual finding was clearly erroneous. As noted above, Mother alleged as early as 2007—in her pre-decree motion to alter the terms of the court’s temporary custody order—that Father had “moved three times in three years and has not demonstrated stability.” Despite Father’s itinerant nature, the first custody evaluator recommended that primary physical custody be awarded to Father, and the stipulated decree followed that recommendation. Presumably, all of that was taken into account during the litigation that preceded entry of the decree. Moreover, in her own petition to modify filed in 2013, Mother alleged that Father’s employment instability had been an issue “for the last eight years,” dating back to 2005, three years before entry of the decree. Issues that were present prior to the decree, and continue to be present in much the same way thereafter, do not represent a change in circumstances sufficient to justify the reopening of a custody decree. See Utah Code Ann. § 30-3 10.4(2)(b)(i) (LexisNexis Supp. 2019) (requiring a “change of circumstance” before reopening a custody decree); see also Becker v. Becker, 694 P.2d 608, 610 (Utah 1984) (stating that the rationale behind the change-in-circumstances requirement “is that custody placements, once made, should be as stable as possible unless the factual basis for them has completely changed”). In the end, Mother has not shown that the district court’s finding—that Father’s employment instability and itinerant nature had been present the whole time and therefore did not constitute a substantial change in circumstances—was clearly erroneous.
2
¶26 Mother’s next contention was that Father failed on numerous occasions to facilitate parent-time as required under the divorce decree. The district court found that, while Father may have committed occasional violations of the terms of the decree, “[t]he court has not received evidence that any denial of physical visitation on the part of [Father] was systemic, deliberate, or pathogenic enough to satisfy the requirements of the law in reopening” the decree.
¶27 Ordinarily, when one parent commits a violation of the terms of a divorce decree, the other parent’s remedy lies in contempt. See Utah Code Ann. §§ 78B-6-301(5), -310 (LexisNexis 2018) (categorizing “disobedience of any lawful judgment [or] order” as “contempt[] of the authority of the court,” and authorizing courts to sanction violators); see also, e.g., Clarke v. Clarke, 2012 UT App 328, ¶¶ 24–31, 292 P.3d 76 (resolving one parent’s request for contempt sanctions against the other for asserted violations of a custody order). In most cases, violations of a custody order by one party will not constitute the type of substantial and material change in circumstances that will justify reexamining the propriety of the order. But if the violations are so numerous and pervasive that it becomes evident that the custody arrangement is “not functioning,” then a change in circumstances may have occurred. See Moody v. Moody, 715 P.2d 507, 509 (Utah 1985) (“[T]he nonfunctioning of a joint custody arrangement is clearly a substantial change in circumstances which justifies reopening the custody issue.”); see also Huish v. Munro, 2008 UT App 283, ¶ 13, 191 P.3d 1242 (same).
¶28 In this case, the district court, after hearing Mother’s evidence, made a factual finding that the evidence of Father’s potentially contemptuous behavior was not so overwhelming as to render the decree unworkable. The court noted that the parties had been “in constant conflict since their separation and likely before,” and that they were “still at war” thirteen years after their separation. The court found that, while Father may have violated the decree with regard to parent-time on a few occasions, Father’s violations were not “systemic, deliberate, or pathogenic enough to satisfy the requirements of the law in reopening” the decree.
¶29 As noted above, it is unclear if Mother even intends to challenge the district court’s factual findings, but in any event she has not demonstrated clear error here. The district court’s finding that the decree had not been rendered unworkable as the result of Father’s violations was supported by, among other evidence, the recommendation of the court-appointed GAL, who expressed the view that the custody arrangement was working well enough and should remain unchanged, and that “the children have maintained throughout these proceedings that they are happy with the current arrangement.” Mother has not demonstrated that the district court’s determination about the decree’s workability was clearly erroneous.
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¶30 Mother’s final contention was that Father had “become violent with other people and the children have been emotionally abused.” After hearing the evidence, the district court found insufficient evidence that Father had been violent or that he had emotionally abused anyone. In her brief, Mother makes no serious effort to challenge this factual finding, and therefore we are unable to find any error therein.
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¶31 Given that Mother has not mounted a successful challenge to any of the district court’s factual findings, all that remains is for us to examine whether, given these findings, the court abused its discretion in determining that no material and substantial change in circumstances had occurred. See Doyle v. Doyle, 2009 UT App 306, ¶ 7, 221 P.3d 888, aff’d, 2011 UT 42, 258 P.3d 553. And on this record, we have no trouble concluding that the court did not abuse its discretion in making that determination. Many of the issues identified by Mother in her petition—such as Father’s unstable employment and frequent change of residence—had been present from the outset of this case, and were present before the decree was entered; such ever-present conditions cannot constitute a change in circumstances sufficient to reopen a custody decree. Any issues Father had with complying with the terms of the decree were apparently not egregious or pervasive enough to render the custody arrangement unworkable. And the district court, after listening to a day-and-a-half of evidence, did not hear any evidence that Father had acted violently or abusively toward anyone.
¶32 Under these circumstances, the district court did not abuse its discretion in concluding that Mother had not carried her burden of demonstrating a change in circumstances that was substantial and material enough to justify reexamining the parties’ longstanding custody arrangement. Because Mother did not satisfy the first part of the statutory test for obtaining a modification of a divorce decree, the district court did not err by dismissing her petition.
CONCLUSION
¶33 For all of the foregoing reasons, we affirm the district court’s dismissal of Mother’s petition to modify.
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